Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA [1961 / 2013] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Irwin Allen’s Breath-taking Undersea Masterpiece! Voyage To Amazing Atomic Adventure . . . On Land . . . In Outer Space . . . And Under The Sea!

Dive into Irwin Allen’s breath-taking motion picture masterpiece – now even more spectacular in Blu-ray high definition.

Walter Pidgeon leads an exciting all-star cast, including Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden and Peter Lorre in this timeless undersea adventure filled with dazzling visual effects and gripping suspense. During the maiden voyage of a nuclear submarine, the crew is suddenly thrust into a race to save mankind from global catastrophe. But in order to succeed, they must fend off enemy sub attacks, a simmering on-board mutiny and an incredible array of wondrous – and dangerous – ocean creatures!

FILM FACT: The theme song “VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA” was sung by Frankie Avalon, who also appeared in the film.

Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Peter Lorre, Robert Sterling, Michael Ansara, Frankie Avalon, Regis Toomey, John Litel, Howard McNear, Henry Daniell, Skip Ward, Mark Slade, Charles Tannen, Del Monroe, Anthony Monaco, Michael Ford, Robert Easton, Jonathan Gilmore, Richard Adams (uncredited), Art Baker (uncredited), Robert Buckingham (uncredited), Charles Dierkop (uncredited), George Diestel (uncredited), John Giovanni (uncredited), Larry Gray (uncredited), William Herrin (uncredited), Kendrick Huxham (uncredited), David McLean (uncredited) and Jimmy Murphy (uncredited)

Director: Irwin Allen

Producer: Irwin Allen

Screenplay: Irwin Allen (story and screenplay) and Charles Bennett (screenplay)

Composers: Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell

Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch (Director of Photography)

Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)

Audio: English: 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Music: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish

Running Time: 100 minutes

Region: All Regions

Number of discs: 1

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ [1961] was the second of three science fiction movies that Irwin Allen produced for 20th Century Fox in the early 1960s, following the success of 20th Century Fox's ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ [1959], and the studio's desire to duplicate that film's family-friendly style of light Sci-Fi adventure. The first of Irwin Allen's films for 20th Century Fox was ‘The Lost World’ [1960], a remake of the 1925 adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. The third, ‘Five Weeks in a Balloon’ [1962], was based on a Jules Verne book. All three films were scripted by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett, and shot in Color by DeLuxe.

Produced, directed and co-written by Irwin Allen, the man responsible for ‘Towering Inferno,’ ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ and the ‘Lost in Space’ TV show, to name but a few, ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ is one of those great Sci-Fi pictures of its day, that they do not make any more of this calibre of film. It is the story of a new, state-of-the art atomic submarine called The Seaview on a training mission under the polar ice cap. The submarine is forced to surface when the ice cap begins to melt. The crew soon learns that a meteor shower has pierced the Van Allen radiation belt, and the sky is now literally on fire. If it can’t be reversed, Planet Earth will burn-up in two weeks.

Admiral Harriman Nelson [Walter Pidgeon], commander and inventor of the Seaview submarine, Captain Lee Crane [Robert Sterling] as the Seaview's Commanding Officer, together scientist Commodore Lucius Emery [Peter Lorre] hatch a plan to save the planet. They have calculated that by firing a nuclear missile into the radiation belt, they will succeed in putting out the fire (just go with it). The plan is rejected by the UN, but Admiral Nelson is convinced his idea is the only way, so he goes rogue, takes off in the Seaview in a race against time to save planet earth! YEAH! Are you excited, yet? Well you should be and as Admiral Harriman Nelson would say, “that’s an order.”

This Sci-Fi film has everything you need and thrown in for good measure, like the Seaview submarine itself is like a life-sized All Star Action Playset, and you are treated to a guided tour by Admiral Harriman Nelson before the action begins. And don’t forget it is an ATOMIC submarine, which automatically makes is cool. Oh did I mention that the Seaview submarine has tail fins; it does, like the American ’57 Chevy automobile. And if you think the Seaview submarine is cool, wait until you see the mini-sub. Oh man, are you able to control yourself?

You also have Peter Lorre as Commodore Lucius Emery doing research in an underwater aquarium with a giant rubber shark and talking to it in a really typical creepy Peter Lorre voice. One of the on-board observers is Dr. Susan Hiller [Joan Fontaine], studying crew-related stress. The mission includes being out of radio contact for 96 hours while under the Arctic ice cap, but the ice begins to crack and melt, with boulder-size pieces crashing into the ocean around the submarine. You also have got Lt. Cathy Connors [Barbara Eden], shaking her booty to the jazzy trumpet player of Frankie Avalon as Lt. “J.G.” Danny Romano in order to draw the teen audience and he also sings the theme song in a scene that is slightly out of place, and you will think you imagined it, and no you didn’t, it really happened and for those who love “camp,” then this is just up your street.

