Fantastic Voyage
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Directed by	Richard Fleischer
Produced by	Saul David
Written by	Story: Jerome Bixby Otto Klement Screenplay: Harry Kleiner Adaptation: David Duncan
Starring	Stephen Boyd Raquel Welch Edmond O'Brien Donald Pleasence
Music by	Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography	Ernest Laszlo, ASC
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release date(s)	August 24, 1966 (U. Richard O Fleischer ( December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American Film director. David Duncan was born February 17, 1913 and died December 27, 1999 in Everett Washington. Stephen Boyd ( July 4, 1931 &ndash June 2, 1977) born William Millar, was an Irish -born actor from Glengormley Raquel Welch (born September 5 1940 is a Golden Globe -winning American actor who achieved fame as a Hollywood sex symbol during the 1960s Edmond O'Brien (September 10 1915 – May 9 1985 was an American Film Actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, (5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995 was an English stage and film actor. Leonard Rosenman ( September 7 1924 – March 4 2008) was an American Academy Award and Emmy Award winning film television Ernest Laszlo, ASC ( April 23 in Budapest Hungary 1898&ndash January 6, 1984) was an Academy Award -winning Hungarian-American Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. S. A. )
Running time	100 minutes
Language	English
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IMDb profile

Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The year 1966 in film involved some significant events Events Walt Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse died on Science fiction Film is a Film genre that uses speculative, Science -based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it (Asimov 1980:363). Bantam Books is a major US publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work See also Pre-production Screenwriting A screenplay or script is a written plan authored by a Screenwriter, for a Film or Television Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian Because the novelization was released six months before the movie, many people mistakenly believed Asimov's book had inspired the movie (Asimov 1980:390). According to Fred Schodt's The Astro Boy Essays, FOX also approached NBC to get the rights to an Astro Boy episode which had the same premise, but they never contacted the manga artist or credited him in the final product. Frederik L Schodt is an American Writer, Translator and interpreter, notable in Manga and Anime fandom for his translations is a Japanese Manga series and Television program first broadcast in Japan from 1963 to 1966

The movie inspired an animated television series, as well as a painting of the same name by Salvador Dalí. Fantastic Voyage is an American Animated Science fiction TV series based on the famous 1966 film directed by Richard Fleischer Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11 1904 &ndash January 23 1989 was a Spanish Catalan Surrealist ^[1]

Plot

The United States and the Soviet Union have both developed technology that allowed matter to be miniaturized using a process that shrinks individual atoms, but its value is limited because objects shrunk return to normal size after a period of time - the smaller an object is made, the quicker it reverts. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Resizing (including size-changing miniaturization magnification shrinking and enlargement is a theme in fiction especially Science fiction. History See also Atomic theory, Atomism The concept that matter is composed of discrete units and cannot be divided into arbitrarily tiny

Scientist Jan Benes, working behind the Iron Curtain, has figured out how to make the shrinking process work indefinitely. The " Iron Curtain " was the symbolic ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end With the help of the CIA, he escapes to the West, but an attempted assassination leaves him comatose, with a blood clot in his brain. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. A thrombus, or blood clot, is the final product of the Blood coagulation step in Hemostasis. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain

To save his life, Charles Grant (the agent who extracted him, played by Stephen Boyd), pilot Captain Bill Owens (William Redfield), Dr. Stephen Boyd ( July 4, 1931 &ndash June 2, 1977) born William Millar, was an Irish -born actor from Glengormley Michaels (Donald Pleasence), surgeon Dr. Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, (5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995 was an English stage and film actor. Peter Duval (Arthur Kennedy) and his assistant Cora Peterson (Raquel Welch) board a submarine, the Proteus, which is then miniaturized and injected into Benes. Arthur Kennedy may be Arthur Kennedy (actor Arthur Edward Kennedy, British colonial administrator Raquel Welch (born September 5 1940 is a Golden Globe -winning American actor who achieved fame as a Hollywood sex symbol during the 1960s A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability The ship is reduced to one micrometre in length, giving the team only one hour to repair the clot; after that, the submarine will begin to revert to its normal size and become large enough for Benes' immune system to detect and attack. An immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an Organism that protects against Disease by identifying and killing Pathogens and Tumor

The crew faces many obstacles on their journey. They are forced to detour through the heart (a temporary cardiac arrest must be induced to avoid destructive turbulence), the inner ear (all in the lab must remain quiet to prevent similar turbulence) and the alveoli of the lungs (where they replenish their supply of oxygen). The heart is a muscular organ in all Vertebrates responsible for pumping Blood through the Blood vessels by repeated rhythmic A cardiac arrest, also known as cardiorespiratory arrest, cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of The ear is the sense organ that detects Sounds The Vertebrate ear shows a common biology from Fish to Humans with variations An alveolus (plural alveoli, from Latin alveolus, "little cavity" is an anatomical structure that has the form of a hollow cavity lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive When the surgical laser needed to destroy the clot is damaged, it becomes obvious there is a saboteur on the mission. A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy oppressor or employer through subversion obstruction disruption and/or destruction They cannibalize their radio to repair the laser. When they finally reach the brain clot, there are only six minutes remaining to operate and then exit the body.

