![]() ![]() By his standards, this may be the film he directed best, leaving his productions "The Poseidon Adventure" or "The Towering Inferno" to more capable hands. This volume contains two of his best-loved yarns, chosen from among the sixty. ![]() In any case, it's a colorful and good looking CinemaScope production, with an interesting cast and many outdoors scenes that make it more attractive than Allen's other movies. Jules Verne (1828-1905) possessed that rare storytellers gift of being able to present the far-fetched and the downright unbelievable in such a way as effortlessly to inspire his readers allegiance and trust. ![]() ![]() Allen directed them awkwardly, and made the proceedings look slower than what is actually happening, as the rescue scene in the mesquite or the final scene by a river. Surprisingly, it is quite enjoyable once one overlooks its Hollywood version of African cultures, people and savannas, the stock footage, the (American) propaganda, the balloon being pulled by a thread during a rain storm, or Irwin Allen's handling of action scenes. So when it was "Five Weeks in a Balloon" turn, I had my doubts. John and Fernando Lamas, surrounded by fake jungles, caverns, dinosaurs and volcanoes. Having seen the horrendous "The Lost World" (1960) a few weeks ago, I was afraid to revisit "Five Weeks in a Balloon." I had seen both films when originally released, and had a good memory of them (including the title song of this one, which everybody seems to like.) "The Lost World" turned out to be static, with terrible performances by people like Jill St. ![]()
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