On top of all that, you have got fighting amongst the crew, possible mutiny, a religious zealot, sabotage, radiation leaks, more rubber shark action, a lot of “Dive! Dive! Dive!” being shouted over the intercom, a minefield, and wait for it, a GIANT SQUID, Woo-hoo folks, isn’t it getting exciting and what more do you need?

Walter Pidgeon is outstanding and carries this Sci-Fi film. First of all, he chain-smokes on board the submarine the whole time, which of course is not very PC for the 21st century, but still looks cool. He runs the submarine with an iron fist, ordering a media blackout during the crisis and enraging his crew. And best of all, he’s a scientist, dammit. And he doesn’t care what anyone says. He cares only what the numbers say, and the numbers say nuke the sky. In an argument with the aforementioned religious zealot, he says: “If God ordains that Man should die without a fight, then why does He give us the will to live?” Take that, religion. Science is always the answer!

Part of what makes ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ entertaining is that whilst visually it is definitely 1960s it is strangely quite impressive. Yes it is obvious when they use models but scenes with fire in the skies and a graphic of a ring of fire encasing the planet still impresses today. And the other reason why it entertains is down to the many well-known names and faces that Irwin Allen got to appear. I wouldn't say that any of the characters are that great but when you have Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, Michael Ansara as well as Barbara Eden there are enough capable actors to make film fans sit up and watch. What this all boils down to is that ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ is a bit of 1960s sci-fi fun which has stood the test of time reasonably well as it still manages to entertain today over half a century after it was made.

‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ later became a popular television show produced by Irwin Allen. If you’ve built scale models and sets that are cool, it’s a shame to waste them. For the filming of ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,’ a number of detailed sets, props and scale models were created to realise the Seaview submarine. After the film was finished all the sets were simply placed in storage. When Irwin Allen decided to make a ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ television series, all he had to do was pull the sets out of storage. This was done at a fraction of the cost that he might have had if he had begun from scratch. The film reduced the cost of setting up the show and was the template for the type of stories that were done. The studios, having made the film, helped make the television series easier to produce and of course became a cult TV success. As you might have guessed that I clearly I loved it and so you will, too. It’s a good old-fashioned Sci-Fi adventure yarn, loaded with nostalgia, genuine suspense, great characters and of course the famous rubber shark!

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA MUSIC TRACK LIST

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (Written by Russell Faith) [Sung by Frankie Avalon]

Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment does not let you down, as the film is presented with a rich glorious 1080p encoded transfer and is presented in an impressive 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This film is well over fifty years old and this is the best it has ever looked and the detail is very sharp with well-defined close-ups that show up the wrinkles and makeup in the actor's faces. The costumes show every stitch in good detail and all of the set pieces look terrific in providing a good bit of depth of field. However, when the underwater scenes happen, things tend to go a bit soft and lose its sharpness sadly. You also get to view a very fine layer of grain throughout the film as well, giving the film a good filmic quality look. The colours look really good for the age of the film, but do not seem to pop as much as they should. The red glow above the surface even seems a bit under saturated. Black levels seem to run deep and inky for the most part with the skin tones coming across natural and smooth. There is no edge enhancement done here, which makes this a solid visual presentation for a 53-year old Sci-Fi film.

Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has once again not let you down, as the film is presented with a rare 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio mix, which was remastered from its original 4 track surround mix. The high point of this audio presentation is the many brilliant and outstanding sound effects. From the water sounds, to the sonar sounds, to the heavier action sequences, the directionality and sound is very solid. The Frankie Avalon song and film music score provide a good addition to the suspense of the whole film and is well balanced. On top of all that you get a good dynamic range that is well rounded. However, sadly the dialogue has seen better days, but not to say that the dialogue isn't any good, it just does not sounds up to par, as it sounds like the vocal track might break at any moment. Thankfully this doesn't happen at all times, but when it does, it is very evident and shame they could not of spent some extra cash to improve this anomaly. But despite this, this is quite a decent audio presentation, but I have heard better audio dialogue in other films of this genre in the period when this film was shot.

Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:

Special Feature: SCIENCE FICTION: Fantasy to Reality [2007] [1080p] [1.78:1] [16:50] With this special feature, which is narrated by Mark Hunt, we get to focusing on the science fiction’s pioneers and how they have affected the genre on film. With intelligence, vision, imagination, science fiction authors and filmmakers have fascinated the public for generations. Their provocative stories are contemplated with fantastic places, futuristic technology and unknown explicable forces. Their insight foretells many advancements of mankind, but they also warn us of the consequences of our actions, such as mass environmental disasters, extreme climate change and global warming. Are these the tales of entertainment or are they also prophetic glimpses into our future. With the dawn of new technology, such as electricity, the telegraph, and new forms of powered transportation, writers like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells created a body of work that became popular across a broad section of society. Jules Verne’s imaginative adventures took readers with his novels “Around The World In 80 Days,” “From The Earth To The Moon” and of course “Twenty Thousands Leagues Under The Sea,” which featured a high tech submarine. In comparison, H.G. Wells novels describe darker visions of the future, his graphic fantasies were more paranoid and depressed by the aspect of war. H.G. Wells foresaw the downhill movement of mankind, as the result of the invention of the Atomic bomb, his pessimistic was most prevalent in his later years and in this documentary we actually get to see and hear H.G. Wells talking to two reporters on an ocean liner about his prediction of a World War in 1940. The birth of science fiction can be traced back to the early days of motion pictures, especially with the 1930 musical film ‘Just Imagine,’ was one of the first films to predict a future society, along with the ground breaking film ‘Metropolis’ [1926]. These motion pictures established the essential of much of 20th century science fiction cinema, futuristic hardware, strange new worlds, and dazzling special effects. The films symbolised imagery of more immense futuristic cities is a prediction that eventually came to pass. Throughout the history of science fiction, writers and directors have all gravitated towards the theme of impending disaster and doom. Whether it is from a threat from advance technology, the overpopulation of a species or nature gone awry. The self-destruction of the human population has been a present and looming force. In the 1950s, the development of the Atomic bomb changed the psyche of the American public. The paranoia of nuclear destruction spread throughout the country. Over a decade later, the world of science fiction took the threat of nuclear annulation more seriously, with one of the most expensive and commercial successful film of the 1960s was ‘Planet Of The Apes.’ The threat of an advance technology which can destroy mankind can also have the ability to save it. Occasionally the unpredictable force of Mother Nature becomes the main attraction of a Sci-Fi film. Because they usually foretell a future world crisis, this type of Sci-Fi disaster film has always captivated audiences. In the film ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,’ the world is overheating, not because of nuclear war, but because of a strange meteor belt, pelting the Earth with intense radiation. The disaster film epic ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ [2004] depicts the world where global warning triggers a global super storm that unleashes unimaginable world-wide weather disasters. But is this doomsday scenario, or merely science fiction, or is it science fact. Science Fiction is constantly adapting to new visions of the future and genre will always stay two steps ahead of the contemporise world and technology. The fertile imagination of science fiction authors and filmmakers will always plant the seeds of an alternate reality into our conscience, transforming the way we see ourselves and the world we live in. These cautionary tales are mere insights into a possible future, which can inspire us to solve the significant problems that face mankind. Future technologies and public awareness can help and teach the world to overcome the difficult obstacles that lay ahead. The doomsday scenario of global climate change isn’t necessary is a prophecy that needs to come true, and the imaginative visions predicted in science fiction, can help us alter the way we perceive our impact on the planet, and in doing so, change it, like “Things We Can All Do To Help The Environment;” “Recycle;” “Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs;” Keep Your Thermostat Low;” “Plant Trees and Plants;” “Keep Your Tyres Inflated;” “Use Alternative Transportation;” “Use less Hot Water;” “Turn Off and Unplug Unnecessary Electronic Equipment” and “Make Energy Efficient Choices.” Film Clips shown were ‘Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea’ [1961]; ‘Just Imagine’ [1930]; ‘Damnation Alley’ [1977]; ‘Fantastic Voyage’ [1966]; ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ [1951]; ‘Planet Of The Apes’ [1967] and ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ [2004]. Contributors include: Nicholas Meyer [Writer/Director], Forrest J. Ackerman [Mr. Sci-Fi], Ray Harryhausen [Stop-Motion Pioneer], Bob Burns [Film Historian], Glenn Erickson [Film Historian], Jeffrey Severinghaus [Paleoclimatology of Scripps Institution of Oceanography], John Passacantando [Executive Director of Greenpeace USA], Tim Barnett, Ph.D. [‎Senior Research Marine Physicist], George M. Woodwell, Ph.D. [Director Emeritus, Senior Scientist] and Jeffrey Nachmanoff [Co- Screenwriter for ‘The Day After Tomorrow’].