The traitor, Dr. Michaels, knocks Owens out and takes control of the Proteus while the rest of the crew is outside for the operation. Duval successfully removes the clot with the laser. Michaels tries to crash the sub into the clot area to kill Benes, but Grant fires the laser at the ship, causing it to veer away and crash. Michaels is trapped in the wreckage and killed when white blood cells attack and destroy the Proteus. Grant saves Owens from the ship, and they all swim desperately to one of the eyes, where they escape via a teardrop.

Cast

Production

The "whirlpool" scene where the two-inch Proteus miniature was spun around and sucked into a fistula shortly after the sub was injected into Benes' bloodstream was made using a large punch bowl, strawberry-flavored milk, and three cups of Cheerios cereal. Jean Del Val ( November 17, 1891 – March 13, 1975) was a French -born Actor. James Brolin (born July 18 1940) is an American Television, Film, Character actor, producer, and director In medicine a fistula (pl fistulas or fistulae is an abnormal connection or passageway between two Epithelium -lined organs or vessels that normally do not connect Cheerios is a Brand of Breakfast cereal created on June 19, 1941 and marketed by the General Mills cereal company of According to L.B. Abbott, a bird stole the miniature while it was drying on a window sill following a paint touch-up. Lenwood Ballard "Bill" Abbott also known as L B Abbott (13 June 1908 Pasadena California - 28 September 1985 Los Angeles was a Special It has never been recovered, and Abbott jokingly theorized that it is probably still part of some bird's nest up in some tree.

Donald Pleasance's final scene involved a lot of screaming in agony. Much of that turned out to be real, as the soap suds that were used to represent the white blood cells attacking him had gotten into his eyes, and as he was trapped in the command chair as the scene called for, he was unable to wipe his eyes free of the suds or receive medical attention until the scene was safely 'in the can'.

Much of the interior scenes of the secret complex were filmed at a football stadium at night. Brief glimpses of the outside playing field area can be seen as General Carter takes Grant through the complex on a small golf cart, as they pass the stairway entrances to each section of the stadium. A golf cart or golf buggy (officially referred to as a golf car according to ANSI standard z130

The entire operating theater, control room, and miniaturization chamber were all one contiguous set. An operating theater (or theatre) was a tiered Theater or Amphitheater in which students and other spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery The only piece of this area of the complex that was separate was the sterilization chamber.

The film was originally planned to have an epilogue, with Dr. Benes having recovered from the microsurgery. However, despite the success of the mission, he still suffered some minor brain damage; specifically the portion of his memory that contained the secret of how to maintain a miniaturized state for longer than an hour. Verified as genuine, copies of scripts containing this ending have circulated in conventions for years, and can be found on the Internet. Asimov's novelization includes a similar epilogue, though omitting the memory loss.

Reuse of sets and props

The actual full-sized set and prop for the Proteus was placed in storage at the 20th Century Fox backlot for years, and maintained in relatively good condition. It was brought out of retirement briefly for use in filming a Public Service Announcement in 1972 for the American Medical Association on the risks of heart disease. A public service announcement (PSA or community service announcement (CSA is a non-commercial advertisement broadcast on radio or television ostensibly for the Public The American Medical Association (AMA founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897 is the largest association of Physicians and Medical students in the United States Heart disease is an Umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the Heart. Shortly afterwards, it was painted orange and modified for use as a rescue vessel in Irwin Allen's disaster film, The Poseidon Adventure. Irwin Allen ( June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was a television and film producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work However, due to budget constraints, all scenes featuring the rescue craft were cut before any scenes were filmed, and the hull of the modified Proteus was later scrapped.

