One of my favourite ‘evergreen’ fantasy films has always been the wonderful 1959 20th Century Fox adventure JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, a film that to me is still as entertaining today as it was when I first saw it on television (in black and white) back in the early seventies.
There is so much going in favour of JTTCOTE – from the story itself which is just delightful, to the casting of the ever reliable James Mason in the lead to the perennially sinister and slimy character actor Thayer David as the nemesis in the story. Hell, even Pat Boone fits in here well too, though that bloody duck got on my nerves a bit!. As a huge fan of the film scores of the great Bernard Herrmann I’d naturally have to put his name forward in this little tribute as well. Lot’s of organs at play in this score and it sets so uniquely vivid an atmosphere of creepiness, coupled with the virtual cathedral like settings and the equally ‘cathedral-esque’ ominous score complimenting the terrific Lyle Wheeler sets. Bernie did several great scores for Fox, and I personally feel his utterly unique one of a kind score for the earlier Fox science fiction masterpiece THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL to be his career best (with 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD not far behind, though as usual, I digress…)…
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A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX
Please Note: Now, I am going further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more articles from this great site.
This blog is intended primarily as a tribute to the inventiveness and ingenuity of the craft of the matte painter during Hollywoods’ Golden Era. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today.