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By Jonathan Klotz | Published
If you watch enough science fiction, you’ll come across some themes that each series ends up dabbling in, from the And then there were none Murder mystery bottle episode to evil twins or parallel universes. Among those themes is the recently forgotten but once popular idea of a miniature journey into the human body.
Long before Ms. Frizzle took the magic school bus against one of her students and the Futurama The crew traveled to the bowels of Fry, fantastic trip explored the inside of a Soviet deserter. The film won multiple awards, features a star-studded cast, and to this day has provided the visual language for every movie or TV show you’ve ever seen that addresses the circulatory system.
Where no one has gone before
Launched in 1966, fantastic trip It is a technical marvel. The film’s original trailer advertised it as “a new kind of cinematic experience” and, for once, it wasn’t hyperbole. It was a fact.
To save the life of a Soviet defector named Dr. Benes, who invented the science of miniaturization, a crew of five boards the submarine Proteus. The submarine and its crew are then shrunk to the size of a microbe (one-tenth the size of a human cell) and given the mission of attempting to remove an inaccessible blood clot.
The journey to reach their destination takes them through an unknown universe within the human body. It’s a place full of things never seen before and they only have one hour to survive.
The crew performing the dive is made up of neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Duval (Arthur Kennedy), his assistant, Cora (Raquel Welch in her debut role), circulatory specialist Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasance), Captain Owens (William Redfield ), the Proteus’ pilot and, finally, CIA agent Charles Grant (Stephen Boyd). Grant was sent by the United States Combined Miniature Deterrence Forces (CMDF) to prevent another attempt on Dr. Benes’ life. Which, of course, is precisely what happens.
All you need to do is look at the cast and you’ll know exactly who the traitor is now, but this was a year before Donald Pleasance debuted as James Bond’s arch-nemesis Blofeld. At that moment, it was a turnaround.
An amazing visual showcase
A traitor aboard the Proteus adds tension as acts of sabotage begin to emerge, but the story could have been about saving a life without the Cold War subplot, and it would have been just as good. fantastic trip Its best moment is when the crew explores the inside of Dr. Benes’ body, traveling through the circulatory system through the heart, which must be stopped to allow them safe passage.
They travel to the lungs to collect oxygen, to the ear and even through the nervous system. Each new body part is another incredible visual playground for the cast to explore, and while yes, the special effects are incredibly rudimentary compared to the visual effects of modern blockbusters, there’s an appealing kitsch to the “antibodies.” ” which are clearly thick patches of strings being played. launched by crew members from off-screen.
The backgrounds and visual effects of the Proteus traveling through the body were enough to fantastic trip to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and a second for Best Art Direction, which is now known as Best Production Design. It was a well-deserved victory, and even with the ’60s special effects, the creepy white blood cells look like monsters from deep space rather than a functional and necessary part of the human body.
An essential film that defines the genre
As innovative and revolutionary as fantastic trip It was visually, it’s the story, which finds conflict and danger in the simple act of exploration, that helped it become a genre-defining film. Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time, wrote the novelization of the film, which came out before the film. This led the public to believe fantastic trip It was an adaptation when the movie was actually revealed first.
Asimov was a little frustrated by some of the science in the film. While he honored him in the novel, he went on to write a sequel, Fantastic Voyage II: Destiny Brainthat was more scientifically accurate.
Today, fantastic trip stands out as a turning point in science fiction films by exploring a completely new setting that has never been done before on this scale. the story focused on exploration and discovery, something that Hollywood movies, even back then, had replaced with aliens and monsters. It’s a simple plot, but even if there were With no external conflicts, the timer of only one hour to complete the mission added enough tension to make it compelling throughout.
you can transmit fantastic trip today via Video on Demand via Amazon Prime, AppleTV, GooglePlayand Fandango at home. It’s worth the trip.
