My dad took me to see this one in the theater back in 1974 when I was 7 years old. It blew me away and helped fuel a lifelong love for adventure/fantasy. Hey, who doesn't like a cool adventure? The story is set in the early 1900's and concerns a rich Englishman who leads a rescue party deep into the Arctic in search of his missing explorer son. They track him to a mysterious lost colony of Vikings that has been cut off from the outside world for centuries. The plot is a fairly typical "Lost World" format: 1/3rd of the movie is spent searching for the lost world, 1/3rd is spent exploring the lost world, 1/3rd is spent being chased around/from the lost world. It's all fairly exciting, but not deep enough to impress an adult viewer. (However, with some deft tweaking this could be GREAT remake material for Disney.) I bought the DVD recently to take a trip down memory lane and I wasn't disappointed. It held up well to my memory. Yes, the effects are dated and some of them are downright terrible, but others are surprisingly good, and overall the film has a wonderful pre-CGI charm. You'll also get vibrant outdoor shots and some of the best matte work you'll find in ANY movie. It's not a bad choice for adventure/fantasy fans looking for family-friendly fare. Probably your only chance to see this film anymore is on DVD. Be sure to get the 30th anniversary edition as it has the extras.
