MovieChat Forums > Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) Discussion > Atomic Submarine

Atomic Submarine

posted 18 years ago by sherlock-37
9 replies | jump to latest

SPOILERS
I've read that Voyage to the Bottom is based on the film Atomic Submarine. Although Atomic Submarine is in black and white and obviously made with a lower budget I think it's a much superior film. I've just seen the two films within the last couple of weeks. Atomic is very creative given the constraints they were working under. Great alien monster in it. Voyage is a dog's breakfast when it comes to plot and characters. The psycologist as villian doesn't work. The underwater scenes of the sub are terrific. The back of the submarine reminds me of a car from the 50's or 60's with the fins etc. Not very efficient in water I'll bet.
Doug
Toronto

[–] seashellz 17 years ago

If anything-it was a rip of 20,000 leagues under the sea

[–] sherlock-37 17 years ago

Is that worth seeing?

Doug
Toronto

My accountant says, "1 + 1, 40% of the time, equals divorce".

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 17 years ago

The original "20,000 Leagues" produced by Disney is superb. The tv version with Michael Caine is pretty good, but not as good as the Disney one.

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

[–] sherlock-37 17 years ago

Thanks. I'll check it out.

My accountant says, "1 + 1, 40% of the time, equals divorce".

[–] spica123 16 years ago

I just saw the Disney version of 20,000 Leagues recently after not seeing it for a long, long time. It held up very nicely, rubber squid and all!

[–] MrPie7 15 years ago

Every time I see the stern of the Seaview i think of a '59 Caddy. It's a DEAD RINGER for the C view's tail. All submarines need tail lights because of the darn tailgaters! Wonder if they were turn signals too....

[–] raf-33 8 years ago

I always confuse this movie with The Land That Time Forgot simply because of the submarine.

Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. -Isaac Asimov

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hobnob53 7 years ago

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was not based on The Atomic Submarine. If anything Irwin Allen took portions of the idea from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, although to be fair Allen had long had an interest in underwater exploration. (He had won an Academy Award for his documentary The Sea Around Us in 1953.)

When VTTBOTS was made movies based on Verne's books were very popular and Allen certainly had this in mind. He even adapted (or ripped off, if you prefer) the title of an earlier Fox film version of a Verne novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, for Voyage. (In fact, in its original draft this film was to have been called Journey to the Bottom of the Sea.) So while Allen's movie is, strictly speaking, an original in that it's not actually "based on" any book or other movie, like most filmmakers, Allen knew a good thing when he saw it and hopped on the sci-fi bandwagon. And in fact, his next film was a direct adaptation of a Verne book, Five Weeks in a Balloon.

I'm also a big fan of The Atomic Submarine, a little movie that seems to have quite a devoted following and an affectionate reputation.