[.ca] Island At The Top Of The World

ONE OF DISNEYs LAST GREAT ADVENTURES:
Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden) goes on a quest for his missing son (David Gwillim) that leads him to the ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD via airship with the aid of Professor Ivarsson (David Hartman), Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin) and Oomiak (Mako). Director Robert Stevenson directed this film based on a novel by Ian Cameron, which treads on Jules Verne territory. Director Stevenson here makes one last attempt at the grandeur of the genre emulating earlier Disney productions such as 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) and IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS (1962). Thanks to this DVD on Anchor Bay Entertainment this film looks even better than it did in the theatre and on earlier VHS editions. The esoteric and enigmatic images are sharp, crisp, and richly colorful and lushly textured giving this film a new dimension. Maurice Jarre composed an adventurous and melodic score giving this underrated film the prestige it deserved. I really enjoy this film and have watched it many times over.

What a surprise...I still like it:
There has been a number of movies that, after loving them as a young kid in Scotland, I have picked up years later only to be disappointed (I am thinking 'Warlords of Atlantis' and 'People that time forgot'). I was wary about picking up 'The Island at the Top of the World' because I had fond memories of seeing it one Christmas years ago on British television. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch this Walt Disney movie again last night when it actually surpassed my fond memories of the movie. The story follows the adventure of an eccentric Englishman, an American professor and a zany French aviator as they search for the Englishmans son who went missing in the arctic circle years earlier. What they discover is an ancient Viking culture on a volcanic island which legends holds is "Where whales go to die.". The green fields and tranquil landscape is a striking contrast to the bleak vistas of the ice fields surrounding it, and the xenophobic Vikings are understandably wary of these strangers. This long lost Viking colony apprently never ventured from their island believing the rest of the world to be covered by inhospitable ice shelves. The movie, which was nominated for an Oscar in the production design dept. really is a fun ride with the same flavor of a number of the fantasy adventures that were released by Mickey Mouse's company in the early 1970s. This DVD is a bare bones release but for the cheap price it is easy to recommend it for pick up.

Disney on top of the world:
Walt Disney tried to latch his live-action film department to Jules Verne. After the phenomenal success of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA he had them return again and again to that source. Then several years after his death, his studio returned to that sort of filmmaking with Island. This adventure involves dirigibles, Viking ships, sub-zero temperatures and scalding molten lava. And all along the way, we have some educational moments, usually provided by David Hartman playing the expert on everything. This was not a great film but is very involving for young children. With that in mind, it can be a nice family film, which can result in discussions about nature and culture differences. Always nice to have any film like this on DVD. The Disney Studio would go this route again with THE BLACK HOLE a few years later.

Cool Sci-Fi:
This movie is pretty good taking into account how old it is and the idea is well thought out. It does take the show a while to get interesting and going on the theme but that wait is worth the time. I know alot of people today would not like to this show cause of the low budget effects but as far as an interesting sci-fi film I enjoyed it alot.

I want this soundtrack!:
I've always loved this movie. Now...I wish I could find the soundtrack, or at least the main title track for download!