This science-fiction "inner space" thriller, one of the most amazing
ever conceived, follows a crew of medical scientists (Stephen Boyd,
Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasance, Arthur O'Connell,
William Redfield, Arthur Kennedy) on an incredible submarine journey
through the human body and into the brain to perform a delicate repair
operation. The team must combat the elements of the living body as well
as a saboteur in their midst. They have first all been miniaturized to
microbe size for their fantastic adventure.
Review :
"Fantastic Voyage" follows a surgical team of three scientists: Dr Peter
Duval, the top brain surgeon in the country (Arthur Kennedy); Cora
Peterson, his technical assistant (Raquel Welch); Dr Michaels, chief of
the medical mission (Donald Pleasance), plus the skipper of the ship
(William Redfield) and Grant (Stephen Boyd) the security agent for
security purposes...
The sealed vesselThe Proteusis reduced
down by a secret branch called CMDF (Combined Miniature Deterrent
Forces) and injected into one artery of a defecting Russian scientist
who has suffered brain injury and he's in a coma from an assassination
attempt... The crew must navigate to the scientist's brain (within
exactly 60 minutes) where Dr Duval will attempt to dissolve the coagulum
with a laser beam
After that everything starts growing back to its
original size
"Fantastic Voyage" is a film of authentic wonder:
An ocean of life, the corpuscles, the heart, the lungs of the human body
through which the crew move are exquisitely designed in great detail
with artistic quality...
The plot creates unceasing moments of
suspense as the ship and its crew are continually threatened by the
scientist's natural defenses: white corpuscles, reticular fibers,
antibodies and other factors
Leonard Rosenman's futuristic score nicely
complements the adventure on screen with the strange sound of the human
blood rushing through arteries, veins, rhythmical muscular movements,
and of course, the sabotage occurred on board
With two Oscar
Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction, 'Fatastic Voyage'
is certainly the most unusual journey into the human body, where the
'medieval philosophers were right. Man is the center of the universe. We
stand in the middle of infinity, between outer and inner space. And
there's no limit to either.'