The following article was originally published in issue 4 of my fanzine OBSKURIØST, November 2002. The printing restricted to 70 copies, it's not very easy to come by, so I've decided to republish the article here (with some minor revisions). NB. It was only after having published the fanzine that I obtained a copy of the uncut German TV-series.

 My Quest for "The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo"
by Henrik Larsen

You may not believe this, but in my childhood home, back in the Seventies we only had access to three TV channels, all free of commercials and with a strict program policy lest the viewers might catch anything that upset them or give them the wrong i.e. non-Marxist ideas: Danish National TV, Swedish National TV 1 and Swedish National TV 2. Today I realize how privileged my generation was to be spared the constant exposure of TV commercials and TV would eventually introduce me to European art cinema as well as Akira Kurosawa so I can hardly complain. Rest in peace, dear Television Commissars; your time is over, but you meant well.

Actually, because there was so precious little to choose from the films and TV-series I did get to watch probably made a much stronger impression than they'd have done otherwise. A couple of titles in particular stand out from this early period in my life: the Muppet feature The Frog Prince, three Doctor Who stories starring Tom Baker (a daring experiment by Danish National TV never to be repeated) and most of all the great and now seemingly lost TV-series, The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo. 

In the summer of 1974, when I was at the tender age of seven, starting on June 20 Swedish National TV ran a six part mini-series loosely adapted from the Jules Verne novel “The Mysterious Island”. Able to read from the age of 5 I had inherited a good deal of Jules Verne books from my late maternal grandfather and so was already familiar with the novel at that time (at least I got a grasp of the basic storyline). 

Watching The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo, alone or occasionally together with my parents, is one of my happiest memories from childhood. The series introduced me to exciting stuff like spy cameras which looked suspiciously like car lamps and occasionally fired bolts of electricity at the castaways, diving suits of futuristic design and of course the man of mystery, Captain Nemo and his vessel, the Nautilus. True, it did confuse me that he was a dashingly handsome and vital man, not near death of old age like in the book, but I really didn't mind. I naturally identified with Harbert, the boy who went on all kinds of daring adventures, including sneaking into the forbidden zone. And I loved the music! The scene I best remember - in fact the only scene I do remember - is the death of Captain Nemo, who mortally wounded, sits in his cabin in the Nautilus. The camera zooms in on his dark, bloodshot eyes and we know that in a moment the volcano is going to blow up the island and everything on it, including the Nautilus... 

And then I'm afraid I forgot about the whole thing again. I was only 7 after all. Apart from a repeat showing a few years later which I vaguely recall (but with no authority to back me I may be mistaken) the series never turned up again on TV to remind me. Still, it had left a lasting impression on me and so over the years I sometimes took to speculate on exactly what I had been watching as a kid - or if indeed I'd dreamt it all. I didn't know the original title or year of release; I had no clue of actor names or, well, anything. The incident sort of lurked in the back of my memory, a riddle awaiting the correct answer. It was pure coincidence - or luck - when I came across the German rental video Herrscher einer versunkenen Welt some 3 years ago. I bought it together with a bunch of other obscure titles from a Dutch tape dealer, having a sneaky suspicion that this just might be the TV-series I'd been wondering about all those years - and it turned out my hunch was right!

The find changed everything. Now I knew that I hadn't been mistaken, that I'd actually watched a TV-series adapted from my beloved book, of which this was a condensed version. Tapping into the newfound power of the Internet I started asking questions everywhere I could, in newsgroups, on message boards, in private conversation with fellow film collectors and learned that there are a lot of people out there who share my love for the series. This essay was written with you in mind. Next important step was the day I won a British videotape off eBay; to my amazement it contained footage not present in my German tape as well as omitting footage which did indeed appear in the latter. So began the Great Game: to find still more footage and if possible fit all the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle together, eventually reconstructing the entire TV-series.

Some production notes: The first shoot for the TV-series was from January to March 1972 under the direction of Juan Antonio Bardem (who sadly passed away on October 30, 2002) with Henri Colpi in charge of 2nd unit. Second shoot was from January to March 1973 under the sole direction of Colpi. La isla misteriosa (for showing in Spain and Latin America) was edited from the 1972 material. L'isola misteriosa e il Capitano Nemo was for Italian-only release and used 1972 material plus rehearsals from the 1973 shoot. L'île mystérieuse (French version) and The Mysterious Island (international version) created from both shoots are the same edit. 

A TV version shown in numerous Eastern Europan countries runs six hours; the Czech title of it is Tajuplny Ostrov (Mysterious Island). L'île mystérieuse was shown on French television from 17 December 1973 on ORTF channel with a running time of 6 x 52 minutes. The international theatrical version, which later found it's way to home video in most of the world run 105 minutes, while the Italian run 100 and the Spanish/ Latin American 120. 

I own original or copies of video releases (theatrical version) from Britain, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Holland and Spain. I am aware of video releases in France, Iceland, Italy and Russia. In August 2002 the theatrical version was released to DVD in France and two months later in Italy (I own originals of both). I've been offered, but couldn't afford a 16mm print of the US theatrical version; I do own a genuine 35mm theatrical trailer. A very important discovery was that all six TV-episodes were released to secam video back in the early 80s; I’ve received copies of two episodes (ep.3-4) from a private collector in France. 

Concerning an uncut TV-print I've been given encouraging information from very reliable sources. The German TV-station Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcasted the series in the 70's and still holds on to a print; unfortunately the material is supposed to be in poor shape and would need some serious restoration before it could be used and furthermore they don't have any video transfers and refuse to make transfers for private collectors. Supposedly Iranian State TV (!!) holds on to a print as well. Finally the entire TV-series is going to be released to DVD by l'Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (the French Film institute), possibly in 2003. No sign of it so far, alas... 

Thanks to Jean-Philippe Chauveau, Julian Granger, Andreas Kortmann, Thure Munkholm, Jiri Navratil and Programupplysningen Sveriges Television for help and information.

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