Special Feature: Barbara Eden Interview [1961] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:57] This special interview with Barbara Eden, who by the way looks spectacularly glamorous for her age, but whose comments are generally polite and informative. But with this particular interview it is separated into different section, which sadly has blank bits in-between, and I cannot understand why they could not have edited it all together without any of the blank bits. Anyway you have different heading for each section and they are as follows: WORKING WITH IRWIN ALLEN: Barbara Eden says that being under contract with 20th Century Fox, I would come into contact with Irwin Allen a lot and was a really nice person to work with, and once you have done a film with him, it like being a family, especially as a film with Irwin Allen would take at least Three months to shoot the film. STORYBOARDS AND SETS: When you walked into Irwin Allen’s office, it would be filled with loads of Storyboards and Model of the Sets, especially with the film he would be shooting at the time, and when you walked onto the set, it was exactly like the Storyboards and Model Sets. PETER LORRE AND WALTER PIDGEON: When Barbara Eden had lunch everyday with Peter Lorre and Walter Pidgeon, Barbra says it was the best of times just sitting with these two great actors and listening to the two talking about old Hollywood, and their work in their films, also Barbara felt they were just two beautiful human beings and a great deal of fun to be with, and the fun thing especially for Barbara was when it came to pay the two actors bill for the food, the two actors would fall on the floor fighting to who was going to pay the bill or they would play a lot of games with each other and at one time Barbara wanted to pay the bill, but both actors demanded that no woman would pay the bill. THE SETS: Barbara felt the special effects were absolutely fabulous, and you had a pretty good idea what it was going to look like on the big screen and the Irwin Allen sets were always very complete and you did not have to use your imagination. IRWIN ALLEN’S VISION: Barbara says that Irwin Allen was very honest and especially transferring his thoughts to what you saw in his films, and was able to produce films that people felt were totally outrageous, and also had great courage and vision. CASTMATES: Barbara felt very honoured to be in an Irwin Allen film and especially with his fantastic imagination. ESCAPING REALITY: Barbara feels audience’s really likes science fiction and fantasy genre, because it takes them to another world, and to another place where they don’t have to think about their worries, especially about their family, their problems and responsibilities. All in all this is a really nice intimate interview that is filled with lots of fascinating and interesting information about her career and especially working with great actors and especially Irwin Allen, despite being very short, it is still a good watch.

Special Feature: Isolated Score Track: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Isolate Music Score Track: If you just want to watch this film with just the wonderful evocative film music score by Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell, then pick this option. On top of this, it is like having your own personal Original Soundtrack Compact Disc.

