Journey to the Center of the Earth is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne (published in the original French as Voyage au centre de la Terre.) The story involves a professor who leads a group of explorers and scientists down a volcano in Iceland to the "center of the Earth". They encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy. From a scientific point of view, this story has not aged quite as well as other Verne stories, since most of his ideas about what the interior of the Earth is like have since been proven wrong. However, a redeeming point to the story is Verne's own belief, told within the novel from the viewpoint of a character, that the inside of the Earth does indeed differ from that which the characters encounter.
Synopsis
The story is narrated by Axel Lidenbrock, nephew of an eminent German geologist and naturalist, Professor Otto Lidenbrock. The story begins in the Lidenbrock house in Hamburg, with Professor Lidenbrock having bought an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga written by Snorri Sturluson. Inside the manuscript, they find a coded note written in runic script, which is eventually deciphered as a note written by Arne Saknussemm, an alchemist of three centuries earlier, who claims to have discovered a passage to the centre of the earth, via Snæfell in Iceland.
Professor Lidenbrock is a man of astonishing impatience, and departs for Iceland immediately, taking his reluctant nephew with him. Before long they have arrived in Reykjavík, procured the services of a guide and travelled to the base of the volcano. They ascend to the crater, in which there are three smaller craters, and wait for the shadow of the tallest peak to touch a particular crater at noon on a particular day, which Saknussemm's note says contains the passage.
Descending into this crater, the party of three descend into the bowels of the earth, encountering many strange phenomena and great dangers. They reach a subterranean ocean and sail across it, before finding a passageway marked by Saknussem as the way ahead. However, it is blocked by a rockfall. The adventurers dynamite the fallen rocks, but the explosion is unexpectedly large and they are swept away by the sea rushing into the gap. Eventually they find themselves inside an erupting volcano, and are transported rapidly back to the surface of the earth, where they find that they have emerged from Stromboli.
Film versions
The novel has been made into several film versions:
- In 1959, adapted by Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch and directed by Henry Levin . It stars Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker , Thayer David, and Alan Napier. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects; and Best Sound. This film is also known as Trip to the Center of the Earth.
- In 2004, adapted by Paul Chart and Gavin Scott and directed by Scott. It has only been announced as of yet, and no cast has been announced.
- Several "made for television" versions in 1977, 1993, and 1999(1999 by Hallmark Entertainment).
- An animated television series first broadcast in 1967, starring the voices of Ted Knight, Pat Harrington Jr. , and Jane Webb .
- A 1976 Spanish version (Viaje al centro de la Tierra) was adapted by John Melson , Carlos Puerto , and Juan Piquer Simón , and was directed by Simón. It stars Kenneth More, Pep Munné , Ivonne Sentis , Frank Braña , Jack Taylor , Ana Arco , Lone Fleming , and Emiliano Redondo .
- A 1989 movie called Journey to the Center of the Earth took only the title and a general idea from the Verne novel, and had a unique plot aimed at a teen audience. It was written by Debra Ricci , Regina Davis , Kitty Chalmers , and Rusty Lemorande , and was directed by Lemorande and Albert Pyun . It stars Emo Philips, Paul Carafotes , Jaclyn Bernstein , Kathy Ireland, Janet Du Plessis , Nicola Cowper , Lochner De Kock , and Ilan Mitchell-Smith.
A video game called Journey to the Center of the Earth was released in 2003. It was produced by Frogwares .
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