Film Review
Fantastic Voyage is one of the
few science-fiction movies of the 1960s that manages to rise above the
epithet "B-movie schlock" and has grown to become a cult classic of its
genre. The Oscar winning special effects may look dated by
today's standards but they were state of the art when the film was
released and are superior to virtually anything the decade had to offer
the hard core sci-fi fans prior to Kubrick's
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The science may be a bit dodgy
(Isaac Asimov had to work hard to plug the holes in his novelisation of
the screenplay) but if you don't scrutinise the plot too closely it's
all good clean fun.
The film was directed by Richard Fleischer, a filmmaker of almost
mind-blowing versatility. As well as his other sci-fi films -
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
and
Soylent Green (1973) -
Fleischer is credited with directing such diverse features as
The Vikings (1958),
Doctor Dolittle (1967),
The Boston Strangler (1968),
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and
10 Rillington Place (1971),
films that have nothing whatsoever in common except that they are
well-made and classics of their kind. Even more bizarrely,
Fleischer began his career making
Betty
Boop and
Popeye cartoons
for his father, Max.
Despite its implausible plot, lethargic pace and virtually non-existent
characterisation,
Fantastic Voyage
is an absorbing piece of sci-fi fantasy, impressing with its
imaginative design work and inspired special effects. Of course
there are some who will watch it just to see Raquel Welch in a
tight-fitting cat suit, but those of us who are slightly higher up the
evolutionary scale will appreciate it for what it is - a well-crafted
piece of sci-fi escapism, with a deliciously nasty Donald Pleasence
drowning in cloud of soap bubbles.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Richard Fleischer film:
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Film Synopsis
American and Soviet scientists have both discovered how to miniaturise
matter but the technique is of limited value since shrunken objects
return to their full size within sixty minutes. One man, the
Czech researcher Jan Benes, has found the solution to this problem, but
whilst defecting to the United States, he is the victim of an
assassination attempt and sustains a potentially fatal head
injury. The only way to save Benes is to remove a blood clot in
his brain, but this cannot be achieved using conventional
surgery. Instead, a team of scientists are miniaturised, in a
submarine, and injected into Benes's bloodstream. They have just
one hour to find the blood clot and remove it with a laser device,
after which time they will begin to revert to their normal size and be
attacked by the patient's immune system...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.