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 Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Rated: PG for mild violence and language.
Runtime: 100 mins.
Director: Richard Fleischer
Writer: Jerome Bixby (book); David Duncan (screenplay)
Cast: Raquel Welch; Stephen Boyd; Edmond O'Brien...complete cast
Genre: Science Fiction
Tagline: A Fantastic And Spectacular Voyage... Through The Human Body... Into The Brain
Memorable quote: "Very poetic, gentlemen. Let me know when we pass the soul."
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| Reel commentary: ...Fantastic Voyage is a colorful and nostalgic tale of spies, espionage, sabotage and medical science.........full review |
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by Frank Wilkins
There's something magical about watching science fiction from the '50s and '60s. People of the time thought technology could do anything and the movies showed them how. It's interesting that during an era when the perceived threat to world destruction was from the spread of communism, Hollywood chose to focus its theories of destruction from space aliens and creatures from the deep. And Americans looking for an escape from their real-world troubles bought into the Hollywood hypothesis by the droves. Creature from the Black Lagoon, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The War of the Worlds enjoyed success as moviegoers expected to see slimy sea creatures, giant squids and alien space invaders.
Writer Jerome Bixby decided to take a different angle with Fantastic Voyage however. He combines the threat of communism with the dangers lurking inside the human body to create a brilliant piece of visual poetry that goes down as one of my favorites of the science fiction genre. The film won two Oscars in 1967, one for Special Visual effects and another for Art Direction. Even by today's technology standards Fantastic Voyage is a fascinating and enlightening trip into inner-space that not only entertains but also educates.
It is known that both Russia and America have the technology to shrink people and objects to miniature proportions. But the know-how has a major flaw; the miniaturization only last 60 seconds, after which the shrunken objects return to normal size. The CMDF (Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces), a branch of the military responsible for perfecting the technology, is expecting to receive Russian defector Jan Benes, who is the only person to have the solution. But in his highly protected defection to the West, he becomes the target of an assassination attempt, which leaves him in a coma with an inoperable blood clot in the brain.
As a last resort to save Benes' life, a medical team in a submarine will be miniaturized to the size of a microbe and injected into his bloodstream. They will exit the ship, swim in his body fluid and zap the blood clot with a LASER gun. The surgery must be performed within 60 seconds or they will return to original size, killing both the patient and the medical team. Part of the film's charm comes from seeing the futuristic visions of the filmmakers. The submarine is sleek and art deco looking, kind of like a smaller version of Capt. Nemo's Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which makes sense, since Richard Fleischer directed both films. The LASER is actually kind of humorous. It is a classic representation of what Hollywood thinks a LASER gun should look like. It is a rifle shape with several metal loops that encircle the barrel's end. Any period drawing of a visitor from Mars depicted a similar LASER beam gun.
The elite medical team is assembled deep in the bowels of a hidden military facility. The team is comprised of brain surgeon, Dr. Duval (Arthur Kennedy), military doctor, Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasance) and his assistant Cora Peterson. Played by a young and attractive Raquel Welch who can't act but who does a great job at wearing tight lab coats and wetsuits. The sub, piloted by Captain Bill Owens (William Redfield) will communicate with the outside world through Mr. Grant (Stephen Boyd), the communications expert. The script makes a big deal out of being able to communicate via a wireless connection, which is forward thinking in nature, but they fell a bit short in predicting that the language used would be Morse code.
The plan is to enter the jugular vein via intravenous injection and ride the flow of blood to the brain. Almost immediately, the crew experiences a host of challenges as their ship is sent off course sending them on a dangerous journey through the ventricle of the heart and up through the pulmonary artery and pleural cavity. Each organ introduces a dangerous new challenge and the crew soon discovers that a saboteur is aboard their ship.
The film's premise is truly original and the journey becomes a beautiful trip as we maneuver through the lava lamp maze of fibers and corpuscles, all the while avoiding major contact with any organs, lest we trigger a devastating attack by the killer antibodies. The dialogue leaves a lot to be imagined and the acting falls to nearly amateurish levels at times, but Fantastic Voyage is a colorful and nostalgic tale of spies, espionage, sabotage and medical science. Don't expect intriguing characters or engaging conversation, that's not what Fantastic Voyage is about.
Frank Wilkins
Click here to view some movie stills
Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1
Sound: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English 4.0; English 2.0 mono; French 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; trailers.
The movie comes as a double feature on one DVD disk accompanied by Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The colors are bright and saturated and hold up well to the transfer from film. The audio is in 4.0 suround but is never a major player in the film. Mostly muted underwater sounds and a subdued soundtrack don't give the surround speakers a good workout but I never really missed it. The film takes place almost entirely in water and appropriately music and sound are a secondary concern.
Scene Selections:
1. Ambush at Night
2. Main Titles
3. Grant's Mission
4. C.M.D.F.
5. The Project
6. Preparations
7. Phase One
8. Phase Two
9. Phase Three
10. Phase Four
11. Inner Space
12. The Whirlpool |
13. Off-Course
14. Through the Heart
15. Air
16. The Laser Problem
17. The Lymphatic Jungle
18. The Inner Ear
19. Attack of the Antibodies
20. To Save a Life
21. Saboteur
22. Killer Corpuscles
23. The Eye Has It
24. End Titles |
Click here to view some movie stills
| Stephen Boyd......... |
Grant, Proteus Communications Officer |
| Raquel Welch.......... |
Cora Peterson, Dr. Duval's Technician |
| Edmond O'Brien........... |
General Carter, Commander of CMDF |
| Donald Pleasence ........ |
Dr. Michaels, CMDF Chief of Medical Section |
| Arthur O'Connell ........ |
Colonel Donald Reid |
| William Redfield ........ |
Captain Bill Owens, Proteus Commander |
| Arthur Kennedy ........ |
Dr. Peter Duval, Surgeon |
| Jean Del Val.......... |
Jan Benes |
| Barry Coe........ |
Communications Aide |
| Ken Scott .... |
Secret Service |
| Shelby Grant .... |
Nurse |
| James Brolin. .... |
Technician |
| Brendan Fitzgerald........ |
Wireless Operator |
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