Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 23-September-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is such a mixed bag that it is probably viewed as different movies by different people or even different movies by the same person who has watched it multiple times. In one respect it's an adventure classic. Based on Jules Verne's 1870 novel, the story takes place aboard a fantastic submarine which most of the world believes to be a monster. While tooling around the South Seas, the small but valiant crew of the Nautilus meets with enemy warships, sunken treasure, killer sharks, cannibals, explosions, and the opportunity for occasional fisticuffs, in addition to a battle with a giant squid which earned an Academy Award for special effects.

In another respect this is a true Disney flick. Interestingly enough, the characteristics that make it so are the hallmarks of Hollywood's '50s style, and I must say this is my least favorite side of the film. Kirk Douglas plays a lusty sea dog just begging to spawn a line of action figures. (The limited Barnacle Edition comes with adjustable harpoon!) He takes off his shirt a lot, sings a nautical ditty, and spends a fair amount of time with a trained seal. His abundant virility is emphasized by his traveling companions, a revered professor of natural history (Paul Lukas) with a pudgy assistant (Peter Lorre), who also find themselves on the Nautilus by unlucky chance.

Finally, "20,000 Leagues" is a science fiction drama. Anchored by James Mason's pivotal performance as Captain Nemo, this is the most fascinating aspect of the show. Mason exhibits brilliance, mania, and enigmatic sex appeal as the submarine's inventor and philosopher king who tries to better the world through tough love. Nemo's tortured past has made him a warrior for peace (an oxymoron, but that's his deal) and a passionate lover of the quiet underwater realm which he alone commands. Like many a sci-fi hero, he poses questions about the line between humanity and inhumanity as it relates to technology. It is notable that the movie takes what I presume to be Verne's Victorian optimism about the potential of scientific advancement and applies it to the mid-twentieth century. A final scene shows a mushroom cloud enveloping a Pacific island with Nemo's voice predicting the day when mankind will be wise enough to wield such power. It is tantalizing to think what a director like Darren Aronofsky would do with the tale in our new century, drowning in technology and jaded by the Cold War. Is man's ultimate tragedy the fact that our ethical maturity will never catch up with our scientific progress? "20,000 Leagues" may be a cheesy action-adventure at times, but it does offer seafood for thought.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.