Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

ma-cortes This fantastic movie displays sensational adventures , thrills , intrigue , marvelous scenarios , lots of fun and being pretty enjoyable . This first take on for cinema based on this novel by Jules Verne , was filmed in Cinemascope widescreen with agreeable main cast and good support actors . Fascinating aerial movie blends action, , disaster spectacle , hokey fun , suspense and emotional happenings . This rendition of the Jules Verne novel , set in 1862 , follows Professor Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke) who schemes to make aviation history . As he plans to claim uncharted territories in West Africa as proof of his inventions worth , taking extraordinary adventures on ceiling in an advanced balloon on the most incredible air safari of modern time. As Fergusson captains a giant wonderous flying machine along with a motley bunch of characters (Fabian , Richard Haydn , Barbara Eden , Barbara Luna , Peter Lorre) and all of them encounter many adventures and dangers on the balloon trek across Africa . As they are traveling throughout great Sahara desert and beyond , jungles and other unexplored territories . As they take off for the Gold Coast shores of the Volta , across 4000 miles of uncharted wilds. But then they are captured and get thoroughly involved with power-hungry Sultan (Barry Gilbert) , but they get escaped . Often hilarious adventure dealing with the exploits of a 19th-century British expedition to claim uncharted land in West Africa for the Empire by making his way across Africa by balloon , including a talented production team and making the most of an enough but not lavish budget . Our heroes incarnated by a little believable cast of first-rate players get stuck in the flying machine before it explodes , undergoing numerous risks and suffering innumerable perils . Funny adaptation based on Jules Verne's fantasy-adventure novel with charming screenplay by Charles Bennett , including admirable cast and gorgeous scenarios . The film talks about the known story from Verne novel and previously never rendered in cinema and it's brought excitingly to screen . Surprise-filled entertainment and plenty of action on grand scale with passable special effects and spectacular adventure by flying a giant hot air balloon , using maquette or scale model and matte-painting . The aerial scenes , explosions , pyrotechnics , flamboyant FX , all of them are spectacular and the film is another exceptional Hollywood product but in medium budget . Memorable and great cast as the British commission inventor Fergusson well played by Sir Cecil Hardwicke who is perfect as intelligent and anti-slavery explorer . The movie's imaginative use of stock shots and its garish line in 19th century hardware is acceptable . And ordinary stock footage showing animals from Savannah , jungles and some desert lands , such as : Lions , Zebras , Giraffa , Elephant and Chimpanzee in Cheeta-¨Tarzan¨ movie style . Atmospheric and vivid score by Paul Sawtell . Colorful cinematography by Winton C. Hoch in Cinemascope and Technicolor reflecting wonderfully aerial scenes .This exciting and thrilling adventure movie was amusingly directed by Irwin Allen , containing some vigorous scenes . Allen was a good craftsman who directed several titles from the 50s . And was a successful TV series producer as ¨The time tunnel¨(1966), ¨Lost in space¨ (1965), ¨Land of the giants¨ . Allen was nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" in the 1970s due to the tremendous hits of his special effects-laden epics, as ¨Poseidon adventure¨ (1972) and ¨Towering Inferno¨ , though he failed in ¨When time ran out¨, The swarm¨ , ¨Fire¨ , ¨Flood¨ and ¨Beyond the Poseidón adventure¨ . And produced/directed various films and series in Jules Verne style , such as : ¨Voyage to the bottom of the sea¨, ¨The return of captain Nemo¨ , ¨City beneath the sea¨ and this ¨Five weeks in balloon¨ .

classiccat I've always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon but am afraid of heights. I enjoy watching this exciting, colorful, adventure movie with an all star cast(including the monkey) over and over. It moves along at a nice pace with lots of fun, adventure and a bit of romance. It also had a bit of slapstick comedy which I don't usually care for in the movies I watch but didn't seem to mind in this one. The theme song is a very catchy tune. This movie came out the year I was born and I can't believe I've never heard of it before. As a kid growing up I was an avid watcher of some of Irwin Allen's other productions like the series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space, which I now own on DVD. I would definitely recommended it for family entertainment.

