Cheap Fantastic Voyage (Special Edition) (DVD) (Richard Fleischer) Price

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Customer Reviews of Fantastic Voyage (Special Edition)

Terrific reissue from Fox of sci-fi Cold War gem
Fans of 60's science fiction will appreciation the deluxe terrific reissue of "Fantastic Voyage" put out by Fox. While very much a product of the mid-60's, "Fantastic Voyage" holds up surprisingly well in just about every area. I doubt that fans need a recap of the plot but I have one at the end of this review if you're interested. <
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>First up we get a brand new marvelous looking transfer for the film. It isn't perfect but it couldn't be because of the source material. Some shots appear soft and a bit blurry due to the process photography/visual effects added to shots but that's unavoidable and fairly typical of films from this time before digital video. Colors are bold and as bright as I remember them. <
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>Unlike the previous release we get some really good extras as well. The featurette on visual effects has Richard Edlund ("Close Encounters", "Blade Runner") discussing the difficulty of shooting a visual effects film like "Fantastic Voyage" in 1965 (it was releasedin 1966). Like "Forbidden Planet", "Fantastic Voyage" pushed the barrier of visual effects for its times something NOT appreciated by a lot of viewers. Edlund points out that building the Proetus both in full size and miniature allowed director Richard Flesicher opportunities that most directors wouldn't have in being flexible in his shooting. Also, the Proetus full scale exterior had an interior set mimicing the set for the inside of the ship which allowed them to shoot through the windows and not worry about having to do mattes as often creating a convincing environment. <
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>We also get an isolated music score with a commentary track as well featuring Nick Redman, Jon Burlingame and Jeff Bond discussing Leonard Rosenman's marvelous music score. They are quiet about 40 minutes in when Rosenman's score kicks in but the first 40 minutes these music/film historians focus on everything from the casting, to bits of trivia about the shooting of the film. We also get storyboard to film comparison of the whirlpool scene as well as a deleted scene from the script with storyboard illustrations. The electronic press booklet includes the original press booklet. My only complaint is its a bit too small to read at times even on a big screen TV but otherwise looks quite good. We also get some of the movie-tie-in's including a mention of Isaac Asimov's novel adapted from the script (where he fixed some of the holes in the script and science gaffs). We get lobby cards, posters, radio and TV ads as well as the original theatrical trailer. The interactive portion of the gallery also allows us a 360 view of the 5 foot model of the Proetus as well as its smaller (just a couple of inches)version used for long shots and designed for visual effects mattes. <
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>Fox has done a very nice job on this 40th Anniversary Edition (even if it is a year late)of this classic Science Fiction film. Sure, the dialogue is occasionally awkward but it's a film very much of its time and holds up remarkably well with strong performances by Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasance (in one of his first roles as a villain), Arthur Kennedy, Raquel Welch and others. <
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>Plot: Set during the Cold War, Grant (Stephen Boyd) is called in to escort Jan Benes (Jean Del Val) a man with information vital to the safety and security of the United States. When their motorcade is attacked, Benes is injured and goes into a coma. Grant is again recruited this time to accompany a team of a surgeon (Arthur Kennedy), government doctor (Donald Pleasance), nurse (Raquel Welch) and Navy pilot (William Redfield) on a journey of tiny proportions. They are going to be miniaturized be injected into Benes and travel in a state-of-the-art sub called the Proteus to destroy the blood clot threatening Benes life. Complications arise, however, when it appears they may have a saboteur in their midst.

Another Gem Of Sci-Fi - And Mature To Boot!
Rare was the occasion that science fiction was treated like anything more than a "kids movie" in days of yore. Sure, there were all-age features of the golden age of Hollywood, like say "Forbidden Planet" and "War Of The Worlds," but even the best of these had a whiff of...unseriousness. This film, "Fantastic Voyage" was the first "old" sci-fi film I saw that actually made no bones about the subject matter being mature - even though the premise was a tad beyond credibility. <
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>The special effects were truly special, for starters. The team who wordked on it spent a lot of time and money to make the interior of the body look realistic. This added to the whole feeling of alienation while our heroes - including a very sexy Raquel Welch - were swinging about in the body of our tragic victim. And the wirework that went into giving the viewer a feel of "swimming" were fantastic (sorry), an early example of the miracle of wirework in the U.S. <
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>The actors as well give a feeling of believability by the way they never give a wink-and-a-nod performance. They handled it much like any other acting job despite being told (you're really tiny and you're stuck inside someone's body." Kinda hard to keep a straight face with that, to be sure, but they do so, and that adds mileage to what could've been a silly premise. <
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>I enjoy what's being done now special-effect wise, but there's something to be said for watching a great example of how it USED to be done. The hard way. Making reality conform to what you want it instead of whipping it up on a computer. Younger people (whose ideas of special effects start with, oh, say, "The Matrix") should take note of this, and other, older examples of Hollywood wizardry. It may be cool to be a sci-fi film fan now, but even back in the day, properly done sci-fi rocked!