IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
A French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.A French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.A French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Verne(based on: "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" by)
- Stuart Paton(uncredited)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Verne(based on: "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" by)
- Stuart Paton(uncredited)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win
William Welsh
- Charles Denveras Charles Denver
- (as William Welch)
Wallis Clark
- Pencroftas Pencroft
- (as Wallace Clark)
Joseph W. Girard
- Maj. Cameronas Maj. Cameron
- (uncredited)
Leviticus Jones
- Nebas Neb
- (uncredited)
Martin Murphy
- Herbert Brownas Herbert Brown
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Verne(based on: "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" by)
- Stuart Paton(uncredited)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Captain Nemo has built a fantastic submarine for his mission of revenge. He has traveled over 20,000 leagues in search of Charles Denver - a man who caused the death of Princess Daaker. Seeing what he had done, Denver took the daughter to his yacht and sailed away. He abandoned her and a sailor on a mysterious island and has come back after all these years to see if she is still alive and if the nightmares he has will stop. The daughter has been found by five survivors of a Union Army Balloon that crashed near the island. At sea, Professor Aronnax was aboard the ship 'Abraham Lincoln' when Nemo rammed it and threw the Professor, his daughter and two others into the water. Prisoners at first, they are now treated as guests to view the underwater world and to hunt under the waves. Nemo will also tells them about the Nautilus and the revenge that has driven him for all these years. —Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
- national film registry
- public domain
- based on the works of jules verne
- punctuation in title
- distance in title
- 22 more
- Genres
- Certificate
- Passed
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaUnderwater cameras were not used. The Williamson brothers had developed a system of watertight tubes and mirrors, like an upside-down periscope, and were dependent on the clarity of water and sunshine to provide the necessary light.
- GoofsIn one scene on the island the balloon survivors are at a table and a black servant appears. He never shows up again and is not rescued at the end of the film with the rest of the survivors.
- Quotes
Capt. Nemo: I am Captain Nemo and this is my submarine, 'Nautilus'... It has pleased me to save your lives... You are my prisoners.
- Crazy creditsThe opening titles announce "The First Submarine Photoplay Ever Filmed".
- Alternate versionsKino International released a video with a music soundtrack by Alexander Rannie and Brian Benison (music © 1991). Running time is 101 minutes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in To the Galaxy and Beyond with Mark Hamill (1997)
Top review
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Revolutionary but bland
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) was a movie of firsts. It was the first feature length adaptation of Jules Vernes classic and was also the very first movie to film underwater.
Alas the troubles of this silent movie became apparent quite early on, namely that it's not exactly loyal to the source material. If you're expecting something strongly resembling the book then this may be an adaptation worth skipping over.
Now as mentioned this is a silent film (Entirely even devoid of music) which I'll be honest I've never liked. It's not anything snobbish or any expectations that I impose on a film, it's more that sitting for 90 minutes odd in silence gives me a migraine.
For this reason I watched this in sections and when the credits rolled I still managed to acquire a migraine and wasn't overly impressed with what I saw.
Considering it's age the majority looks fantastic as does the underwater filming. Certain parts struggle and it's unclear everything that is taking place but thankfully unlike 1907's version they are few and far between.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a passable attempt at a grandiose tale and the first of many many adaptations.
The Good:
Revolutionary for its time
The Bad:
Something about silent film gives me a headache
Not loyal to the original book
Alas the troubles of this silent movie became apparent quite early on, namely that it's not exactly loyal to the source material. If you're expecting something strongly resembling the book then this may be an adaptation worth skipping over.
Now as mentioned this is a silent film (Entirely even devoid of music) which I'll be honest I've never liked. It's not anything snobbish or any expectations that I impose on a film, it's more that sitting for 90 minutes odd in silence gives me a migraine.
For this reason I watched this in sections and when the credits rolled I still managed to acquire a migraine and wasn't overly impressed with what I saw.
Considering it's age the majority looks fantastic as does the underwater filming. Certain parts struggle and it's unclear everything that is taking place but thankfully unlike 1907's version they are few and far between.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a passable attempt at a grandiose tale and the first of many many adaptations.
The Good:
Revolutionary for its time
The Bad:
Something about silent film gives me a headache
Not loyal to the original book
helpful•42
- Platypuschow
- Jan 26, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) officially released in Canada in English?
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