Plot: What’s it about?
The top secret government agency known as the Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces has developed an incredible system, one that allows anything to be made miniature. The ramifications are wide and have a huge potential impact, as anything, even people could be shrunk down and transported. But the snag in the system is that while things can be made miniature, scientists have been unable to keep them small, at least for longer than an hour. Once sixty minutes have elapsed, whatever has been shrunk grows back to normal size. But one man, a Russian scientist named Jan Benes has the solution, but just as he defects, an attempt is made on his life and now, he has a blood clot in his brain. The best chance to save Benes and his solution is shrink a team and send them inside his body, so they can eliminate the clot from within. But can even this highly skilled crew manage to do so within an hour and if not, what will happen to Benes?
These days, the rise of digital special effects means nothing we see on screen has limits, even low budget movies can use extensive visual effects. But before this revolution, filmmakers had to either limit their vision or have a crack special effects team, one that could use practical effects to great ends. If you watch these movies now, some fare better than others, but regardless, the results can be impressive. Instead of just running a computer program, these technicians had to be creative and work within greater limits, but when they were good, audiences were amazed. Fantastic Voyage features some terrific and very fun special effects, with a lot of imagination that shows on screen. Of course, some flaws can be seen if you want to see them, but I’ve seen modern movies that don’t have effects this good. The movie itself is fun to watch, but like the effects, has flaws, mostly in regard to plot issues. But the ride is a fun one and Raquel Welch is hot, so check it out.
Video: How does it look?
Fantastic Voyage is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was pleased with transfer also and found a very clean source print, as well as few compression hiccups. The image does seem a little dated, but not as much as I expected so I won’t complain much. The colors look bold and vivid, with no discoloration evident and flesh tones display normal, warm hues. The contrast is strong also, with no detail loss I could detect and very solid shadow layering. This transfer is wonderful and I am sure fans will be very pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
This release features a 2.0 surround track which again gets the job done, but leaves the surrounds used very little. But I will say I never really felt that an opportunity was missed, I just sort of realized it when the movie was finished. So the surrounds don’t see much use, but when they are used the sound is clean and never forced. The music and special effects emerge very well and have a nice sound to them, no distortion or wear is to be found. The dialogue sounds great also and I never had to fiddle with the remote in the least. This disc also includes a mono soundtrack, French and Spanish language tracks, and subtitles in English and Spanish, just in case.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This new assortment of goodies starts off with film historian Jeff Bond’s audio commentary, which is loaded with insight on not only this film, but numerous Irwin Allen productions. He offers up a lot of production trivia, as well as information on cast and crew members, quite a solid session. Bond returns with two music historians for the isolated musical score option, giving us information when the music fades out. Lava Lamps & Celluloid is a look at the film’s fun special effects, as two of the technicians talk about how the various effects were created. While not as in depth as some pieces I’ve seen, this is first hand information and there’s some good stuff here, so check it out. This disc also includes a storyboard to screen comparison, still photos and other promotional materials, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
