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(1941) Aleksey Krasnopolsky, Pavel Kiyansky, A. Andriyenko-Zemskov, Nikolai Komissarov. This is a terrific Russian version of the classic Jules Verne science fiction-adventure tale. Five fugitives escape from a mob during the middle of a Civil War battle by stealing a hot air balloon. Their travels soon find them losing altitude over the ocean. In a breathtaking scene, they cut the balloon’s basket from underneath to gain altitude. They soon find themselves deposited on a crag-riddled island filled with peril, including wild apes (one of which they take as a pet), marauding pirates, and a primitive caveman. The scene where they ascend to the top of the island cliffs in a makeshift elevator is spectacular. Things take a mysterious turn when the pirate ship is mysteriously blown out of the water by an unseen hand, which of course we all know turns out to be Captain Nemo and his futuristic submarine, The Nautilus. Nemo recounts his many fantastic undersea adventures. The movie is capped off by a huge volcanic eruption. The is a big, sprawling Russian epic, extremely enjoyable from start to finish. And even though the film is in Russian with no subtitles, the story is so well known by so many fans that it’s quite easy to figure out what’s going on from scene to scene. A must! 35mm.
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