20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) was a movie of firsts. It was the first feature length adaptation of Jules Vernes classic and was also the very first movie to film underwater.

Alas the troubles of this silent movie became apparent quite early on, namely that it's not exactly loyal to the source material. If you're expecting something strongly resembling the book then this may be an adaptation worth skipping over.

Now as mentioned this is a silent film (Entirely even devoid of music) which I'll be honest I've never liked. It's not anything snobbish or any expectations that I impose on a film, it's more that sitting for 90 minutes odd in silence gives me a migraine.

For this reason I watched this in sections and when the credits rolled I still managed to acquire a migraine and wasn't overly impressed with what I saw.

Considering it's age the majority looks fantastic as does the underwater filming. Certain parts struggle and it's unclear everything that is taking place but thankfully unlike 1907's version they are few and far between.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a passable attempt at a grandiose tale and the first of many many adaptations.

The Good:

Revolutionary for its time

The Bad:

Something about silent film gives me a headache

Not loyal to the original book