20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

1916

1h 45m

Fantasy

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100%

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8 Reviews

38%

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10,000+ Ratings

During the Civil War, reports of a sea monster attacking ships alarm the Navy. An investigation finds the monster is a submarine, the "Nautilus," commanded by vengeance-seeking Capt. Nemo (Allen Holubar), who was once an Indian prince. Years earlier, adventurer Charles Denver (William Welsh) caused the suicide of Nemo's wife and the disappearance of his daughter. Nemo tracks Denver to a distant island where, unknown to him, a wild native girl matching his daughter's description is also hiding.

Joshua Lowe

Variety

To describe in detail the marvelous workings as depicted by the Messrs. Williamson would consume columns of space and more columns to give even a synopsis of the melodramatic plot.

Oct 16, 2019

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Chris Hunneysett

Daily Mirror (UK)

this sets an extraordinarily high bar that many of the subsequent adaptations of Verne fail to reach

Rated: 5/5

Jun 5, 2021

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Clipper Staff

New York Clipper

The filming of Jules Verne's immortal story has been capitally and, from a photographic viewpoint, at times, wonderfully done.

Nov 13, 2020

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A cluttered work that nevertheless maintains interest with its groundbreaking underwater photography and Verne's durable framework.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 8, 2020

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Genevieve Harris

Motography

The struggles of the men against the undertow and the force of the water proved interesting, while the battle between the unarmed pearl diver and the octopus is weird and thrilling.

Jul 29, 2020

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Nov 23, 2004

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Josh G

Trying to do so much with an average runtime. The film follows multiple books and rushing any character development and plot till it seems more like a clip show show than film. Nemo's back story is super weird don't get it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/05/23

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Dustin D

The silent version of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is janky and melodramatic. The non-underwater shots are mostly uninteresting and badly captured. However, it was a special effects extravaganza of its day, and brought the state of the art a step forward.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/07/23

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Audience Member

I guess you can call this the first Michael Bay film. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea was the second adaptation of the Jules Vernes novel, it features iconic mariner costumes. The story telling was a mess however, but the special effect was impressive considering the budget. It's not the most interesting films but deserves cinematic recognition.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

An interesting adaptation of 20000 Leagues Under The Sea, and The Mysterious Island... The first submarine photoplay ever filmed--A wonderful and groundbreaking film!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

This technological masterpiece for its time suffers in a poor script, acting and direction. This may be the first film of underwater photography which was done through a system of mirrors and prisms as people were photographed in those heavy clumsy underwater diving suits accompanied with astonishing scenes of coral reef sea life. See this film for just that alone.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Audience Member

Although it's a great Victorian nautical science fiction epic it's not as great as the 1954 Disney version...but the experience of seeing it on the big screen with fantastic live music by Stephin Merritt would be a 5 star one.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Stuart Paton

Director

Allen Holubar

Capt. Nemo

Matt Moore

Lt. Bond

Jane Gail

Actor

William Welsh

Charles Denver

Curtis Benton

Ned Land

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Synopsis

During the Civil War, reports of a sea monster attacking ships alarm the Navy. An investigation finds the monster is a submarine, the "Nautilus," commanded by vengeance-seeking Capt. Nemo (Allen Holubar), who was once an Indian prince. Years earlier, adventurer Charles Denver (William Welsh) caused the suicide of Nemo's wife and the disappearance of his daughter. Nemo tracks Denver to a distant island where, unknown to him, a wild native girl matching his daughter's description is also hiding.

Director: Stuart Paton
Producer: Stuart Paton
Screenwriter: Stuart Paton
Production Co: Williamson Submarine Film Corporation
Genre: Fantasy
Runtime: 1h 45m