Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Fantastic Voyage Blu-ray Movie Review

. . .to go where no one has gone before.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 4, 2013

Fantastic Voyage may strike some younger viewers especially as being a bit on the quaint side, but in its day the film was a state of the art special effects wonderment and probably the single most influential science fiction outing of the sixties prior to Stanley Kubrick’s immortal 2001: A Space Odyssey. While the Kubrick – Clarke offering dealt with the vast, infinite reaches of outer space, Fantastic Voyage of course penetrated into the virtually unrecognizable confines of inner space— the body of an important scientist who has suffered a debilitating, and possibly mortal, wound during an assassination attempt. A team of American scientists is called upon to test out an exciting new technology—miniaturization. Boarding a nuclear powered submarine, this crew is then shrunk and injected into the comatose scientist’s body, where they battle all sorts of natural phenomena as they attempt to proceed to a blood clot resting on the injured man’s brain. Fantastic Voyage was a riot of practical effects shots and photochemical techniques, and if it can’t match the pristine clarity of CGI manufactured visual effects, it stands as one of the prime examples of what “old school” craftsmen could achieve back in what now seems like the Dark Ages of filmmaking (when there was actual film involved). While Harry Kleiner’s screenplay is a bit on the over serious side at times, the film itself is rarely less than viscerally exciting and is often almost hallucinogenically mesmerizing as it depicts the voyages of the Proteus, the miniaturized sub that treks through a “brave new world” of organs and bloodstreams.

Fantastic Voyage was a Fox release, and it’s interesting to note its similarity—whether planned or merely coincidental—to a number of Fox television properties that came both before (in at least one instance) and after the film’s release. The fact that all of these television outings bore the imprimatur of Irwin Allen may actually be the more salient piece of linkage information, but there’s no denying that Lost in Space, which had premiered the year previous to Fantastic Voyage’s 1966 theatrical exhibition, and later Allen-Fox efforts like Land of the Giants all followed the same basic format, one which Fantastic Voyage also exploited. A gaggle of people, including at least one gorgeous female, are thrown together in close quarters with one of them being a traitor of sorts. It’s especially interesting to look at Lost in Space’s first (black and white) season, where Jonathan Harris’ Dr. Zachary Smith wasn’t quite yet the cartoon villain he would become in the series’ two subsequent, and much campier, seasons. and to compare it to some of the interpersonal dynamics going on in this film.

This perhaps unintentional template is followed to a tee in Fantastic Voyage, where we have the stalwart leader Charles Grant (Stephen Boyd), a surgeon named Dr. Duval (Arthur Kennedy), Duval’s knockout assistant Cora Peterson (Raquel Welch in one her early roles), the ship’s commander Bill Owens (William Redfield) as well as another medical professional, Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasance), all huddled together aboard the Proteus and trying to complete their mission in an insanely short amount of time before they return to their actual sizes. The screenplay casts a wary glance at Duval as a potential threat to the mission, but few viewers will have a hard time spotting who the real villain is, almost from the first moment. That foreknowledge really doesn’t impact enjoyment of the film on any material level, however, for in this case it is certainly the journey at least as much as the destination which provides the excitement and interest.

While some of the biology and science is at least a little dubious (pay attention towards the end of the film with regard to one important item that’s left inside the victim’s body, which supposedly should have grown back to its normal size and turned the poor guy inside out), but that’s irrelevant to this rather whimsical and often quite pulse pounding affair. Stephen Boyd was always a pretty stiff actor, even in outings like his Golden Globe winning performance in Ben-Hur, and that tendency is certainly fully on display here. Perhaps more surprising is Welch’s rather nice turn as an efficient if somewhat colorless “assistant”, one who’s able to withstand Grant’s patently sexist comments and still get a laser to fire without a hitch. As attractive as she undoubtedly is, Welch is actually more than mere eye candy here, though of course she’s called upon to be the requisite frightened female a time or two. Much more colorful is the always excellent Donald Pleasance, in a nicely curt performance where you’re never really fooled about Michaels’ baseline character, but still may have doubts about whether he’ll actually have the cojones to do something really nasty.

The real star here is, however, the incredible visual effects work. Many of the effects are going to strike those used to the perfectly rendered, shiny and sleek CGI variety as being patently old fashioned and even silly looking at times. But when one considers the incredible lengths the technicians had to go to to develop these eye popping moments, there should be nothing but admiration for not only their efforts, but more importantly, for their results. The film’s really interesting sound design should also be mentioned. The film is awash in so-called “Hickey effects”, Fox library sound files that became imprinted in a generation of Baby Boomers’ minds through their frequent use in any number of Fox produced television series.

