Blu-ray Review Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Alan Tully]

I did mean to mention that moment in the review. It seems crystal clear to me that Spielberg and Lucas got the inspiration for that moment in Raiders from this movie.

When I first saw Raiders at the cinema (ABC Ealing, West London), & the big boulder scene came up, the first & only film I thought of was Journey. I suppose I thought everyone else did as well, but it was just us old movie fans. Spielberg & Co. were supposed to have gotten all of that stuff from the old serials, I saw a lot of serials when I was young (Saturday Morning Pictures as we called it in the UK), favorites, Flash Gordon, The Adventures Of Captain Marvel, Phantom Empire, King Of The Rocket Men & Zorro's Fighting Legion, but never saw a scene like that.

 

[oneders63]

It's unfortunate that the alternate scenes from the British version could not be included on the Blu-ray Disc. Those scenes were included on the old Fox letterboxed laserdisc edtion. Alas, Twilight Time has informed me that the alternate footage went missing at some point after the laserdisc was mastered, and could not be included on their Blu-ray. They did say, however, that some of the audio from the British version can be heard on the Blu-ray's isolated audio track.
So, I'll be hanging on to my "Journey" laserdisc, just for those alternate scenes from the British version.

I'll be happy just to finally see the lovely Arlene Dahl in Hi-Def.

oneders63

 

[Jacksmyname]

As 10-year olds in 1959 my friend and I took a bus ride with transfers in a scary part of Ft. Worth, Texas to get to the theater to see this movie.  As kids, we found it fascinating.
I still appreciate it today, especially after a dozen one-month trips to Iceland while in the Air Force.

I was also ten in 1959 when I first saw it.
But the theater was a 15 minute walk from the neighborhood where we all lived.
My mother gave my sister and I a dollar each. That got us a burger and a drink at a small diner on the corner next to the theater, got us in to the theater,
got us some popcorn or raisenettes or a Bay Ruth or some other candy bar, and left us with a bit of change, maybe a dime or fifteen cents.
And of course it was a double feature.
That dollar wasn't easy for mom back then, but somehow she managed.
Great memories for that buck.
Thanks, Mom.
Edit to add: Received an e-mail that my signed copy has shipped.
Back in those days, I was a big Elvis fan, my sister a Pat Boon fan. She'll get a kick out of the autograph.

 

[marshman1138]

Hey Steve! Glad to see you still around. I haven't been here in a while other than to check Robert Harris posts. Still miss your site. Met Glenn Erickson thanks to you. You will enjoy Journey. One of my first memories in a theatre when I was young. One of my favs including the Herrmann score. Take care!!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Marshall,

Hope we see more of you around here.

 

[John Skoda]

I'm gratified to hear that they used the original 4-track CinemaScope sound layout on this, with three channels across the front and one surround. For DEMETRIUS and DESIREE, for some reason, the Twilight Time blus used two front channels and two rear.

Am glad to report that it was a setting on my Oppo player that was misdirecting my channels on the Fox Twilight Time releases. If you have an Oppo BDP-83, make sure you find the "Secondary Audio" setting and turn it OFF. All the CinemaScope Twilight Time releases now play correctly for me with L, C, R, and one surround!

 

[David Weicker]

It's unfortunate that the alternate scenes from the British version could not be included on the Blu-ray Disc. Those scenes were included on the old Fox letterboxed laserdisc edtion. Alas, Twilight Time has informed me that the alternate footage went missing at some point after the laserdisc was mastered, and could not be included on their Blu-ray. They did say, however, that some of the audio from the British version can be heard on the Blu-ray's isolated audio track.
So, I'll be hanging on to my "Journey" laserdisc, just for those alternate scenes from the British version.

oneders63

I wonder why Twilight Time couldn't have taken the scenes directly from the Laserdisc. I realize they would have been at a lower resolution, but would have made a welcome extra.
David

 

[dpippel]

Originally Posted by John Skoda /t/320499/journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-1959-blu-ray-review/30#post_3924510
Am glad to report that it was a setting on my Oppo player that was misdirecting my channels on the Fox Twilight Time releases. If you have an Oppo BDP-83, make sure you find the "Secondary Audio" setting and turn it OFF. All the CinemaScope Twilight Time releases now play correctly for me with L, C, R, and one surround!

Secondary Audio is disabled by default on the Oppo, so you must have inadvertently enabled it. Glad to hear you got your issue resolved.

 

[Reed Grele]

Mine arrived today!

 

[John Hermes]

I received mine today. While the color and contrast are good, the sharpness leaves something to be desired in my opinion.

 

[rsmithjr]

I received mine today. While the color and contrast are good, the sharpness leaves something to be desired in my opinion.

Yes, reminds me of the original theatrical release.
You can see the sharpness varying from one scene to another.

 

[RolandL]

Yes, reminds me of the original theatrical release.
You can see the sharpness varying from one scene to another.

Better than the DVD in PQ but not a big difference like Cleopatra or Ben-Hur.

 

[Jon Lidolt]

Better than the DVD in PQ but not a big difference like Cleopatra or Ben-Hur.

Roland, keep in mind that Cleopatra and Ben-Hur were shot on large format 65mm stock. Journey to the Center of the Earth had the misfortune of being shot in 35mm with CinemaScope anamorphic lenses. But that doesn't really worry me... I love this movie.

 

[John Hermes]

"Roland, keep in mind that Cleopatra and Ben-Hur were shot on large format 65mm stock. Journey to the Center of the Earth had the misfortune of being shot in 35mm with CinemaScope anamorphic lenses. But that doesn't really worry me... I love this movie."
To my eye, JTTCOTE doesn't even have the sharpness of other Fox CinemaScope BD releases from the 1950s, such as Desiree, The Egyptian, An Affair To Remember, or the just released The Barbarian & The Geisha. Perhaps the OCN is not usable for this film. I still enjoy it.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Mine arrived today!

Looks exactly like what I received on Friday.
Watched about an hour so far. Very pleased with it.

 

[cineMANIAC]

The first thing that struck me was how "soft" the transfer looked compared to other films from the 50's. If you were to show the film to someone and ask them what they thought they were watching, a DVD or a Blu-ray, I think most people would say DVD. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have added this film to my collection.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

The first thing that struck me was how "soft" the transfer looked compared to other films from the 50's. If you were to show the film to someone and ask them what they thought they were watching, a DVD or a Blu-ray, I think most people would say DVD. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have added this film to my collection.

It looks like the same transfer that was done for the DVD in 2002. It's possible that a 10-year old HD transfer was used, the same one that was downrezed for use on the DVD. Yes, it's HD, but...

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Twilight Time said over at Film Score Monthly that the scan of the film was done in 2010, so it is not the DVD transfer.

 

[TheVid]

I watched JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH last night on an anamorphic 1080p projector (with a 100-inch screen), and it was terrific. There was some noticeable vertical-line damage at points, and bits of dialogue that were mixed out of phase, but I think it was a fairly accurate presentation and a very nice blu-ray upgrade.
I watched THE BARBARIAN AND THE GEISHA right after JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and it was technically superior both aurally and visually. It all seems to boil down to the elements on hand; and it seems worth mentioning that FOX decides to license JOURNEY for premium pricing, but gives WALMART exclusivity to an obscure title (even for Duke fans) like BARBARIAN in a blu-ray/dvd package for 13 bucks.

 

[Mark-P]

I'm just curious. By anamorphic projector, do you mean you have an anamorphic lens attachment (Panamorph, I think they are called) for viewing 2.35:1 movies?

I watched JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH last night on an anamorphic 1080p projector (with a 100-inch screen), and it was terrific.