An Evening with Jules Verne

Today on Far Future Horizons we would like to offer our dear and faithful readers an Evening with Jules Verne.

Our two video features for today are two Vernian movie classics: Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and the Mysterious Island (1961) produced by Charles H. Schneer and the legendary special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.

Among Ray Harryhausen’s most notable works are his animation on Mighty Joe Young (with pioneer Willis O'Brien, which won the Academy Award for special effects) (1949), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (his first colour film) and Jason and the Argonauts, featuring a famous sword fight against seven skeleton warriors.

Both Walt Disney’s20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and the Mysterious Island (1961) are available on DVD from Amazon.com.

Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) 

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 adventure film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Peter Lorre as Conseil. It was the first science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Productions, as well as the only science-fiction film produced by Walt Disney himself. It was also the first feature length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. The film has become the best-known adaptation of the book of the same name by Jules Verne, and cited as an early example of the genre of steampunk.

Mysterious Island (1961)

Mysterious Island (1961) Mysterious Island (UK: Jules Verne's Mysterious Island) is a 1961 film released by Morningside Productions. Based very loosely upon the novel The Mysterious Island (L'Île mystérieuse) by Jules Verne, the film was produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen. Directed by Cy Endfield, it was released through Columbia Pictures. The motion picture was filmed at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England as a showcase for Harryhausen's stop-motion animation effects. Like several of Harryhausen's classic productions, the musical score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.

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