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Movie: Fantastic Voyage (1966)Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch Star in Classic Sci-Fi Film
Director Richard Fleischer's sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage came to the big screen in 1966. Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien and Donald Pleasence star.
A team of medical specialists are miniaturized and inserted into the bloodstream of an injured scientist in director Richard Fleischer's science fiction movie classic, Fantastic Voyage. Stephen Boyd and buxom Raquel Welch head the cast, with Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Arthur O'Connell and Arthur Kennedy in fantastic support. All aboard the Proteus! Screenplay, Novelization, Director, Music Fantastic Voyage was based on a story by Otto Klement and Jay Lewis (Jerome) Bixby. Harry Kleiner and David Duncan penned the screenplay. Isaac Asimov was commissioned by Bantam Books to write the novel Fantastic Voyage from the movie's screenplay. The subsequent paperback novelization appeared six months before the film's release. A hardcover edition was also published in 1966 by Houghton Mifflin. Richard Fleischer directed Fantastic Voyage. His previous science fiction credits included Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). Leonard Rosenman served up the film's music score. Fantastic Voyage CastStephen Boyd starred as Charles Grant and Raquel Welch played Cora Peterson. Other cast members included Edmond O'Brien (General Alan Carter), Donald Pleasence (Dr. Max Michaels), Arthur O'Connell (Colonel Donald Reid), William Redfield (Captain Bill Owens), Arthur Kennedy (Dr. Peter Duval), Jean Del Val (Jan Benes) and James Brolin (Technician). Budget, Filming LocationsBudgeted at $6.5 million, Fantastic Voyage was filmed exclusively in Los Angeles. Locales included Exposition Park and the Los Angeles Sports Arena, the latter of which served as Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces Headquarters (CMDF). Fantastic Voyage Special Effects, Sets, PropsProviding the movie's superlative special effects were L.B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank, Emil Kosa Jr. and Greg C. Jensen. Marcel Delgado served up the visual effects in the form of miniatures. Soap suds were used to simulate white blood cells while strawberry-flavored milk with three cups of Cheerios doubled as a human bloodstream. The biggest set used in the movie was the contiguous operating theater, control room and miniaturization chamber, followed by a full-scale set and prop of the submarine Proteus. Other items used in the production included the laser gun prop and the inner ear miniature set. Cold War, Miniaturization, Proteus, AntibodiesFantastic Voyage is set during the Cold War, with the United States and the Soviet Union both involved in miniaturization technology. One of the leading scientists in the field is Jan Benes, who is working behind the Iron Curtain. The CIA manages to spirit Benes to the West, but an assassination attempt leaves him comatose, with a blood clot in the brain threatening his life. A medical team is now assembled to repair the blood clot. But this will be no ordinary operation, as the team will board the submarine Proteus where they will be miniaturized and then injected into the body of Benes. Once inside, the team will have one hour to complete their work before the miniaturization process reverses itself and they revert to normal size. Fantastic Voyage lives up to its name, as the Proteus and her crew make their way through the human body. Turbulence in the heart threatens to destroy their vessel while antibodies, sensing a new source of "infection," hurl themselves at the microscopic invaders. Also adding to the suspense is the presence of a traitor, who has sabotaged Dr. Duval's surgical laser gun. Release, ReviewsFantastic Voyage was released in the United States on August 24, 1966. "Fantastic Voyage is just that. The lavish production, boasting some brilliant special effects and superior creative efforts, is an entertaining, enlightening excursion through inner space -- the body of a man," reported Variety. Academy Awards, DVDFantastic Voyage won two Academy Awards: Best Effects/Special Visual Effects and Best Art Direction - Set Decoration Color. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Effects/Sound Effects and Best Film Editing. Fantastic Voyage Special Edition was released on DVD in 2007 by 20th Century Fox. Featured on the cover are the Proteus argonauts escaping from the eye of their host. Fantastic Voyage RemakeAs of 2008, a Fantastic Voyage remake was in pre-production by Centropolis Entertainment. "We're going to see things no one has ever seen before. Just think about it," says Raquel Welch as the team prepares to enter the human body. Deep, Raquel...
The copyright of the article Movie: Fantastic Voyage (1966) in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films is owned by William J. Felchner. Permission to republish Movie: Fantastic Voyage (1966) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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