Edgar Soberon Torchia Having seen the horrendous "The Lost World" (1960) a few weeks ago, I was afraid to revisit "Five Weeks in a Balloon." I had seen both films when originally released, and had a good memory of them (including the title song of this one, which everybody seems to like.) "The Lost World" turned out to be static, with terrible performances by people like Jill St. John and Fernando Lamas, surrounded by fake jungles, caverns, dinosaurs and volcanoes. So when it was "Five Weeks in a Balloon" turn, I had my doubts. Surprisingly, it is quite enjoyable once one overlooks its Hollywood version of African cultures, people and savannas, the stock footage, the (American) propaganda, the balloon being pulled by a thread during a rain storm, or Irwin Allen's handling of action scenes. Allen directed them awkwardly, and made the proceedings look slower than what is actually happening, as the rescue scene in the mesquite or the final scene by a river. In any case, it's a colorful and good looking CinemaScope production, with an interesting cast and many outdoors scenes that make it more attractive than Allen's other movies. By his standards, this may be the film he directed best, leaving his productions "The Poseidon Adventure" or "The Towering Inferno" to more capable hands.

Poseidon-3 Before he gathered hordes of Hollywood A, B and C-list stars in overturned luxury liners and sky-high burning buildings, Irwin Allen gave the world a couple of colorful, simplistic, adventure films with casts full of name stars, past and present. This one concerns Hardwicke and his attempts to take his experimental hot air balloon to the edge of Africa and claim the territory for Great Britain before slave traders can do it first. Along for the ride are perky assistant Fabian, calamity-plagued reporter Buttons and uptight military man Haydn. They are soon joined by runaway slave Luna and shady slave trader Lorre and one of his recent captives Eden. Together, they brave various dangers such as outraged natives, drunken sheiks, sandstorms and waterfalls (nearly every Allen film ever made includes some type of natural threat.) The film is simple-minded, non-think entertainment made watchable by it's pallet of stars and it's varying locales. Hardwicke, wearing a fluffy wig and with his pants up near his nipples, is a long way off from "The Ten Commandments" and other, greater roles. Seeing him paired with Fabian (!) is about the most unexpected teaming imaginable. Fabian, with his adorable 5-inch-high pompadour, looks cute throughout, but is saddled with a hilariously awkward title song that he sings more than once. Apparently his accordion lessons only got him that far. Another surprising pair is that of Buttons and Eden. He is a charming character actor, but has no business headlining an adventure film! That's what an early Oscar win can do for (or to!) a career, though. He acquits himself fairly well, however. Eden is free of the overstated qualities that she brought to "I Dream of Jeannie" and is refreshingly subdued and attractive. Haydn gives a very stylized, mannered performance that may baffle those more familiar with his chummy Uncle Max character from "The Sound of Music". His inflection does begin to grate after a while. Lorre manages to toss off a few dry witticisms in one of his last roles. Luna, trotting around in an abbreviated costume and a teased hairdo, is mere decoration. In case all these people weren't wacky enough, there's a female chimpanzee on board! Several famed actors pop up in cameo roles. An ill-looking Marshall has a bit as The Prime Minister and legendarily tart Daniell has a role as a Sheik. Most of the Arabian characters are portrayed by white men in make-up, which was customary at the time. Logistical oddities and camp factors abound. The balloon can barely get off the ground with just four men at the beginning (half the luggage gets tossed), yet before long there's seven passengers and a monkey on it! Watch for the screamingly funny scene in which Eden, running across a perfectly flat, open field, manages to trip over the lone branch that has fallen in the way. All those oranges gone to waste! The humor is pretty lame and the situations are hardly realistic, yet somehow the cornball movie winds up being fairly entertaining.