Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Blu-ray Movie Review

It's a small world after all until it's a big world after all.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 14, 2017

In the commentary included on this Blu-ray release of The Three Worlds of Gulliver, noted (sorry) Bernard Herrmann biographer Steven C. Smith mentions that Herrmann utilized the same theme for both the Lilliputians and the Brobdingnagians, merely “dressing” it up differently for each culture, in a probably subliminal tip of the hat to a comment that Gulliver (Kerwin Mathews) himself makes much later in the film, namely that the behaviors seen in the land of the little people and the land of the giants are shared by everyone everywhere to varying degrees. Despite being an iconic and enduring literary achievement, one whose allegorical content would seem to speak to contemporary audiences as much as those back in the 18th century, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels has had a rather odd and arguably unsatisfying life as a cinematic spectacle. The IMDb lists a host of film adaptations of at least part of Swift’s opus, stretching back to the very earliest days of silents, but for many fans, probably the first (as in chronologically first) version they may think of is Max Fleischer’s 1939 animated Gulliver's Travels, which, despite its technical mastery and more than evident charm, is often dismissed as Fleischer’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs wannabe” (which at least in terms of a hoped for box office bonanza certainly wouldn’t be far off the mark). (For those poking around Blu-ray.com, there’s also this release of Fleischer’s film, one that is not recommended due to several boneheaded decisions made with regard to the technical presentation.) While there were at least a couple of not very well known adaptations that appeared interstitially between Fleischer’s film and the one currently under review, the “next” Gulliver that some fans may recall is the occasionally effective but lightweight made for television miniseries Gulliver's Travels with Ted Danson in the title role. A little over a decade after that version appeared, Jack Black starred in a new if unimproved Gulliver's Travels, which, as my colleague Casey Broadwater noted in his Gulliver's Travels Blu-ray review was “Gulliver’s Travels in name only.” One of the odd things about this 1960 film, especially considering its Ray Harryhausen connection, is how relatively underappreciated it’s been, even within the hardcore Harryhausen fan base.

Swift’s allegorical tendencies often tended to backfire even with his contemporary audiences, as his infamous essay “A Modest Proposal” proves (if you haven’t read it, it’s hilarious, though some people actually evidently took it seriously back in the day). Perhaps Swift’s tendency to craft whimsical tales that still tended to traffic in socioeconomic theory makes his efforts inherently difficult to translate effectively to the screen, but the fact is as charming as this particular Gulliver is, it often comes off as a live action version of the Fleischer cartoon, as even the commentary alludes to at one point (with regard to star Kerwin Mathews).

The film charts the adventures of Dr. Lemuel Gulliver and, tangentially at least, his fiancée Elizabeth (June Thorburn) as they both deal with being shipwrecked early in the film. Gulliver initially ends up in Lilliput, where he is a giant among men (so to speak). There’s comical political intrigue at play as Lilliput is on the brink of apocalyptic battle with its neighbor Belfuscu, something that Gulliver, the very model of an enlightened rationalist, sees as downright silly, making him an enemy of the state, more or less.

The second vignette reverses the sizes, in a manner of speaking, with Gulliver escaping to Brobdingnag, where Gulliver is the little one and everyone else is humongous. At least here he’s reunited with Elizabeth and even seems to be heading toward a happily ever after with her when the two are married by the King. One of the few Harryhausen crafted sequences appears in this part of the film, when a squirrel decides Gulliver is a suitable replacement for an acorn. The social commentary in this sequence is a rather unsubtle but still Swiftian dialectic concerning religion (and/or witchcraft) versus science.

Considering the magic that Harryhausen regularly brought to his projects, it’s perhaps easy to fault The 3 Worlds of Gulliver for not using more of his “patented” Dynamation process, though as one of the supplements ported over from the old DVD reminds the viewer, Harryhausen was involved in the other special effects work as well, helping to create budget friendly framings that made Gulliver look little and/or big. The film is enjoyable but rarely truly magical, at least as magical as the best Harryhausen efforts are. The world is still awaiting a more perfect translation of Gulliver’s Travels to make it to the big screen. If I might make my own modest proposal (sorry), I’d love a visionary director like Jean-Pierre Jeunet to tackle this source material.

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver is presented on Blu-ray with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.66:1 and 1.78:1. I've included screenshots from both framings so that those interested can compare and contrast, though I have to say for most viewers I doubt there will be any major complaints as to differences between them. This is another stellar looking transfer from the team at Sony - Columbia, one whose increased resolution can't help but reveal some of the special effects techniques of the era, but which nicely reproduces the lush palette, especially with regard to some of the primaries (especially the blues). As should be expected given the optical effects involved, elements like grain and dirt levels are somewhat variable at times, but everything looks nicely organic even with a fairly thick grain field and there are no compression issues. Blacks occasionally tip just slightly toward the blue side of things at times, for some reason a bit more in the Brobdingnag sequence, but this is a wonderful looking transfer which should easily please most fans.

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which has considerable heft to its mid- and lower ranges, something that helps to render Bernard Herrmann's brass inflected cues with a fair amount of energy. Some effects, like added reverb to make the big people sound, well, big, can sound just slightly boxy at times, but overall dialogue comes through cleanly. There are really no age related issues here at all, with fidelity sounding fine and dynamic range reasonably wide.

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (480i; 7:31) is an enjoyable archival piece with some nice comments from Harryhausen.


• The Harryhausen Chronicles (480i; 57:56) is another great archival piece with some excellent looks at some of the armatures that Harryhausen crafted for various features.


• This is Dynamation! (480i; 3:25) is a brief but fun promotional quasi-trailer.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:21)


• Audio Commentary features Randall Cook, C, Courtney Joyner and Steven C. Smith.


• Isolated Score is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver never quite attains the majesty of Jason and the Argonauts or The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, but it's bright, colorful and will probably appeal to younger kids especially. Technical merits are strong, and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver comes Recommended.