Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1970)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

A Lavish and Ultra-Fanciful Production full of Fantastical Costuming and Gaudy Psychedelic Colored Sets, this Captain Nemo Story is about as Preposterous as could be. Far-Fetched even for the most Goofy of Sci-Fi, it still manages to be Entertaining and is Decidedly Marketed for the Kids.But by 1969 the Kids who were Weaned on Saturday Matinees of this sort in the 50's and 60's and Perhaps the Youngins at the Time of Release were more Sophisticated than this Disney-Like Fluff Piece.It can be Viewed Today with some Camp Appeal but Audiences back in the Day were not having any of it. It Flopped and was Forgotten. Robert Ryan and Chuck Connors were both Miscast but do Their Solemn Best and Play it Perfectly Straight.There is an Abundance of Eye-Candy and the Story Kicks into gear a few times with some Action and Attempts at Adventure. But the Movie is Insufferable sometimes with Awful Comedy Relief and a way Over the Top emphasis on the Lust for Gold.Worth a Watch with the right approach. The Sets and the Silly Costumes seem Inspired by the Flash Gordon Serials and are quite a Surreal Treat. The Monster's Part is Underwritten and is Filmed so Murky it comes off as a bit Lifeless.

"Captain Nemo and the Underwater City" was quickly forgotten after its theatrical release, and remained somewhat hard to find until a quiet DVD release a few years ago. Watching the movie today, it's pretty easy why the movie hasn't managed to build a large loyal following. It is certainly not a terrible movie - there are some lavish sets, some good underwater photography, and the various members of the cast are enthusiastic. Also, the core story, sort of a cross between Jules Verne and the movie "Lost Horizon" did have possibilities, some of which are realized. But the movie does have some significant problems. Though it certainly starts off swiftly, getting to the underwater city in the first ten minutes of the movie, the remaining 95 or so minutes have some slow spots where little to nothing of importance is happening. Some of the characters are written thinly - I never quite got a handle on Captain Nemo, for one thing. Also, there are some naive touches to the movie that are kind of laughable in these more cynical times. Still, kids might warm up to this movie, and their parents may find it an okay way to spend 105 minutes during a slow afternoon.

In the incredible futuristic world of Jules Verne, the story of Captain Nemo and his crew are forever etched in the minds of adventure seeking readers. This movie is called " Captain Nemo and the Underwater city " and set in the world of the 1800's. The story is taken from one of the many adventurous stories concerning Verne's mysterious Captain Nemo (Robert Ryan). In this chapter a group of drowning passengers are rescued by Nemo's futuristic crew and taken to his incredible Underwater city. There they discover a fantastic world which he offers then as a permanent resident. However several of the survivors don't which to remain and try to escape. The stars playing the reluctantly survivors include Chuck Connors, Bill Fraser, Kenneth Connor and Allan Cuthbertson. The others include Helena Beckett (Nanette Newman) and Phillip Beckett (Christopher Hartstone). The film is a genuine Classic and one which entertains audiences as well today and it did back in 1969. Great fun. ****

I saw this in the theater as a kid and loved it. The story about people living a Utopian existence in a domed city underwater sticks with me today. I'm not sure how I'd feel seeing it again, when the so-called 'good guys' in the movie are so anxious to get back to their own world that they endanger the underwater city and steal a submarine. But it's a fun movie with good sets, great miniature work on the subs, the cities, and the giant sea monster. I wish this was released on DVD as the sets and sub were quite neat looking.A neat aspect of this movie is that they tried for a bit of science "fact". For example, the most common material in the undersea city was gold, because they used a process to pull gold out of sea water.I wonder if those people are still living down there to this day? :)