The year is 1886, when New England's fishing harbors are the scene for a "creature of unknown origin" destroying ships at sea. It is the job of Professor Pierre Arronax, a marine expert, and Ned Land, the iron-willed sailor, to learn the truth of the "monster" roaming the seas. The great novelist, Jules Verne, described this perilous journey to the darkest depths of the sea with Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus.—Edwin van Oorschot
I was intrigued when this version came out, as I like Caine and Dempsey and I love Sara . . . watched the first night, missed the second night due to a VCR misfire.
Bought the DVD years back and finished it . . . here are my thoughts . . .
Was hopeful for Caine as Nemo, but I could never get used to him as Nemo despite his acting chops.
Sara is beautiful and poised
Dempsey tried, but he was too young to blend with my vision of Aronnax and the script made him into a whiny child. The addition of Aronnax's father made this even worse.
Bryan Brown is a good but not a great actor. Ned Land may have been the closest character to the book, but it did not work for me with Brown.
Too many changes, the script was poor and the director seem to be lost half of the time . . . much like the storyline!
IMO, a poor attempt . . . not really watchable . . .
Reviewed by mickdansforth7 / 10
Wonderfully Different Take from Disney
I recently purchased this movie on DVD from Brazil. As for the DVD, the Portuguese subtitles can not be removed, and the opening titles and end credits have been cut off. The movie (2 part TV mini series) has some really nice aspects to it. For one, Ned Land (Kirk Douglas in the Disney Version) is not the hero. Really Not the Hero! In the Australian cartoon from 1980, Ned Land is an also ran. In this version he is one of several villains. This version also has 2 women on the Nautilus, which is 2 more than in Disney's take. And one is the Daughter of Nemo. Very cool. This version also includes Atlantis, although Atlantis could be more fantastic. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is great in this. Usually he plays villains or heavies, but this time he is searching for an opportunity to be a hero. There is also a whole running back story for Pierre Arronax with family issues reminiscent of Edward Malone in The Lost World. It does have its weak moments, but I was impressed with its different take.
