Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
MartinHafer
The first half of this movie was surprisingly close to Jules Verne's novel of the same name. However, once the projectile begins heading to the moon, the plot changes significantly--and you can only assume it was because the studio was broke and keeping everyone in the sabotaged ship was a cost-savings measure. Ultimately, this RKO film was released by Warner Brothers because of the bankruptcy.The story is set about 1870 in the United States. Mr. Barbicane (Joseph Cotten) is a munitions magnet who announces he's developed a super-explosive. His rival, Styvesant Nicholl (George Sanders) isn't impressed and says his metal plate can withstand anything...and soon after Barbicane blows the plate to pieces. So what is Barbicane going to do with the new formula, Power-X? He intends to use it to blast a projectile to the moon and back! Foolishly, Barbicane brings along his rival...not realizing Nicholl is a bit of a maniac!For a going out of business film, it is surprising that one was made in color and actually looks good. It also has some decent actors in the script. But the film does suffer a bit here and there due to some lulls and the movie sadly just abandoned Verne's script halfway through the film. Decent and watchable but it could have been much more...especially if they'd geared up for a sequel as Verne had a follow-up book that continued the story.
classicsoncall
If I were designing a space ship, some of the things I'd probably overlook are a couch, writing desk, dining room table complete with place settings, a wall clock and carpeting - but they're all here on the Columbiad!?!? That could be why one of the characters in the story stated "Something very odd's happening here". You would think they'd be talking about a flight to the moon.Even with that said, I was surprised at the amount and intensity of negative comments for the picture on this board. Granted, it does little to enhance the reputation of the original novel's author Jules Verne, but I didn't think it was as bad as some of the other sci-fi coming out of the era. There's plenty of dreck out there like "The First Spaceship on Venus" if you only care to look for it.What really did blow my mind here was the character of Stuyvesant Nicholl (George Sanders) in his total hatred of Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotten). Nicholl wanted to destroy the man's reputation so bad he went aboard the first space flight so he could sabotage it and in effect, prove that 'Power X' was a complete fraud. All because Barbicane proved he could put a dent in Nicholl's impervious, world's strongest metal.The story takes place in 1868 and if you want to get technical, the real first landing on the moon didn't take place exactly a hundred years later, it was a hundred one. But you have to wonder how much of Man's significant accomplishments started out as words on the printed page from some author's futuristic vision, and given life in science fiction fantasy films like this one. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be watching movies on the moon. Beam me up, Scotty.
Panamint
This is an incompetently conceived, made and acted film. Other than some nice color filming (I tried to find at least one nice thing to say) it is lousy from the first frame to the last.Badly directed are two outstanding movie stars (Cotton and Sanders) obviously wishing they were somewhere else. No actor in this film says one word like they believe in what they are doing.Dull direction and dialog.Not in the so bad its good category. Just a complete waste of your time. The only reason I watched through to the end is so that I would have some credibility when I write this review and suggest that others should skip this film.Its not just bad, its worse- it is actually incompetent and at times incoherent. Ed Wood could have done a better job, and that is not meant as a joke.
billpollock183
I feel tvholic's views are a bit harsh. It mustn't be forgotten that Verne wrote this in 1865 some thirty years before Wells wrote 'War of the Worlds". It must also be remembered that RKO was going broke at the time so special effects were not what they should have been. Stars Joseph Cotten and George Sanders did well with the script they had. Where this will not go down as a great sci fi movie, it is still an interesting one if for no other reason than the interplay between Cotten and Sanders.Stories like War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Around the World in 80 Days have lent themselves to the use of special effects and unfortunately for this film, the film production company did not have the wherewithal to have effects in the same class as the aforementioned three.
