ThiefHott Too much of everything

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

mccanlessdesign Wonderful, fun movie I've remembered always.I saw this when it came out; learned that Iceland was the closest place in concept. Finally visited last month - stunning.I stood in Leif Erikson's actual house foundations - how cool is that!

Smoreni Zmaj Beautiful adventure, not completely for children, shown in naive way typical for Disney movies. This could be made into much more complex movie and with today's technology it could be top blockbuster. Story, acting and directing are decent, but special effects and editing are pretty bad even for its time. But, this is just a Disney from 70's so we should turn a blind eye a bit. It is entertaining and it has Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. It's worth watching.6/10

Coventry One of the most painful acknowledgments you often have to make in adult life is admitting that the vast majority of movies that you loved so much as a child are actually quite stupid and insipid when seen again through the eyes of a grown-up. I've seen so many fond childhood memories deteriorate into disappointment that I've almost become reluctant to seek out my former favorites. Luckily enough this statement doesn't apply to "The Island at the Top of the World"! I loved it as a young boy, I still love it now. This timeless Disney adventure with obvious Jules Verne echoes still delivers non-stop entertainment from start to finish, provided through breathtaking imagery and landscapes, fantastically imaginative plot twists, spectacular action footage and a dazzling musical score by Maurice Jarre. This is the story of an obnoxious British businessman, a suave scientist and a cocky French zeppelin pilot embarking on a highly perilous journey to the Arctic and beyond, to a mythical region no living being ever set foot. Sir Anthony Ross hopes to find his son Donald who, after a familial dispute, ran off on an Arctic expedition but hasn't been heard of since. After a long and eventful trip full of obstacles through the cold and windy arctic mountains, the travelers and their reluctant Eskimo guide suddenly arrive in a flourishing volcanic area where time seemingly hasn't evolved for thousands of years. They find Donald, who has integrated into a Viking community that has claimed the island ever since their forefather arrived and still live according to ancient Northern rites and traditions. The welcoming of the new explorers isn't exactly a hearty one. "The Island at the Top of the World" made me feel 8 years old again and I eagerly allowed myself to be overwhelmed by all the nostalgic goodness. I still can't choose one standout favorite scenes. There are so many! The awesome airship's battle against the storm, fleeing on foot through an erupting volcano, the ancient traditional Viking trial or the attacking of the orca killer whales! Admittedly most of the special effects and tricky photography look extremely dated by now, but this only adds to the nostalgic charm. David Hartman and Donald Sinden depict very diverse characters, but still they're both wonderful British stereotypes. Jacques Marin gives away the best performance as the Captain and the always reliable Mako is terrific as the Eskimo guide. The Vikings, all authentic Scandinavian actors, especially impress through their robust personalities and clothing. Agneta Eckemyr is incredibly cute as the love interest. Perfect Saturday afternoon entertainment… forever!

Poseidon-3 Some arresting visuals blend with uneven performances in this so-so, yet somehow appealing, adventure film for children. Sinden plays an English nobleman and explorer whose song has been missing in the Arctic Circle for two years. He enlists (in some cases without consent!) a team of aides to man his zeppelin, travel to a mythic area of the region and bring back his son. On board are Hartman, as an American professor, Marin, as Captain of the vessel and Mako, as a frightened native of the region. As the group nears the cloud-covered, secret civilization, harsh winds knock most of them out onto the terrain where they are soon accosted by a long-lost Viking tribe! Sinden locates his son Gwillim, but the Vikings are far from accommodating, especially Ohlund, a sort of high priest. Fortunately, Gwillim's been cozying up to local cutie Eckemyr and she is able to aid the team in their escape attempt. However, getting out of the territory involves any number of adventures including frozen rivers, flowing lava, explosions, over-sized icicles and even killer whales. Hartman couldn't be any more wrong for this film. It calls for someone heroic and strong and he's wallpaper with teeth; his resonant voice already sounding like the morning news host he was about to become on "Good Morning America" (a place he fit perfectly!) His TV-level charisma simply doesn't come across on the big screen, especially next to the wildly hammy Sinden, his counterpart. At least Sinden's theatrical approach manages to inject a little bit of life into the earlier set-up scenes which seem to take an awfully long time to play out (especially when children are expected to watch.) His character is stubborn and arrogant and not very likable. Also on the broad side, but in a somewhat more amusing way is Marin, who is persnickety about the running of the dirigible. Mako has what could almost be described as a demeaning role, but he aptly delivers what the script asks of him. Gwillim's role could have been played by practically any young British actor. He's not bad, but neither is he impressive. A real surprise is Eckemyr. Not only is she quite lovely to look out, but her role is far less window-dressing than females tended to get in films like this at the time. She serves as interpreter, completes a rescue, creates diversion and keeps up with the men with no complaints, even when she's in a flimsy skirt in the middle of the Arctic! It's a shame her acting career went nowhere fast because she's rather appealing. (She later became a successful clothing designer, fortunately.) One benefit of the film is the casting of a lot of authentic Swedish actors to play the Vikings, not that they come off as realistic, but at least their accents don't sound bad. One exception, buried in the cast, is almost unrecognizable former-Tarzan Miller, hulking around as a guard. Ohlund wears an amulet in the temple scene whose chains will provide an amusing reminder to "Valley of the Dolls" fans of Patty Duke's wayward beads in the telethon scene. There's a lot of special effects work in the film, some of it impressive and some of it not. The matte paintings, while elaborate and colorful, rarely seem in any way real. The model work is sometimes great, but is occasionally blatantly obvious. Rear projection, again, ranges from top of the line to shoddy. The whales in the river scene don't seem real at all. Perhaps more frenetic editing might have helped there. Fans of his may greatly enjoy the musical score provided by Jarre, even if it sometimes sounds like Nordic "Doctor Zhivago". It's a vivid, elaborate film with flaws, but which is nonetheless entertaining. If only there were a bit more emphasis on the island rather than on the trip to it along with a more magnetic leading man, this could have been an even greater classic.