City Beneath The Sea

Movie DVD played as expected and fun seeing a sci-fy movie I remembered watching as a kid in the 70s. If you were a fan of Irwin Allen shows, it is fun seeing cast members from his different shows in the movie along with familiar sound effects.

A whodunit under the sea with a catastrophe fast approaching.

FIRST, THE TECHNICAL:1) To be clear, the DVD advertised here (or at least the one that *I* received) is indeed the 1971 Irwin Allen TV-movie, "City Beneath the Sea;" it is NOT the unrelated 1950s movie of the same name. I bring this up because a common complaint on this message board seems to be that they either received or streamed (on Prime Video) the 1950s film instead of the 1971 TV movie they paid for and were expecting to receive. I don't know what happened to others; all I can say is that *I* received the correct film on DVD. I would suggest that if you order this movie from this page and receive the wrong film, contact Amazon for a proper exchange or refund. But I did receive the correct movie.2) This Warner Archive DVD is beautifully rendered. The remastered image transfer is crystal clear and sharp. It is DVD; not blu-ray, therefor it is in standard definition, rather than HD. However, I viewed it on a 1080p HDTV (via a Sony blu-ray player with HD upscaling connected by HDMI) and the picture was so good, if I didn't know better, I could have sworn that I was watching a full HD blu-ray. In a word, the picture was excellent. Crystal clear and sharp.3) The presentation (to my surprise) was in 16:9 widescreen (or 1.85:1 theatrical ratio), not the old standard 4:3 TV "square" (or 1.33:1 TV aspect ratio). So, if you watch it on a modern 16:9 television (modern rectangular flatscreen), it will fill your entire screen with no black bars on the sides, no distortion. Apparently, it was filmed that way to allow for a widescreen theatrical release overseas. There's only one brief scene that looks like it *may* have been cropped. Otherwise, it appears to be formatted as it was originally filmed for a theatrical release internationally (even though it surely aired in the old standard 4:3 when it premiered as an NBC movie of the week). This DVD from Warner Archives makes use of the original theatrical widescreen, beautifully remastered from 35mm film, to look incredible on a modern 16:9 screen, even in standard definition.THE MOVIE ITSELF:This movie, intended as a two-hour TV pilot for a series that never came to be, works just fine as a stand-alone film--and a rather impressive, very expensive, very ambitious movie for television in 1971. The retro-futuristic (interior) sets look fantastic for 70s TV--and would look just fine on the big screen as well. And there's a lot of them! It's not just two or three cool sets. You get to visit quite a few places in this space-aged underwater city of Pacifica. They clearly spent some money. The miniature modeling (exterior sets and vehicles) are not quite "movie quality" even for the time, but more than acceptable for a 1971 TV pilot. Indeed, the underwater miniature set of the aquatic city of Pacifica is quite charming. Many of the underwater subs and vehicles range from rather realistic looking to even Gerry Anderson-like.Irwin Allen's "Flying Sub" from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" is also reused as a featured vehicle in "City Beneath the Sea." It's unclear if this movie was originally intended to be in continuity with "Voyage." The unnamed President of the United States is played by Richard Basehart, who starred in the afore-mentioned series, which might have suggested the same character having been elected President later in his career, had it not been for an opening title stipulating that the year was now 2053--some 80+ years after "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" is set. So, clearly he cannot be the same character and the Flying Sub would now be an eighty year old design, but "City Beneath the Sea" is clearly a spiritual successor to "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." Another wink and a nod to Irwin Allen's past TV works is a number of high rise, modular buildings seen in the background, both in New York City and underwater in Pacifica, featuring a saucer-like structure which looks suspiciously like the Jupiter 2 from "Lost in Space." And it looks great!The only truly "bad" visual effect which detracts from an otherwise quality look is a fiery rogue asteroid/planetoid which threatens Earth and the city of Pacifica, specifically. It looks like a reuse, redress, or repurpose of the same bad asteroid/comet model previously used in both "Lost in Space" and "The Time Tunnel." Given the high quality of the film's overall look, it seems Allen would have wished to present a more realistic-looking "planetoid" to serve as the plot's main threat--something at least matching the visual quality of "Star Trek," which was made years prior and with a smaller budget. Unfortunately, the flaming asteroid in this film (why is it flaming?), threatening to collide with Earth, looks pretty silly to say the least. But, again, overall, the visuals look quite nice."City Beneath the Sea" also sports some big names from Stuart Whitman as the main hero, to appearances from Joseph Cotton and Sugar Ray Robinson, to the movie's big main villain, none other than Robert Wagner (yes, that Robert Wagner). It also features some of Irwin Allen's favorite pool of actors from his previous series, including Robert Colbert, James Darren, and Whit Bessell, all three from "The Time Tunnel," and Richard Basehart from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."This film is pure Irwin Allen in every way--and one could sense the likely path it would take had it gone to series. It was typical of Irwin Allen to launch a series as an impressive, high quality, big budget-looking extravaganza bordering on hard science fiction and clearly aimed at a more mature audience (family friendly, to be clear, but "mature" as in not just aimed at kids, but aimed at adults)--in other words, a "serious" drama with serious dramatic themes. Even "Lost in Space" began as a serious hard science fiction drama before spiraling into a campy, low budget kid's sitcom, complete with giant talking carrots. You saw similar patterns (although to a far lesser extent) with shows like "The Time Tunnel" and even "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in later seasons. The series begins as a serious (and expensive) drama featuring stories that are dark and dramatic only to later focus on campy alien monsters in silly rubber suits constructed from dime store materials. Who's to say? Perhaps this series would have kept its serious tone over time, but what I can say for sure is that the look, feel, and tone of this made-for-TV movie is so very Irwin Allen at his best--and we'll never know whether or not it would have faltered over time. Regardless, this is definitely must-see for all Irwin Allen fans in particular--as well as lovers of vintage sci-fi and, yes, science fiction fans in general.But more than that, this movie combines several genres into one. It's a murder mystery (Who killed Bill Holmes and why?). It's a heist film (Robert Wagner masterminds one of the greatest gold heists in history), and a sci-fi disaster movie (Earth is being rocked by gravimetric tidal forces as a runaway planetoid threatens to collide with Earth.) Put simply, it's pretty good! Although supposedly set in the year 2053, according to an opening title, the look and feel (even the clothing) is surprisingly grounded; the plot and the science is (mostly) plausible. A rogue body is hurtling towards Earth, causing havoc (storms, earthquakes) to the point that even Fort Knox is under threat. The United States decides to transport its entire stock of gold bullion to Pacifica for safe keeping under the ocean, as well as a (fictional) radio active element (H1-28) worth far more than even the gold. This presents villain Robert Wagner, the city's main engineer, a perfect opportunity to try to pull off the heist of the century. Where it does get a bit silly is how the movie treats this supposedly highly unstable, highly radio active super-element "H1-28," which is so volatile and so dangerous, the only thing which can contain it is gold. But apparently, it doesn't have to be sealed in any sort of gold lined container. No, all you have to do is place this volatile, radio active rock which is constantly belching fire and smoke and incinerates anything or anyone that comes near it, just place it NEAR some STACKS of gold bricks, completely uncontained, and it's all good! Uh...okay. That's one weird rock. I guess cancer isn't a concern, but sure.Still, it's a fun and nostalgic watch--and I'm extremely impressed with the care Warner Archives took in remastering it into quite the visual experience. Four out of five stars!

