Growing up in the sixties I was one of those early fans of
Ray Harryhausen films. I remember the first one I saw was JASON AND THE
ARGONAUTS followed by MYTERIOUS ISLAND. I found the special effects in both to be
fascinating and read what I could on how they were done. They were movies that
captured my imagination and spurred me on to learn about Jules Verne and Greek
mythology. Somehow THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER eluded me and I looked forward
to finally getting the chance to watch it.
Based on the GULLIVER’S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift, the film
uses only a portion of the novel here, the visits to Lilliput and Brobdingnag.
Those familiar with the book will know that it was a political satire of the
time that has been watered down over the years via first a cartoon version and
lastly by a terrible Jack Black film. I’m sad to say this film doesn’t do it
much better.
Gulliver is a doctor who wants to marry his girlfriend
Elizabeth. But he refuses to do so until he can financially support her. With
this in mind he leaves England for the high seas. To his chagrin Elizabeth has
snuck on board as well. During a storm Gulliver is washed overboard and comes
to on the shores of a country called Lilliput.
This may not seem odd except that the people of Lilliput
stand about 6 inches tall compared to Gulliver. Mistaking him for an enemy they
tie him down to the beach. He soon wins their favor and in return for help
building a boat aids them when he can. But problems arise when they want him to
defeat their enemies, the inhabitants of Blefuscu. It seems the two islands are
at war over which end of an egg should be broken before it is eaten, the small
or large end. Gulliver tows away the navy of Blefuscu thinking that will end
things but the Lilliputian king wants them destroyed. Before leaving Gulliver
must find a way to bring peace to the two countries.
He does eventually leave and ends up washed ashore once
again, this time on the island of Brobdingnag. This time the reverse is true,
Gulliver is now 6 inches tall compared to the inhabitants here. Fortunately
Elizabeth was stranded here and the pair are reunited. But an envious court
alchemist warns the king that Gulliver must be a witch. Gulliver is pitted in
battle against a crocodile that seems giant to him. Their idyllic life
threatened Gulliver and Elizabeth must find a way off the island before they
are tossed aside or killed for witchcraft.
In watching the film the story of Gulliver as told in the
novel is obviously too intricate to bring forth from the written word to the
screen. The subtle nuance of the story is lost in the over the top production
values given the costuming and acting among the characters of both islands. It
just doesn’t work. Kerwin Matthews who had appeared in the earlier Harryhausen
film THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD seems more bored than anything here.
But the most disappointing thing is the special effects used
here. I realize that CGI was far in the future when this film was made but the
matting process used makes one image seem slightly soft and out of focus while
the other is clear. And the most loved thing that Harryhausen did, the stop
motion animation of his films, is used sparingly here with just a short
sequence of a squirrel that wanders off with Gulliver and the aforementioned
crocodile.
In reading the background on the film in the enclosed
booklet the reason for these problems is apparent. Columbia had been working on
the film prior to Harryhausen and his team being brought in rather than this
being a project he worked on start to finish. It may not have been a case of
his heart not being completely in it but the difference between this film and
those classics he left behind is obvious.
The best part of this package from Twilight Time is the
extras, something they don’t normally include much of. This time around we get
an isolated score and effects track, an audio commentary track featuring film
historians Randall Cook, C. Courtney Joyner and Steven C. Smith, THE MAKING OF
THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER short, THE HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES a short documentary
on Harryhausen, THIS IS DYNAMATION! a short describing the process of stop
motion animation Harryhausen used and the original theatrical trailer. The
quality of the picture here is the usual top notch for any and all Twilight
Time releases and once again is limited to just 3,000 copies. If you must have
every Harryhausen film in your collection then you should make sure one of
those copies is yours.
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