20,000 Leagues Under the Sea:- The Film (1954)

The name itself is so famous! Jules Verne was indeed a visionary! His concepts and ideas were truly far ahead of his time.

I have read the story in my childhood and watched the film recently. It was first science fiction film, made in 1954, shot in Cinemascope. The film was produced by Walt Disney and directed by Richard Fleischer. Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre are the main actors. 

The search for a sea monster brings a scientist and his attendant and a harpooner to the submarine- Nautilus of the famous character Captain Nemo.

Gradually the scientist comes to realise the bitterness Capt Nemo has inside him, how he hates colonisation/ the powerful dominance of one country on the other.

We become amazed by all the inventions made by Capt Nemo and his team, how they use all natural products in their everyday life in the ship.

They go through many adventures which also include fighting with a giant squid, such a memorable scene! In the end, we see Nautilus gets attacked and Captain Nemo destroys all his inventions so that they do not fall in the wrong hands. Only the scientist and the harpooner comes alive from the water following the vast destruction. 

After watching the film we feel sad thinking how all those inventions which were destroyed could have helped mankind in many ways. Science could have used them according to the need of the society. But in his frustration Capt Nemo decided not to share his inventions with society. Thus the world lost a great talent and all his valuable inventions. 

Capt Nemo's character, so strikingly different from others, gets etched permanently in our memory.