I loved this version with Stuart Whitman I bought two so my sister and I could watch (which she lives in another state) together and enjoy and reminisce on different scenes.

Well, all of the underwater towers were just Jupiter 2's and we had lots of footage of the Flying Sub but the story was torturous. It was like being stung to death by one bee. But if you like really bad films, or stuff you watched back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and you were in short pants being plopped in front of the T.V. so they could all do grown-up stuff... Well, it's borderline 'too bad to watch' and so it could be perfect for you.

My husband loves it.

Good early 70's made-for-TV Irwin Allen underwater sci-fi adventure. An underwater city is threatened by an incoming meteorite. If that isn't enough the city has to store a highly radioactive substance surrounded by Fort Knox's gold, which is the only thing that keeps the hot material stable. AND, if that isn't enough there are thieves planning to steal the deadly stuff so they can be rich. ANNND, if that isn't enough there are soap opera situations and personality mismatch's to keep the whole facility fully occupied. The film is full of TV and 40's, 50's, and 60's film actors. Allen re-uses some props from his earlier TV series and the sets aren't bad, if improbably roomy. The best character is Dr. Aguila, a scientist who has been surgically altered to be amphibious. The DVD-R is very good quality and the color is beautiful and the picture is clear, but the only extra is the trailer, which is welcome. Highly recommended.

City Beneath the Sea is the usual Irwin Allen disaster plot, yet it stands out as an extremely handsome production. All of Irwin's works look good, yet this stands out. After years of unacceptable VHS and DVDs of this title, this Amazon DVD is quite good. It fills up the screen on the new large television screens without stretching, the clarity is better than when first brodcast. A great cast of Hollywood Who's Who is on board which helps, but the sets are what really send this film over the top. Irwin used practically everthing from the past productions on this show, yet in a fresh, vital and showstopping way. The color and style will keep you astonished. I guess that Irwin had planned to use this as a pilot for a new series which later didn't pencil out, yet he gave it his best shot. A must buy item for Irwin Allen fans!

I was thrilled to see this Irwin Allen production again after many, many years! It took me back to my youth and I appreciated the crisp, excellent copy! I will be enjoying this film for years to come!

Always loved this film when I was a kid and it doesn't disappoint. So glad to find it on DVD. Would have preferred full widescreen but this 16:9 format still looks impressive - particularly the undersea shots of Pacifica.

Excellent science fiction film produced by Irwin Allen. Some people live an underwater city called Pacifica. They find that they must defend their city against hostile forces.

It is a blast from the past. Really enjoyed it. And quickly delivered.

a Irwin Allen film ( master of disaster , )in this case the disaster plot is under the sea in a futuristiccity under the wavesSpanish import but with uk audio