20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

1868. Rumours spread of a monster in the sea. When Professor Aronnax and his companions go to investigate, they find the monster is a submarine: Captain Nemo's Nautilus. Richard Fleischer directed, from Jules Verne's novel. Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre star. The production was a turning point for Disney twice over. It was one of the first features shot in CinemaScope and the first Disney film distributed through Buena Vista rather than the old RKO arrangement. The giant squid sequence was reshot from scratch. The first version had been filmed at dusk in a calm sea; the crew moved it to night in a huge thunderstorm, both to raise the tension and to hide the mechanics. It premiered on 23 December 1954. At the 27th Academy Awards it won Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects, with a further nomination for Film Editing. Who it is for: viewers who like classic adventure and the era of practical effects. Who it is not for: anyone used to modern pacing. It runs over two hours and the first half is almost entirely waiting aboard a ship.