MovieChat Forums > Journey to the Center of the Earth Discussion > Supplies and other things...

Supplies and other things...

posted 12 years ago by jconn426
10 replies | jump to latest

1.) According to the narration, they spent over two hundred days underground, constantly on the move. They cheated when it came to water -- James Mason mentioned mineral springs. On the other hand, they also kept mentioning they were eating cans of salted beef. They would have needed a mule train to carry that many cans! And what did the poor duck eat?

2.) None of the men are ever shown shaving or cutting their hair, and the lady always had makeup. Yeah, I know, that's Hollywood. At least it mentioned (carefully) that they had to use the bathroom, but only ONCE.

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And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

Of course, there is no way they could possibly have carried all their supplies with them. The weight and bulk alone would have made walking impossible.

Was it salt beef or salt pork? Either way, after two or three months of that diet scurvy and other forms of vitamin deficiency would have set in. None of them would have made it out alive.

As for bathing, shaving and using the bathroom, as in most Hollywood movies, such issues never arise for the characters, or if so, only incidentally.

Then again, what about this film is accurate...or even plausible? A thunder and lightning storm underground? (When they're on the raft and get sucked into the whirlpool.)

We just go along for the ride and enjoy ourselves.

[–] jconn426 12 years ago

Yeah, I know, but I like to think about things like that. And it was salt beef. Come to think of it, I've never heard of Brits having anything BUT salt beef.
In WWII Yanks had Spam, and Tommies had Bully Beef.

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And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

I wasn't being critical, I like to think about things like that too. But in some cases there's just so much weird stuff going on that you just have to concede the improbabilities and not drive yourself too crazy about them...though it's still fun to do so.

The Brits were notorious for bringing the most unsuitable foods and other equipment along on expeditions to remote places, which was a major reason for the failure and death of the inept Robert Scott's Antarctic expedition...to cite just one instance.

[–] jconn426 12 years ago

That, and the giant electric penguins......

And the boxes that Mrs. Scott insisted on wearing on her feet.

(Monty Python references....couldn't help meself.....)

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And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

[–] bradford-1 12 years ago

I noticed that these explorers didn't bother to bring changes of clothes, either. At least the men's clothes turned into rags, but Ms. Dahl's coverings still were quite modest. And underwear?
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

Quite true. Considering they were under the Earth for 250 or so days, amid heat, water, salt, mushrooms, rocks, lava, dinosaurs and a whirlpool, well, whichever among them was the designated quartermaster would have had his (or her) hands full.

Minor point: Ms. Dahl's coverings weren't modest; her coverings still preserved her modesty. Modest coverings would have been a bikini, or maybe a short, tight one-piece costume. (See Mysterious Island or One Million Years B.C..)

[–] BioSlave 12 years ago

This is the only real thing that bothered me with the novel.

During the first portion of the story in the novel, they hire porters to carry their supplies to the mouth of the Volcano...This clearly indicates that they needed help carrying their stuff.

But once they reach the mouth of the volcano, they send the porters off on their merry way, and the three explorers are left to do the rest of the carrying.
For the remainder of the journey Verne omits any indication of them carrying any supplies, anddDoesnt mention who's carrying what.
From the narrative in the book they have to climb down ropes, make their way through dangerous terrain, and they are exhausted to the point of collapse and no real mention of any hardhsips regarding the bulk of supplies they carried (aside from compases and a few scientific devices).

Later in the book, after they journey the central sea and their raft has been all but destroyed, the book mentions that Hans was able to retrieve most of the supplies and crates they were carrying with them...."crates"??

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

It's comforting to know that this problem of carrying enough supplies wasn't overlooked only in the movie but by the author as well! In fact, the filmmakers at least had enough sense not to have Hans recover any crates after the whirlpool. That's one nod to realism!

[–] 12 years ago

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