Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

ma-cortes This fantastic movie displays sensational adventures , thrills , intrigue , marvelous scenarios , lots of fun and being pretty enjoyable . This first take on for cinema based on this novel by Jules Verne , was filmed in Cinemascope widescreen with agreeable main cast and good support actors . Fascinating aerial movie blends action, , disaster spectacle , hokey fun , suspense and emotional happenings . This rendition of the Jules Verne novel , set in 1862 , follows Professor Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke) who schemes to make aviation history . As he plans to claim uncharted territories in West Africa as proof of his inventions worth , taking extraordinary adventures on ceiling in an advanced balloon on the most incredible air safari of modern time. As Fergusson captains a giant wonderous flying machine along with a motley bunch of characters (Fabian , Richard Haydn , Barbara Eden , Barbara Luna , Peter Lorre) and all of them encounter many adventures and dangers on the balloon trek across Africa . As they are traveling throughout great Sahara desert and beyond , jungles and other unexplored territories . As they take off for the Gold Coast shores of the Volta , across 4000 miles of uncharted wilds. But then they are captured and get thoroughly involved with power-hungry Sultan (Barry Gilbert) , but they get escaped . Often hilarious adventure dealing with the exploits of a 19th-century British expedition to claim uncharted land in West Africa for the Empire by making his way across Africa by balloon , including a talented production team and making the most of an enough but not lavish budget . Our heroes incarnated by a little believable cast of first-rate players get stuck in the flying machine before it explodes , undergoing numerous risks and suffering innumerable perils . Funny adaptation based on Jules Verne's fantasy-adventure novel with charming screenplay by Charles Bennett , including admirable cast and gorgeous scenarios . The film talks about the known story from Verne novel and previously never rendered in cinema and it's brought excitingly to screen . Surprise-filled entertainment and plenty of action on grand scale with passable special effects and spectacular adventure by flying a giant hot air balloon , using maquette or scale model and matte-painting . The aerial scenes , explosions , pyrotechnics , flamboyant FX , all of them are spectacular and the film is another exceptional Hollywood product but in medium budget . Memorable and great cast as the British commission inventor Fergusson well played by Sir Cecil Hardwicke who is perfect as intelligent and anti-slavery explorer . The movie's imaginative use of stock shots and its garish line in 19th century hardware is acceptable . And ordinary stock footage showing animals from Savannah , jungles and some desert lands , such as : Lions , Zebras , Giraffa , Elephant and Chimpanzee in Cheeta-¨Tarzan¨ movie style . Atmospheric and vivid score by Paul Sawtell . Colorful cinematography by Winton C. Hoch in Cinemascope and Technicolor reflecting wonderfully aerial scenes .This exciting and thrilling adventure movie was amusingly directed by Irwin Allen , containing some vigorous scenes . Allen was a good craftsman who directed several titles from the 50s . And was a successful TV series producer as ¨The time tunnel¨(1966), ¨Lost in space¨ (1965), ¨Land of the giants¨ . Allen was nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" in the 1970s due to the tremendous hits of his special effects-laden epics, as ¨Poseidon adventure¨ (1972) and ¨Towering Inferno¨ , though he failed in ¨When time ran out¨, The swarm¨ , ¨Fire¨ , ¨Flood¨ and ¨Beyond the Poseidón adventure¨ . And produced/directed various films and series in Jules Verne style , such as : ¨Voyage to the bottom of the sea¨, ¨The return of captain Nemo¨ , ¨City beneath the sea¨ and this ¨Five weeks in balloon¨ .

Poseidon-3 Before he gathered hordes of Hollywood A, B and C-list stars in overturned luxury liners and sky-high burning buildings, Irwin Allen gave the world a couple of colorful, simplistic, adventure films with casts full of name stars, past and present. This one concerns Hardwicke and his attempts to take his experimental hot air balloon to the edge of Africa and claim the territory for Great Britain before slave traders can do it first. Along for the ride are perky assistant Fabian, calamity-plagued reporter Buttons and uptight military man Haydn. They are soon joined by runaway slave Luna and shady slave trader Lorre and one of his recent captives Eden. Together, they brave various dangers such as outraged natives, drunken sheiks, sandstorms and waterfalls (nearly every Allen film ever made includes some type of natural threat.) The film is simple-minded, non-think entertainment made watchable by it's pallet of stars and it's varying locales. Hardwicke, wearing a fluffy wig and with his pants up near his nipples, is a long way off from "The Ten Commandments" and other, greater roles. Seeing him paired with Fabian (!) is about the most unexpected teaming imaginable. Fabian, with his adorable 5-inch-high pompadour, looks cute throughout, but is saddled with a hilariously awkward title song that he sings more than once. Apparently his accordion lessons only got him that far. Another surprising pair is that of Buttons and Eden. He is a charming character actor, but has no business headlining an adventure film! That's what an early Oscar win can do for (or to!) a career, though. He acquits himself fairly well, however. Eden is free of the overstated qualities that she brought to "I Dream of Jeannie" and is refreshingly subdued and attractive. Haydn gives a very stylized, mannered performance that may baffle those more familiar with his chummy Uncle Max character from "The Sound of Music". His inflection does begin to grate after a while. Lorre manages to toss off a few dry witticisms in one of his last roles. Luna, trotting around in an abbreviated costume and a teased hairdo, is mere decoration. In case all these people weren't wacky enough, there's a female chimpanzee on board! Several famed actors pop up in cameo roles. An ill-looking Marshall has a bit as The Prime Minister and legendarily tart Daniell has a role as a Sheik. Most of the Arabian characters are portrayed by white men in make-up, which was customary at the time. Logistical oddities and camp factors abound. The balloon can barely get off the ground with just four men at the beginning (half the luggage gets tossed), yet before long there's seven passengers and a monkey on it! Watch for the screamingly funny scene in which Eden, running across a perfectly flat, open field, manages to trip over the lone branch that has fallen in the way. All those oranges gone to waste! The humor is pretty lame and the situations are hardly realistic, yet somehow the cornball movie winds up being fairly entertaining.

StuOz Irwin Allen movie about people in a balloon craft.I would not say that Five Weeks has any great acting talent on hand, but the odd good looking body is here. I guess the balloon itself is the star of this movie, and that opening song.The early footage of the balloon in bright blue sky is still a joy to the eye and really gets you in the right frame of mind for what follows.That highly memorable song at the start is great. Irwin Allen would do another great balloon scene in an episode of his Land Of The Giants TV series - episode title, Land Of The Lost.

camibear7 Barbara Eden is as beautiful as ever in this movie that reminded me a bit of Around the World in 80 Days. Mainly because of the group of people riding high over the country in a hot air balloon. They have many adventures as they land in different spots. Some are exciting some are hair raising. The whole movie is fun. Can't miss with this movie.