Review for At the Earth's Core

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Amicus Studios (arguably the less famous sister of Hammer) Studio Canal are re-releasing four fan favourites; They Came From Beyond Space, The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth’s Core and Warlords of Atlantis. Oh – alright then. Three fan favourites and one odd-one out curio. ( ‘They Came from Beyond Space’ , a strangely dated film which would have been more at home in the 1950’s than the tail end of the swinging sixties. My review of this can also be found on this site).


‘At the Earth’s Core’ came hot on the heels of the modest success of its predecessor, ‘The Land that Time Forgot’ and used pretty much the same cast and crew – as well as an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel for its screenplay. Despite the popularity of ‘Land’, the critics universally panned ‘At the Earth’s Core’ principally because, from a ‘real-science’ point of view, it’s clearly ridiculous on every count. But if (like me and most kids under 12 years old) you can put that to one side, I think it’s a rip-roaringly enjoyable film. In fact, for my money, perhaps the most enjoyable of the three McClure/Connor/Dark combo adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.


Peter Cushing is on fine form allowing himself to reveal a comedic side that gets little airing in his Hammer Horror work (more a return to the Amicus Dr. Who movies perhaps?). He plays the ever-distracted dithering scientist, Dr. Abner Perry. Joining Perry on his expedition is an ex-student, David Innes (played by, you guessed it, Doug McClure). They really spark off each other superbly and it looks like they are having a ball.


They set off towards the earth’s core in a drill-like vehicle very reminiscent of the ‘mole’ in ‘Thunderbirds’ and find themselves breaking through the inner core to discover a new world at the centre of the earth. (Yeah – a little bit like Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ written some 50 years earlier). Pellucidar is an inhospitable place with dinosaur’s and creepy telepathic flying ‘birds’ along with armies of soldiers that make the apes in ‘Planet of the Apes’ look positively cuddly. But it’s not all grim. Caroline Munroe, replete with Raquel Welch style skin bikini brings more than enough romantic counter-balance to the bleakness and serves as a perfect romantic foyle to the ever-cool hero, Doug McClure.


If you let yourself go, and suspend the obvious disbelief you’ll have as an adult, you’ll get drawn into a well-told tale that will have you gripping the edge of your seat at times. There are some very spooky moments too – just the right amount to make this fun without becoming psychologically damaging! Think the spookier Dr. Who’ s and that’s about the tone.


The cinematography is first class (British TV and film stalwart Alan Hume as DoP) and though the sets and costumes are a little folksy by today’s standards (no CGI here – just sheer invention!) it really stands up with a powerful soundtrack accentuating the action throughout, with many explosions and fires adding a real sense of adventure.


It’s a top-notch DVD transfer (a Blu-Ray release would, of course, be most welcome) with great, rich colours and with so much of the action taking place in the half-light of underground caves, it stands up remarkably well.


I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to playing it again soon for some wonderful escapist nostalgic action! And if you have children young enough to enjoy it too, share it with them. I suspect that, despite a diet of sophisticated CGI and 5.1 enhanced action movies today, that this one will still make an impact. Well worth picking up.