Palaest recommended

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Neil Welch Professor Lindenbrook takes a small party exploring towards the centre of th earth, and encounters various underground adventures including sea monsters, giant gorillas, giant turtles etc.On seeing the title The Fabulous Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, and knowing how I love this sort of movie, I wondered how come I had never heard of it, let alone seen it. Answer: it is a Spanish production, never really available in the UK.All-purpose stolid British protagonist Kenneth More holds things together in a moderately effective adaptation of Verne's novel. The rest of the cast are unknowns, but do OK.The visuals are a real curate's egg. There is some nice location work, and much of the underground material is shot in genuine caves, not sets. Stock footage is effectively used, all of which gives the impression of high production values.Then we come to the fact that the underground ocean sequences are all shot from a high camera angle: we sea the water, but we never see the background, thus eliminating the need for special effects. Because, when we do see special effects - the battle between two sea monsters, for instance - they are shockingly and hilariously bad.It doesn't mean the film isn't entertaining, but it certainly drags it down.

Jonathon Dabell Jules Verne's novel Journey To The Centre Of The Earth has been a perennial favourite of movie-makers over the decades. The best remains the 1959 version starring James Mason. This 1978 attempt is the first feature-length movie to come from Juan Piquer Simon, a largely inept Spanish director who would go on to make us all suffer with movies like Mystery On Monster Island, Supersonic Man, Extra Terrestrial Visitors and Pieces later in his "career". It is a terrible film, crammed with poor acting, preposterous dialogue, ineffective monsters, irritating characters and pointless touches of slapstick. Verne would turn in his grave at this abysmal excuse for a film.German Professor Otto Lindenbrock (Kenneth More) comes into possession of a book describing a route to the centre of the Earth. He persuades a Prussian soldier named Axel (Pep Munné) to accompany him on a journey of exploration into the bowels of the planet, starting from a vast volcano in Iceland. Just prior to embarking, they are joined by the Professor's niece Glauben (Ivonne Sentis) and a hardy Icelandic shepherd named Hans (Frank Braña). Their adventure takes them deeper and deeper underground, where they discover many bizarre things such as prehistoric monsters, giant mushrooms, a subterranean ocean and even a time-travelling scientist, Olsen (Jack Taylor), who has also been exploring this dark underworld.It is rather sad to find More, a stalwart of British cinema for many decades, slumming in this cheap and cheerless Spanish quickie. Thankfully this was not his very last film – to bow out on this note would have been an even bigger shame – but it was his final leading role for the big screen. More is the only good thing about the film, giving an effortless performance which serves only to highlight how amateurish everyone else in the film really is. The whole production is presented in glum colour, with no sense of pace, character development or excitement. The first time I tried to watch it was late at night, and I had to switch off after fifteen minutes because the film was sending me to sleep. I gave it another go the next day in the middle of the afternoon when I was fresh and wide awake… and it nearly had me snoozing again! Even when the monsters appear, they prove so derisive that any chance of excitement soon vanishes in the ensuing unintentional hilarity. Maybe one for lovers of bad movies, but everyone else should steer clear!

ma-cortes .Adventure tale full of colorful scenarios and pretty fierce monsters . Amusing and lighthearted romp for kids and teenagers based upon the Jules Verne novel . A scientist (Kenneth Moore), his niece (Ivonne Sentis) and boyfriend (Pep Munne) undergo a hazardous voyage to the center of earth , along the way they face numerous dangers and risks. During the trip , the scientific and his niece hire a wealthy scout (Frank Braña) for an expedition to the centre of the world . As four persons attempt to get to center of the earth by entering into an environment of caves by a volcano located in Iceland. The trio descend into deep caverns and discover a tunnel system leading to the planet's center. On their way they find among other things also prehistoric animals like some dinosaurs. They have to deal with lightning storms, endure torrential floods, volcanic eruptions, turtles, a big gorilla, and discover a forest of giant mushrooms, but not the lost city of Atlantis as happens in the classic novel.This average adaptation is a special version of the Jules Verne adventure yarn . There're rip-roaring action, spirit of adventure, derring-do, thrills and results to be pretty entertaining . It's a brief fun with average special effects by Emilio Ruiz Del Rio and Francisco Prosper, passable set decoration , functional art direction and none use of computer generator. Fantastic adventures full of monsters in a lost continent on the center of earth . The rubber monsters are the real stars of this production , however being middling made . The fable is silly and laughable , and the effects and action are regularly made . Among the most spectacular of its visuals there are some deeply shrouded caverns , several monsters roaring menacingly towards the camera , a little tableau comprising attack and fighting two giant monsters and the colorful backgrounds of the lost land . Some monsters are clumsily but the movie has some good moments here and there . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the monsters, though sometimes are a little bit cheesy. It's a great fun with naive special effects , passable set decoration and functional art direction without use of computer generator. Highlights of the voyage includes a roller-coaster trip, strong storms, magnetic rocks, a terrifying odyssey in sailing, prehistoric reptile, a Tiranosaurius Rex, and many others. The motion picture is professionally realized by Juan Piquer Simon. Piquer who recently passed away was a craftsman expert on all kind of genres as Terror ( Slugs,Piezes, Cthulhu) and Sci-fi (The rift , The new Extraterrestres, Supersonic man) .Other renditions about this know story are the following : Classic version (1959) by Henry Levin with James Mason as Lindenbrook, Pat Boone,Diane Baker and Arlene Dahl; and TV adaptation by George Miller with Treat Williams, Jeremy London and Bryan Brown.

SanDiego Essentially a recasting of the 1959 version as opposed to a remake (think a traveling version of your favorite Broadway play and you get the picture). Now that video allows us to experience the original over and over again, this film becomes less unique. The overall film is not so bad (considering the genre) if it weren't for the fact that this film was done so much better twenty years earlier. As far as casting Kenneth More in the James Mason role...what can I say? More is Less. This film was made during the time when films such as THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT, and AT THE EARTH'S CORE were successful, and this version shares much with those films regarding style. I think if I were a kid in 1977 watching this in a theater and never seeing the original I would have thought it would be great. If only the director would have introduced new themes or viewpoints to the familiar story it could be enjoyed today. The film can be recommended however for a great gimmick for it's opening credits...a montage of the original Georges Melies silent films of Jules Verne's works set to the film's theme song. I've never seen them used in any other adaptation and it was a nice tribute.