20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1916) – The famous first cinematic adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. Having loved the version of this pioneering 1916 film that was available during the 1990s and earlier I had put off watching the restored and upgraded version released in 2010.
That delay was a mistake on my part. The restored version can leave you floored even when compared to the already impressive print that was previously available. Universal released 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea after two years in production.
The title is misleading, because this movie combines Verne’s original tale of Captain Nemo with the sequel novel The Mysterious Island in which Nemo’s origin was revealed along with his real name – Prince Dakkar.
As you would imagine, combining both novels was necessary to provide a longer viewing experience due to how much of the 20,000 Leagues story had to be omitted. Submarine technology was still fairly primitive and God knows the technology for filming underwater was more primitive still. Viewers get short shrift in terms of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea storyline with the Mysterious Island portion taking up a lot of the runtime.
Personally, I would have preferred that Universal had just produced a shorter 20,000 Leagues film that was all Leagues and nothing but Leagues, then release The Mysterious Island later as a sequel. In 1916 audience expectations were not yet such that movies had to run the 86 to 105 minutes boasted by surviving copies of 20,000 Leagues.
At any rate, we all know the story – a supposed “sea monster” preying on international shipping turns out to actually be the futuristic submarine called the Nautilus. After the sub attacks the vessel the Abraham Lincoln, Captain Nemo (Allen Holubar) and his crew take aboard survivors. Continue reading
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