Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Trivia
The time spent in the movie of the crew once they were miniaturized is in real time, taking up almost exactly one hour of the movie.
When filming the scene where the other crew members remove attacking antibodies from Raquel Welch for the first time, director Richard Fleischer allowed the actors to grab what they pleased. Gentlemen all, they specifically avoided removing them from Welch's breasts, with an end result that Fleischer described as a "Las Vegas showgirl" effect. He pointed this out to the cast members - and on the second try, the actors all reached for her breasts. Finally, Fleischer realized that he would have to choreograph who removed what from where, and the result is seen in the final cut.
Medical schools, at least as late as the 1980s, showed clips from this movie to illustrate various concepts in human anatomy, physiology, and especially immunology.
The scenes of crew members swimming outside the sub were shot on dry soundstages with the actors suspended from wires. There was some additional hazard involved because, to avoid reflections from the metal, the wires were washed in acid to roughen them, which made them more likely to break. To create the impression of swimming in a resisting medium, the scenes were shot at fifty percent greater speed than normal, then played back at normal speed.
A now defunct thrill ride at Disney's Epcot Center, called "Body Wars", was largely inspired by this movie, even though it is not a Disney movie. Director Richard Fleischer, however, also directed Disney's first science fiction movie, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Jonah and the Whale (1965) reportedly "borrowed" props from the elaborate sets of this movie.
The scenes in the spacious corridors of the secret CMDF medical facility were filmed in lower and upper concourses of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Director Richard Fleischer used the arena for exteriors in Soylent Green (1973). The site where the arena once stood is now occupied by Banc of California Stadium, the home of LAFC soccer club.
During filming, one of the two three-inch "Proteus" models used in the miniaturization sequence was left by an open window and was subsequently carried off by a crow.
Isaac Asimov was approached to write the novel from the script. He perused the script and declared it to be full of plot holes. Receiving permission to write the book the way he wanted, delays in filming and the speed at which he wrote, saw the book appear before this movie.
In his book, special photographics effects artist L.B. Abbott wrote about making use of a giant champagne glass built for another movie to fill with water and use for the whirlpool sequence when the ship is sucked through a tear in the artery. Althougth he doesn't mention the movie's name, it is most likely What a Way to Go! (1964), which had a sequence of Shirley MacLaine lounging in a giant champagne glass.
The sound effects played over the opening credits were created for the computer in Desk Set (1957).
The use of Morse code is probably due to problems with radio wavelengths. Morse code can have success where radio antennae are not accurately tuned to a particular radio frequency. The crafts antenna that has been miniaturized to such an extent would only operate at a very high radio frequency - and with a very short range. Antenna effectiveness depends on how accurately tuned it is to a given frequency. Higher frequencies require (electrically) shorter antennas . This also explains why the patient has an array of small radio antennae surrounding his head and upper body. Small antennae for high frequency communication and they are situated close to the patient due to the short range capability.
The jetliner seen in the opening of this movie, a TWA 707 registration N746TW, had a long life and carried passengers from 1962 to 1982. It was then mothballed at the Davis-Monthan storage facility and cannibalized for repair parts for the U.S. Air Force fleet of KC-135 tankers. It was eventually scrapped.
The design and special effects were considered cutting edge at the time, so much so that they received a photo spread and article by Richard Schickel in Life Magazine.
Original on-screen acknowledgment appearing after the end credits: "The makers of this film are indebted to the many doctors, technicians, and research scientists, whose knowledge and insight helped guide this production."
Raquel Welch said in her 2013 book that she was infatuated with Stephen Boyd in making this movie, although he declined her advances.
As a college student, director Richard Fleischer was a pre-med student for a while.
The miniature brain sets were used to represent the interior of the alien spacecraft in Lost in Space: The Derelict (1965).
The plot of this movie was partly borrowed for I Dream of Jeannie: The Moving Finger (1965). Major Anthony Nelson works as technical consultant for a studio making a movie, in which an American astronaut, shrunken to the size of a pinhead, is injected into the bloodstream of a Soviet astronaut, works his way to the brain and retrieves information vital to the defense of the country. The screenplay to this movie was completed in 1964, from an original story that was written in 1963.
This is the first American feature film with no musical score for the opening credits, only electronic pulses and sound effects.
During their emergency trip through the arrested heart, the crew has fifty-seconds seconds to accomplish this safely. The scene from stoppage to restart lasts over three minutes.
There have been several high profile attempts to remake this movie over the years with James Cameron, Roland Emmerich and Will Smith, Paul Greengrass, and most recently, Guillermo del Toro, all attached at various stages.
Included amongst the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the four hundred movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.
Original on-screen prologue appearing immediately after the opening 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare: "This film will take you where no one has ever been before; no eye witness has actually seen what you are about to see. But in this world of ours where going to the moon will soon be upon us and where the most incredible things are happening all around us, someday, perhaps tomorrow, the fantastic events you are about to see can and will take place."
This movie was produced the same year as Lost in Space (1965). If you pay attention to the sets and sound effects, you can sense the similarities.
The Imperials used in the opening car scene were from 1964 as identified by the headlights. The headlights and grills on the 1965 and 1966 model years are slightly different. The 1964 model had a push button transmission. The 1965 and 1966 model year used a shift lever on the column. Previous to 1964, the body styles were different.
This film has no music over the opening credits, similar to The Birds (1963).
This movie was parodied in the animated series "Archer", Season 6, Episodes 12 & 13, as "Drastic Voyage", Parts 1 & 2.
