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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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The
second of three U.K.-produced films based on the
fantasy adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs
the American pulp novelist who created Tarzan
and John Carter of Mars
At the Earth's Core
is a textbook example of too small a budget for
too big a script. Since almost the entire movie
takes place in Pellucidar, Burroughs' pseudo-prehistoric
realm at the center of the Earth, elaborate sets
and monster effects are regularly called for by
the story
elements the flick's meager budget just can't
adequately handle. In light of this inescapable
fact the filmmakers smartly opted to play things
less than seriously, with tongue planted firmly
in cheek. The "cheese" factor (not to mention
the sheer silliness of it all) manages to keep
things entertaining.
At
the dawn of the 20th Century, scientific genius
Dr. Abner Perry (Cushing, in his loopiest performance)
astonishes the world with his latest invention:
the "Iron Mole", an immense steam-powered drilling
machine with which he intends to explore the interior
of the planet. The project is funded by David
Innes (Humanoids
from the Deep's Doug McClure), a wealthy American
engineer and former student of Perry's. Together
the two men will pilot the great machine from
its forward control cockpit. No sooner are they
off on a short demonstration run through
or rather, under
the Welsh hills
that something goes wrong; the Iron Mole, now
out of control, plunges ever deeper beneath the
Earth's crust. Perry and Innes are overcome by
intense heat and knocked unconscious.
The duo recover their senses to discover the machine
has leveled out, the temperature inexplicably
dropping. After tunneling through an underground
lake, the Mole's power source fails just as it
breaks through into an immense cavern. Perry and
Innes are the first surface dwellers to ever set
eyes on Pellucidar, the savage, unknown world
at the hollow core of the planet. Chased by a
towering dinosaur-like creature with a parrot's
beak, they escape
death only to be captured by the Sagoths, pointy-headed,
ape-like warriors whose language sounds like they're
gargling. The elderly scientist and his
companion are shackled together with other captives
humans from various barbarian tribes (including
one comprised of blacks with blond afros) who
nonetheless all speak English. Among them is the
gorgeous Princess Dia, played by cult fave Caroline
Munro (Captain KronosVampire
Hunter, The
Golden Voyage of Sinbad). David and Dia hit
it off immediately, of course, but only a grim
fate would seem to lie ahead. The Sagoths, soldiers
of the insidious Mahars telepathic man-sized
flying
reptiles
are taking the prisoners to the city of their
masters. There, tribal chieftain Ghak (Godfrey
James) reveals, only slavery and death awaits
them. Naturally our All American Hero isn't going
to stand for this. Time to start a revolution!
At the
Earth's Core is something of a throwback,
very much in the spirit of those Saturday afternoon
adventure serials of the '30s. This is by no means
a negative quality. In fact it's the film's saving
grace. It manages to capture the spirit, if not
the letter, of Burroughs' fantastical fiction.
Peter Cushing really seems to be enjoying the
chance to (for once) play a very broad, "comic
relief" type character. (His doddering, absent-minded
egghead gets all the laughs.) Doug McClure, who
portrayed virtually the same character in three
other Amicus-produced action/fantasies, makes
for an acceptable, no-nonsense type of hero
even if the jaw isn't exactly square. And the
ravishing Caroline Munro is just about my favorite
piece of '70s eye candy. So what's not to like?
As mentioned, the film tries
to bite off much more than the budget could ever
allow it to chew. The special effects with the
exception of the Iron Mole model, which is serviceable
enough range from laughable to just plain bad.
The monsters are all guys in truly lame rubber
suits; unconvincing matte paintings and rear-projection
photography don't help matters. The primeval jungles
of Pellucidar are '60s TV-caliber sets upon which
you might expect to see a Star Trek landing
party materialize. If you're inclined to be forgiving,
however, or have the capacity to enjoy truly cheesy
monsters almost as much as cool ones, then At
the Earth's Core should prove agreeable.
After all Caroline Munro's
in it.
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At
the Earth's Core
is among the AIP titles released in the November
2001 batch of MGM's budget-priced Midnite Movie
DVD line. It uses the best print of the movie I've
ever seen, letterboxed at 1.85:1 and anamorphically
enhanced for 16x9 TVs. The digital mono audio track
is crisp, clear, and free of any noticeable hiss.
Like the majority of Midnite Movie discs, the only
Extra is the theatrical trailer, which in this case
is also letterboxed and in surprisingly good condition.
It would've been nice
if they'd thrown in trailers for the other Amicus-Burroughs
fantasies, The
Land That Time Forgot and
The People
That Time Forgot
which also star McClure.
11/22/01 |
| UPDATE
Although the DVD reviewed here was discontinued
by MGM in 2005, a double feature edition was issued
that same year pairing Earth's
Core with War-Gods
of the Deep (1965), starring Vincent Price.
The cover art/product link on the left is for the
latter disc. |
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