Parts of the miniature sets, as well as some of the full-sized sets, were "borrowed" by Irwin Allen for use on some of his various TV shows. Irwin Allen ( June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was a television and film producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work The season one Lost in Space episode, "The Derelict" features the brain set used as the interior for the alien spaceship that has swallowed the Jupiter 2. Lost in Space is a Science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and The brain cells were explained to be a "crystaline power source. " One of the blood vessel sets was used as a conveyor tube in an episode of Lost in Space where Will Robinson has just been converted into a diminutive duplicate of Dr. Lost in Space is a Science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and Zachary Smith. Part of the inner ear miniature set was used in the episode "Jonah and the Whale" on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was a 1960s American Science Fiction Television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. The laser gun was used on several of Allen's series as an alien weapon prop, and there is some evidence that the set design techniques for the brain set were used on Lost in Space as the interior of the alien spaceship in the 2nd episode "The Derelict". Lost in Space is a Science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and

Much of the aforementioned usage of sets and props from Fantastic Voyage in Irwin Allen's TV efforts can be attributed to two facts: Special effects for both efforts were supervised by L.B. Abbott, and both were filmed in adjacent stages at the 20th Century Fox studios. Irwin Allen ( June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was a television and film producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work Lenwood Ballard "Bill" Abbott also known as L B Abbott (13 June 1908 Pasadena California - 28 September 1985 Los Angeles was a Special Paul Zastupnevich, Allen's associate during the majority of his science-fiction TV work, stated in numerous interviews that the use of the Fantastic Voyage sets and props was, at times, due to "midnight requisitioning" on the part of both Allen and Abbott. Paul Zastupnevich (December 24 1921 – May 9 1997 was an American Costume designer and assistant to movie producer and director Irwin Allen. Richard Basehart also referred to specifics on filming the episode "Jonah and the Whale" of having to film certain scenes long after normal studio hours because they were "borrowing" a set from another production and had to finish shooting before that production resumed shooting the following morning. John Richard Basehart ( August 31 1914 - September 17 1984) was an American Actor.

Background

Logical flaws

In the original movie, the crew (apart from the saboteur) manage to leave Benes' body safely before reverting to normal size, but the Proteus remains inside, as do the remains of the saboteur's body (albeit digested by a white blood cell). Isaac Asimov pointed out (Asimov 1980:363-364) that this was a serious logical flaw in the plot, since the submarine (even if reduced to bits of debris) would also revert to normal size, killing Benes in the process. Therefore, in his novelization Asimov had the crew provoke the white cell into following them, so that it drags the submarine to the tearduct. The submarine (or rather, the wreckage of it) then expands outside Benes' body.

Moreover, the scene where the crew collects air from Benes' lungs after their own supply is sabotaged should not work, as the air consists of normal-sized molecules. Asimov's novelization solved this problem as well by including a miniaturization device in the jury-rigged suction machine. However, in the movie, the unminiaturized air was used only to pressurize a tank for ballast, not for breathing.

According to the introduction of the novel, Asimov was rather reluctant to write the novel because he believed that the miniaturization of matter is physically impossible. But he decided that it was still good fodder for story-telling and that it could still make for some intelligent reading. Plus it was known that 20th Century Fox wanted someone with some science-fiction clout to help promote the film. To his credit, aside from the initial "impossibility" of the shrinking machine, Asimov went to great lengths to accurately portray what it would actually be like to be shrunk to that scale, such as the lights on the sub being highly penetrating to normal matter, time distortion, and other side effects that are completely ignored in the movie.

Related novels and comics

Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain, was written by Isaac Asimov as an attempt to develop and present his own story apart from the 1966 screenplay. This novel is not a sequel to the original, but instead is a separate story taking place in the Soviet Union with an entirely different set of characters.

Fantastic Voyage: Microcosm is a third interpretation, written by Kevin J. Anderson, published in 2001. Kevin J Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American Science fiction Author. This version has the crew of the Proteus explore the body of a dead alien that crash-lands on earth, and updates the story with such modern concepts as nanotechnology (replacing killer white cells). Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular

A comic book adaptation of the film was released by Gold Key in 1967. In fiction a gold key is a special token granting access to and control of a mythical or ultra-private or secret Bank account or vault such as a Swiss bank account Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Drawn by industry legend Wally Wood, the book followed the plot of the movie with general accuracy, but many scenes were depicted differently and/or outright dropped, and the ending was given an epilogue similar that seen in some of the early draft scripts for the film. Wallace Allan Wood ( June 17, 1927, Menahga Minnesota – November 2, 1981, Los Angeles California) was an American

Adaptations

1968 Animated television series

Two years after the film was released, ABC aired an animated series on Saturday mornings. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. Fantastic Voyage is an American Animated Science fiction TV series based on the famous 1966 film directed by Richard Fleischer The series was produced by Filmation. For the unrelated isometric graphics engine used by Ultimate Play the Game in their 8-bit computer games see Filmation engine.

