"The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo": Is the TV-series loyal to Jules Verne?
The Plot (novel and TV-series)
1865, The American Civil War: Five POW manage to escape by
balloon from Fort Richmond. Caught in a storm and with the balloon damaged they find themselves 'shipwrecked' on a
volcanic desert island somewhere in
the Pacific. Just before crash landing their leader, the brilliant engineer Cyrus
Smith falls to his apparent death in the raging waters, but later turns up
completely unharmed and with no memory of how he was saved. His fellow castaways
are: the famous journalist Gedeon Spilett, the salty sailor Bonaventure
Pencroff, the orphaned boy Harbert Brown and the black servant of
Smith, Nab. The dog Top also joined them in the escape.
The castaways, or as they come to regard themselves, the
colonists, arrive practically empty-handed and in order to survive have to
figure out how to make fire, weapons and tools, grow food, build themselves a
home etc. Needless to say, they do. And all the time the true master of the
island is watching them secretly from afar, stepping in to give them a discreet
helping hand when in serious trouble. Who is he and why is he helping the
colonists?
A message in a bottle leads the colonists to the even smaller
island Tabor, where they encounter the marooned ex-pirate Ayrton, who has
become an almost mindless savage from years in isolation. They bring him back to
their own island and eventually he becomes part of their small society. Another
addition to the group is the ape Jupiter (a chimp in the series, orang-utan
in the novel).
One day a ship appears in the horizon. At first the colonists
are overjoyed, but it turns out to be, not a means to their salvation, but a
pirate ship, the crew old pals of Ayrton! They have to fight them and at the
same time (in the series; later, after the pirates have been successfully
fought, in the novel) the hitherto dormant volcano erupts, threatening all life
on the island with annihilation. Their only hope now is the mysterious stranger
who has guarded them so far... but is it too late?
The TV-series - how faithful to the source?
Quite faithful, in fact. For starters, the casting is inspired. The actors may
not behave exactly as narrated by Jules Verne or look like spitting
images of the old French drawings, but they're close enough - and most
important, they're believable characters, they feel like genuine human
beings.
So what if Cyrus Smith Gérard Tichy appears physically slightly
more portly and less stern of temperament than in the novel - he comes
through fine as the great figure of authority and knowledge, the natural leader
of men that Verne intended.
Philippe Nicaud is a curiously wimpy Gedeon
Spilett (noted for his bravery in the novel). He's a bit of a philosopher
here as well. It's an interesting take on the character and Nicaud - who
provides narrative voice-over in the theatrical feature version, plays him very
well.
But if these are good, Jess Hahn as the salty seadog Pencroff is
simply perfect. A comic relief character in the novel, the script
provides Hahn with some excellent opportunities to play it loud and physical,
which he does admirably. But the Pencroff of the series has a darker side to him
as well, which I think makes him more interesting as a character: He can at
times be disturbingly headstrong and initially display rather nasty prejudices
against black people.
Which brings me to Ambrose Bia. With all due respect to Jules
Verne, the character of Nab in the series is a huge improvement of the
character. No longer an embarrassing "Yes, Massa" stereotype, this Nab
is a proud, self-confident individual. Mind you, he's still completely devoted
to Cyrus Smith (after all Smith set him free, didn't he?) and no, they don't
consider each other friends, or social equals; it's that sort of old-fashioned
bonding between master and servant that caused Peter Jackson et al so much
headache in their adaptation of The Lord of the Rings...
Rafael Bardem I guess is okay as Harbert Brown. The actor tends to
be slightly annoying, but that might have to do with the dubbing. (The English
language dub is worst.)
Fans of European horror and trash movies will get a kick out of watching Gabriele Tinti as Ayrton,
initially spotting an enormous, Monty Pythonsque beard. He's delivers an
excellent performance as a near savage who gradually regains his dignity as a
human being.
Mariano Vidal Molina is a suitable nasty Bob Harvey, the pirate leader
and Euro veteran Rik Battaglia has a fine cameo as his second-in-command,
mr.Finch.
Finally, Omar Sharif is arguably the definitive Captain Nemo.
Nothing wrong with James Mason, Herbert Lom et al - great chaps,
all of them, but Sharif has just the right aura of the man who put himself
outside and above his kind. It helps that he looks the part without resorting to
makeup too!
to be continued...
