 plot
Gulliver (Kerwin Matthews), despising poverty and lack of
recognition as a doctor sets to sea and the East Indies,
only to be followed by his fiance. They argue and
Gulliver is cast overboard in the storm. When he awakes
he is a giant in the land of Lilliput. There he quickly
finds himself both adored and abhored, as he sets out to
solve the problems of the people...
dvd review
story
Jonathan Swift's novel is given fair treatment in this
enjoyable family film. Enchanting for children (though
many will no doubt be somewhat put-off by the lack of cgi
sequences -it being 1960 and all that), and adults who
wish to indulge in pure escapism.
There is after all nothing more escapist that Gulliver's
dealings with life in the real world, as a giant and as a
six-inch small figure.
Carefully executed, Matthews does a good job keeping up
the pretence of scale between the worlds, something aided
by subtle adjustments to the audio levels of the
characters.
The sets are carefully crafted and the excess of the
fantasy is sustained throughout. The oversized and
undersized sets are as delightful as any in film history.
The characters are slightly cliched but harmless fun, and
one is easily left pining for a more innocent kind of
family feature (though there is enough implied sex and
violence in this politically inspired criticism for
adults too).
Billed as a Harryhausen picture, Gulliver
is
disappointing in its lack of stop-motion animation,
relying more upon its use of blue screen and visual
camera techniques. Harryhausen does show off his squirrel
and crocodile, but there is little of the Sinbad-style
model work that he is best remembered for.
Its a small quibble though, as we are
reminded that his work went far beyond stop-motion
animation, and we do get a rousing score from Bernard
Hermann which more than makes up for it. The dvd itself
too is a pure delight, and unless you have any of the
previous titles in the series (in which case many of the
featurettes are duplicated - an unfortunate turn of
events) - there is more than enough to enthrall and
entertain.
transfer
The feature itself gets a fullscreen transfer, digitally
remastered in high definition. The sound is represented
in basic 2 channel English and Spanish, and is crisp
throughout. The image is clear for the most, though
deteriorates slightly in a few places. It fares better
than most films of the period with evident problems in
some of the multiple layered compositions, where
sharpness levels don't always match up. There are a few
slight jumps and some grain in occasional shots.
Otherwise, superlative, and its unlikely you will see
better.
A word about the fullscreen transfer
though. This is the best way to reproduce the film, as it
was not a widescreen picture (so Columbia Tristar inform
me). Rather owing to the dynamation technique it was shot
in the 4:3 ratio.
Design
Packaging is good, and clear though the list of
extras on the rear is slightly misleading. The liner
notes are bright, and the disc itself sports a compass
face totally appropriate to the film's nautical feel.
Menu screens are easily navigated, with an array of
screen captures to lighten the mood. The copyright
notices do not come up until after you play the movie,
something I am happy to avoid.
extras
When will they stop listing interactive menus and scene
selection as extras?? They are standard features.
Otherwise, there is a pleasing array on this disc:-
This is dynamation
A 16x9 (non-enhanced) feature from the
publicity of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad with a stilted
voice-over explaining the dynamation process, as used by
Harryhausen. Essentially it is travelling matte processes
combined with animation. Anything with Harryhausen
skeletons is good by me. Running time- 3 mins 24 secs.
The
3 Worlds of Gulliver - Making of Featurette
Ray
Harryhausen explains the travelling matte process, as
used in the film to achieve the scales used on the film.
Informative and new. Running time - 5 mins 20 secs
The
Harryhausen Chronicles Made in 1997 and
narrated by Star Trek's
Leonard Nimoy, this is an excellent biography and study
of Harryhausen's work, using the man himself, rare
archive test shots by Harryhausen, and interviews with
Ray Bradbury. Its well produced and informative, and
makes the dvd worthwhile in itself. My sole complaint is
the lack of time given to One Million
Years BC and total lack of clips from that feature.
Running time - 57 mins 54 secs
Filmographies
Perhaps
the dvds most ill-used extra. Standard lists of films
worked on by Jack Sher (director/writer), Arthur Ross (writer),
Ray Harryhausen (visual effects), and star Kerwin
Matthews.
Theatrical
Trailers A selection of four trailers for
Harryhausen films released by Columbia Tristar.
The
Three Worlds of Gulliver (duration 3mins
21) is in non anamorphic 16x9. It sounds to be the UK
print and is quite bright with some dirt and grain. It
makes one wonder if the rest of the film should have been
in widescreen too.
The
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (duration 2mins 49)- a very
grainy fullscreen transfer with echoey sound. Looks a
little like a transfer from an NTSC videotape rather than
a straight film transfer. But it makes the film look like
a very scary horror, and we do get a few seconds of Tom
Baker too :)
Sinbad
and the Eye of the Tiger (duration 2mins
18) - another horresque presentation. Something around a
1.5:1 masking. Colours are faded and a lot of dirt is
evident, but some great animation.
The
7th Voyage of Sinbad (duration 1min 45) - a vibrant
fullscreen transfer (of a re-release trailer), but the
print is slightly faded and red. But like each of the
trailers, there is Harryhausen animaton and enough to
tempt you into buying the rest of the series. Each ad
having made much of the dynamation and dynarama processes.
SUMMARY
A superlative package let down only by the previously
available extras. Columbia suprise us all with
theirdedication to comprehensive packages, ensuring money
well-spent on previously deemed worthless features.
A thouroughly enjoyable piece of family escapism, with
the Harryhausen touch.
RJES
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