In the series, a different team of scientists performed their missions in a craft known as Voyager, a submarine which featured wedge-shaped wings and large, swept T-tail, and was capable of flight. A T-tail is an aircraft tail stabilizer arrangement in which the horizontal surfaces ( Tailplane and elevators are mounted to the top of the A model kit of Voyager was offered by Aurora Model Company for several years, and has become a sought-after collectors' item since then.

Cartoon spoofs and imitations

The idea of shrinking people down for the purpose of traveling inside another human's body has been frequently used in animated cartoons. An animated cartoon is a short hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn Film for the cinema, Television or computer Many of these shows, including The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, Sealab 2021, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Teen Titans, Invader Zim, Jimmy Neutron, ReBoot, Muppet Babies, The Magic Schoolbus, Beetlejuice, Dexter's Laboratory, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Transformers, Yin-Yang-Yo!, Happy Tree Friends and SpongeBob SquarePants have directly spoofed or imitated Fantastic Voyage. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other Rugrats is an American Animated television series that aired from August 11, 1991 to June 8, 2004 on For the animated TV series based on this comic see Teen Titans (TV series. Invader Zim, Branded as Invader ZIM, is an American Animated television series that was produced by and subsequently James Isaac "Jimmy" Neutron (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is a fictional character in the TV series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius ReBoot is a Canadian CGI - animated action-adventure Television series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001 Jim Henson's Muppet Babies was a popular American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to December 29 The Magic School Bus is a series of Children's books, intended to teach scientific concepts to children Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton. Dexter's Laboratory ( Dexter's Lab for short is an Annie Award -winning American animated series created by Genndy Tartakovsky The Ren and Stimpy Show is an American / Canadian animated television series created by Canadian Animator John Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF) is an American Animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part This page is about the original Transformers Animated series. Yin Yang Yo! is an Animated television series distributed by Walt Disney Television Animation and created by Bob Boyle (also the creator of Happy Tree Friends (Often abbreviated as HTF) is a Flash cartoon series by Mondo Mini Shows, created by Rhode Montijo, Kenn SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and Media franchise. Footage from the movie was used in a commercial for General Electric, in which a surgeon daydreams in the middle of an operation and this leads to an embarrassing moment when he says "Get back to the ship. "

In a rare non-animated example, the third season Mighty Boosh episode "Journey to the Centre of the Punk" involves a spoof of the concept, complete with the miniature submarine and colourful special effects. The Mighty Boosh, colloquially referred to as The Boosh, is the collective name for the creators of the British television situation comedy written by and starring

The Disney made Motion Simulator ride in Epcot called Body Wars shares similar concepts. Body Wars was a ride at the Wonders of Life pavilion at Walt Disney World Resort 's Epcot. Passengers of a submersible are shrunk and placed inside a human body to meet with a scientist studying white blood cells effects on a splinter. When the scientist ends up in the blood stream passengers are taken on an emergency mission to save her.

The band Placebo also made a music video inspired by the film for their song, "Special K". Placebo are an Alternative rock band formed in London in 1994 currently comprising Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Forrest

Perhaps the most sincere imitation, however, came in the form of the 1987 film Innerspace, directed by Joe Dante, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starring Martin Short, Dennis Quaid, and Meg Ryan. Innerspace is an Academy Award -winning 1987 Science fiction Comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Joseph Domenick "Joe" Dante (born November 28, 1946) is an American Film director and producer of films generally with Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. Martin Hayter Short, CM (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian Comedian, Actor, writer, Singer and Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American Actor. Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961) professionally known as Meg Ryan, is a Golden Globe-nominated American film While Innerspace doesn't depict a medical emergency, the ideas of miniaturization, the submersible, and some direct referential imitations (such as Quaid's character collecting Southern Comfort liquor as Short's character swallows it) are carried across.

Remake

Plans for a remake or sequel were in serious discussion as early as 1997, and in 2007 20th Century Fox announced that pre-production on the project was underway. Roland Emmerich has been hired to direct while Marianne and Cormac Wibberley are the leading candidates to write a new script. Roland Emmerich (born November 10 1955 is a German Film director, Screenwriter, and producer. Marianne Wibberley & Cormac Wibberley are an American Screenwriting team as well as husband and wife ^[2]

Antibody (2002) was a spin off starring Lance Henriksen, with a slightly more preposterous premise of a team of scientists miniaturized to find a nuclear bomb inside of a human body. Lance James Henriksen (born May 5 1940) is an American Actor, painter, and potter. ^[3]

References

Bibliography

• Asimov, Isaac (1980). In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978. New York: Avon. ISBN 0380530252.  

Notes

See also

• Microsurgery

External links

• Fantastic Voyage at the Internet Movie Database
• Fantastic Voyage at Allmovie