Fantastic Voyage remains one of the most iconic science fiction films of its era for several reasons. Is it a bit clunky to modern day eyes? Undoubtedly. But there’s also a level of craft and storytelling that any number of modern day CGI wizards who spend all their time offering shiny baubles on the screen without providing more than an ounce of plot interest could learn from.

Fantastic Voyage Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fantastic Voyage is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. A lot of this 'Scope film may well tend to strike younger viewers as being somewhat soft, especially considering the fact that this was reportedly sourced from a 4K scan (I personally have not been able to confirm this; if any member can provide authoritative information, I'll update the review). This perception of softness however may not put the film in its proper context of being comprised of a huge variety of optical shots, special effects sequences that in and of themselves will lend additional softness. There's also some intentional softness in at least one major sequence, the kind of steam enshrouded finale (see screenshot 19 for a good example). Well schooled viewers will accept the built in softness here as a largely accurate representation of the film's original appearance, though to be fair this is not the sharpest looking 'Scope transfer that Fox has offered over the past couple of years, again due at least in part to the film's ubiquitous effects shots. What may trouble discerning cineastes more than any perceived softness is some minor though noticeable color fluctuations and density issues which occasionally plague this presentation, albeit in fairly small doses. Flesh tones, for example, are often spot on (or at least within striking distance), but at other times vary to slightly yellow or pink. These are admittedly relatively minor gradients, but eagle eyed viewers will most likely catch them. There are also one or two instances of motion judder (watch at around 48:00 when the film reverts to the lab and the camera pans down from the viewing window to the doctors surrounding the patient). This is still a major upgrade from the DVD, with much better saturated color, and an overall crisper, more clearly delineated, appearance. A relatively hefty average bitrate and a roomy BD-50 means that no overt artifacts crop up, and there are also no obvious signs of typical digital bugaboos like DNR or edge enhancement.

Fantastic Voyage Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fantastic Voyage original mono mix is recreated here via a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, and the DVD's repurposed 5.1 track is presented here via DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. While purists will of course probably want to stick with the original, they may want to at least sample the 5.1 mix, for it does offer some significantly opened up use of the film's wonderful sound effects and Leonard Rosenman's interesting score. In fact the 5.1 mix not only beautifully supports Rosenman's score (much more than the mono track, which has a tendency to sound slightly boxy at times), it also adds significant low end, helping both the music and the effects become much more viscerally immersive. Fidelity is still excellent on both of these tracks (aside from the aforementioned boxy quality on the mono track), and dynamic range gets a nice workout courtesy of some of the "internal" workings of the body.

Fantastic Voyage Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most but not all of the supplements from the Cinema Classics Collection DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray release. They include:

• Commentary by Film and Music Historian Jeff Bond. Bond delivers a superb commentary which touches on a rather wide array of material, from brief actor biographies, to the background of the original story (set in the 19th century) to the production and some of the filming techniques.


• Lava Lamps and Celluloid: A Tribute to the Visual Effects of Fantastic Voyage (480i; 17:40) is a great look at the film's then groundbreaking special effects. Note: This supplement had a bit of a hard time loading on both my PS3 as well as my computer's BD drive.


• Whirlpool Scene: Storyboard to Scene (480i; 2:22) actually offers three versions in the production process, which are available by toggling with the red button on your remote.


• Trailer and TV Spots (480i; 13:07). You want to see what real faded color looks like? Look at these.


• Isolated Score Track With Commentary by Film and Music Historians Jeff Bond, Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman. Leonard Rosenman contributed a rather unusual score (and one which makes an entrance surprisingly late in the film), one which reminds me personally of the works of Milton Babbitt or Roger Sessions. The score doesn't enter the film until well past the half hour mark, which gives the three commentators nice breathing room to discuss Fox, the Newmans, and Rosenman. They wisely bow out right before the music starts.

Fantastic Voyage Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fantastic Voyage is easily one of the most distinctive science fiction films of the sixties, and I personally would rate it —in terms of concept if nothing else—as second only to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's easy to look back on the practical and photochemical effects from the vantage point of shinier technology and find them somehow less than convincing, but that's like holding Georges Méliès to the same standard as James Cameron. While some of the performances and even the dialogue are a bit on the clunky side now and again, overall the film is a viscerally exciting piece of filmmaking, well paced (even if it takes a while for the miniaturization and insertion into the body to happen), and, ultimately, extremely tense and suspenseful. Older viewers and even those who first saw Fantastic Voyage on television as kids are going to be delighted by this new Blu-ray, and younger viewers may well find themselves unexpectedly entranced by it as well. Highly recommended.