Audio Commentary by Author Tim Colliver: Well here is a very jolly fellow in the guise of Author Tim Colliver, inviting us to this audio commentary for the film ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.’ This is a great deal of fun listening to this special audio track with which is very informative, especially giving lots of background on technical matters, without being too technical, like the various sizes of the miniatures that were utilised in the film, and the very interesting titbits about the actors, props, and Author Tim Colliver talks about some of the aspects of filming, as well as tells us about a lot about the props, costumes, and actors, and what other films they were used in. Tim Colliver informs us that he was the author of the 1992 novel “SEAVIEW: The Making of the ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” which he found doing the research a great deal of fun, especially about the making of the motion picture, and also later on the TV Series, and all that came after it. On this particular production, informs us to sit back for the next 90 minutes and share with him some of the history of the behind-the-scenes that went on while filming, and especially some of the things you are not familiar with the making of the film, and also going into some comparison of the script and also comparing what was in the original novelization that Irwin Allen originally wrote way back in 1960. Tim informs us to sort of sit back and watch the film together and to also enjoy it together. When you see at the start of the film the ice fields of the Artic, you are actually watching the backlot of 20th Century Fox, and the ice were cast from foam and covered with a cheese cloth, which Tim feels was a great effort on the part of Irwin Allen and his team, and really sets the stage on what we are about to experience throughout the film. The actual Atomic submarine you view was about 18 feet in length and really again sets the stage for what happens throughout the film and when you get the explosive entrance of the submarine surfacing, Tim goes into great deal of information on how this effect was created, which was filmed at a high frame rate per second to get the dramatic effect. Tim feels that although the film came out in 1961, it still holds up today and all thanks to director Irwin Allen, and also the fact that 20th Century Fox invested just on a $250,000 to produce the film, which was a considerable amount of money then, compared to how much they spend on specially effects in the 21st century. Tim also informs us that the overall budget of the film was a very successful adventure for 20th Century Fox and the total motion picture cost was $2,000,000 and in July 1961 the film was released in the cinema and enjoyed a healthy box office success and eventually grossed roughly $6,000,000 to $8,000,000 and of course at the time there were no DVD rights, but later on they secured some TV rights that brought even more extra revenue profits. When we first meet Peter Lorre in the tank, Tim thinks he is a very fine talented actor and a joy to watch, especially walking the rubber shark which was named Bessie the rubber shark, which was the same rubber shark that appears in the 1966 ‘The Batman’ film which starred Adam West. We also find out Peter Lorre loved appearing in this film and made a comment, “for once I get to play the part of a good guy, because I’ve been playing in the past a Flag Officer of the Nazi’s, and Foreign powers all my life, now I get to play a U.S. Navy Commodore.” When you see the room with the missiles and especially the mini sub, which was 22 feet long, and they spared no expense to create the reality. When you see the ice sinking and hitting the Atomic submarine, Tim points out that ice does not sink in reality, but eventually those ice blocks would rise to the surface. When you first see the sky on fire, it was based on the premise on the discovery in 1958 of the Van Allen Radiation Belt, which was discovered by Dr. James M. Allen, which was a quirk of nature that had been discovered, which especially helped to turn it into a science fiction plot line, and Tim goes into great detail on how the red sky was created. Another interesting fact we find out is that the actor Michael Ansara, who was at the time married to Barbara Eden. When you see the four divers going to hook up with the land line telephone cable, Tim talks about previous technical problems with filming underwater, especially under the sea, which when filming would get a light refraction problem, which Tim explains in great detail on how one television expert came to solve this technical challenge, which is so simple and now they are able to film clear sharp images. When you see the Atomic submarine runs into the minefield, you wonder where on earth did they come from, well Tim explains it was planted there by the nasty Dr. Zucco [Henry Daniell] who you may remember had a big showdown at the United Nations with Adm. Harriman Nelson [Walter Pidgeon] sent a rag tag fleet to go after the U.S. SEAVIEW submarine and this is one of the traps he set in motion to thwart the progress of the submarine. When you see the next dastardly deed by Dr. Zucco of sending the smaller submarine to thwart the progress of U.S. SEAVIEW submarine, especially firing the four torpedoes to again to try to stop them firing the rocket to disperse the Van Allen Radiation Belt and again Dr. Zucco’s nasty tactics failed 100% and in my opinion he should have been taken to court, found guilty and put in front of a firing squad. When you see Capt. Lee Crane [Robert Sterling] goes and puts a detonator of the rocket to fire into space, Tim informs us to listen very carefully when the rocket fires into space, this is in fact the sound of the engine fires up on the Batmobile from the ‘Batman’ TV Series. As we get to the end of the audio commentary, Tim tells us, “and that’s our audio commentary for the film ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,’ from 1961. I’m Tim Colliver, thanks for listening and take care.” So ends a really great and informative audio commentary, that is also fun listening to Tim Colliver, and one of the best I have heard in a very long time, because Tim Collier really knows his stuff and is totally fascinating to listen to as well as very engaging about really fascinating facts about the film and on top of all that Tim’s voice is also very appealing, and one that keeps you well holed throughout the full length of the audio commentary and if you enjoy filmmaking and lots of fascinating movie trivia, then give this audio commentary track a must listen.

Theatrical Trailer [1961] [1080i] [2.35:1] [3:12] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,’ which is an absolutely brilliant presentation. But what I really liked especially is the wording that appears on the screen and the even more brilliant is the voice over, which goes as follows: In All The World Of Fact and Fiction, That Has Never Been An Adventure Like . . . Irwin Allen’s ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,’ and the announcer declares, “You are there, when the entire sky catches on fire, the burning Van Allen radiation belt threatening to destroy the Universe. You are there, in the deadly reign of disintegrating icebergs. Not even the soaring imagination of Jules Verne, could of dreamed such a fantastic adventure, in an Atom powered submarine that defies description. With a cast that is as exciting as the wonder they encounter. You are there when the United Nations is thrown into turmoil! You are there when the frogmen battle a mammoth squid! You are there when Barbara Eden dances to Frankie Avalon’s hot rhythms! You are there in outer space to see Earth circled with fire! You are there when the mini sub threads a life and death course through the mine fields! You are there when the giant of the sea attacks! You are there in the most startling underwater pursuit ever filmed! Prepare For . . . The Most Exciting Encounter In A Motion Picture Theatre! Irwin Allen’s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea!

Finally, ‘VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA’ is a great deal of fun and also a very highly entertaining film still to this day. I just hope the younger audience will appreciate how this paved the way for their modern disaster films they love so much today, because this was one of the first of its kind. The video and audio both have their moments, despite some minor flaws. The decent extras are well served on this Blu-ray disc. This film is definitely worth seeing and is a good Blu-ray disc to purchase for your collection. Highly Recommended!

Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado 
Le Cinema Paradiso 
United Kingdom