Written by Jonathan Klotz | issued
If you watch enough science fiction, you’ll come across some themes that you’ll eventually dabble in every series. and there was no one left Murder mystery bottle episodes with evil twins and parallel worlds. Among those themes is a once-fashionable, if somewhat forgotten, idea these days: a miniature journey into the human body.
Long before Mr. Frizzle puts one of his students on the magical school bus, futurama The crew moves into the fly’s intestines, wonderful voyage We investigated the inside of a refugee from the Soviet Union. The film won multiple awards, featured a star-studded cast, and, to this day, has provided the visual language for every film and television show dealing with the insides of the circulatory system.
A place no one has ever been before
Released in 1966, wonderful voyage It’s a technological marvel. The film’s original trailer touted it as a “new kind of moviegoing experience,” and this time it wasn’t an exaggeration. That was true.
Five crew members board the submarine Proteus in order to save the life of Dr. Benes, a Soviet defector who invented the science of miniaturization. The submarine and its crew are then reduced to microbial size (one-tenth the size of a human cell) and given the mission of removing the inaccessible blood clot.
The journey to reach the destination passes through an unknown universe within the human body. It’s a place full of things they’ve never seen before, and they only have one hour to survive.
The diving crew includes neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Duvall (Arthur Kennedy), assistant Cora (Raquel Welch in her first role), cardiologist Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasence), and Captain Owens (William Redfield). ), consisting of the Proteus. ‘ pilot, and finally CIA agent Charles Grant (Stephen Boyd). Grant was dispatched by the United States’ Combined Miniature Deterrent Force (CMF) to thwart another attempt on Dr. Benes’ life. Of course, that’s exactly what’s happening.
You can tell exactly who the traitor is by looking at the cast, but this was a year before Donald Pleasence made his debut as James Bond’s nemesis Blofeld. Back then, it had its twists and turns.
A unique visual showcase
The tension builds when sabotage begins to break out due to traitors aboard the Proteus, but it would have been a life-saving story without the Cold War subplot, and that would have been just as good. wonderful voyage It is most effective when the worker explores Dr. Benes’ body, passing through the heart and through the circulatory system. The heart must stop to allow safe passage.
They enter the lungs to collect oxygen, enter the ears, and then pass through the nervous system. Each new body part is a great visual playground for the cast to explore. Admittedly, the special effects are incredibly rudimentary compared to modern blockbuster VFX shows, but “Antibody,” a patch of decidedly thick thread, has a kitschy charm. Thrown by the crew from off-screen.
The background and visual effects of Proteus moving through his body were adequate. wonderful voyage It won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and won twice for Best Art Direction, now known as Best Production Design. It’s a well-deserved victory, and even with the ’60s special effects, the creepy white blood cells look more like monsters from deep space than necessary functioning parts of the human body.
Must-see movies that define the genre
As groundbreaking and revolutionary as it is, wonderful voyage This film became a genre-defining film, both visually and in its story of discovering conflict and danger from the simple act of exploration. Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, wrote a novelization of the film, which was published before the film. That made the viewers believe wonderful voyage It was actually adapted when the film was first developed.
Asimov was a bit annoyed by the scientific part of the film. He continued to write sequels, honoring it in his novels. Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brainit was more scientifically accurate.
today, wonderful voyage It stands out as a turning point in science fiction cinema by exploring an entirely new setting that has never been done on this scale before. story It focused on exploration and discovery, which even back then Hollywood movies had replaced with aliens and monsters. It’s a simple plot, but even if there was There were no external conflicts, and the timer of just one hour to complete the mission gave me enough suspense to see it through to the end.
Can be streamed wonderful voyage Today via video on demand amazon prime, AppleTV, Google playand fandango at home. It’s worth going.
