Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman's science fiction film is based on at least three different Jules Verne books by my count and maybe even a fourth. Zeman doesn't use any of the stories from the books but takes some general concepts and ideas for this film which is about an inventor who is kidnapped and made to perfect a high explosive he has been working on.
An interesting looking film. Zeman mixes it all up. He has sequences of animation, which he blends with live performers and he superimposes ocean scenes over animations of a submarine moving underwater. The black and white photography also contributes to the look of the film.
A lot of time and effort must have been put into the look of the film, the Victorian sets and illustrations are very charming, there is always something interesting to look at throughout the film. The performances are also fun, the villains aren't really horribly villainous and the hero is a stalwart soul who always acts in the proper and dignified manner of a gentleman.
Zeman apparently claimed that he only made his films for children, but the mood that he creates throughout the film would indicate possibly more of an interest in recreating a period in human history when technology was beginning to assert itself.
Running time 83 minutes, written by Karel Zeman, Frantisek Hrubin, Jiri Brdecka and Milan Vacha.
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