Jules Verne Forum

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Re: Jules Verne Forum - 50s sci-fi films

From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 19:54:32 -0400 (EDT)
To: jvforum <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005, Simon Williams wrote:

> Hi!
>
> I wonder if you have any ideas about something that struck me... I'm a =
> fan of American sci-fi movies from the 50s & 60s, and it seems to me =
> that the famous Verne films (Disney's '20,000 Leagues', 'Journey to the =
> Centre of the Earth' with James Mason etc) would be called sci-fi, but =
> are set in the 19th century. I don't know of Verne adaptations that =
> were updated to the mid-20th century - but you could do it with other =
> literary sources like Wells. =20
>
> Any thoughts about why this might be? Maybe for many US audiences Verne =
> has this image of being the 'Father of Sci-Fi', predicting the future, =
> inventing atomic power, and this means if you wanted to use the words =
> 'Jules Verne' in your production you had to set it in his time?
>
> Thanks for your time!
>
> Si

Si, I think, as Garmt notes, the story's basis (submarine, moon trip, etc)
tends to require the period setting. But the "updating" is done through
injecting contemporary concerns, suggesting JV anticipated nuclear
weapons, and so on. And such contrasting devices as the signature
inserted balloon flights become ways to emphasize the revelling in times
past. By contrast, adding dinosaurs (such as in versions of Hector
Servadac) is a timeless sf device.

Wells, by contrast, as more futuristic, is more open to updating the
setting--tho to my own sensibility, the period works better with him, too
(ie, compare the versions of Dr. Moreau), because other issues and
knowledge come into play with the era of the film's production. The same
could be said, I think, for versions of ACD's Lost World, and why it is
still best handled with the author's intended temporal period.


Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20540-4692
Telephone: 202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
Email: btav~at~loc.gov


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.
Received on Tue 04 Oct 2005 - 03:10:04 IDT

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