Jules Verne, Ray Harryhausen

Recently I mentioned my discovery of the movie animation of Ray Harryhausen. Further, I've been checking out some of his movies that I'd never seen before.

Generally speaking, I like to watch different versions / re-makes of a given movie. I like to see the different styles and ideas of the 2 (or more) movies that were likely made in different decades. I want to know how far the re-make deviated from the original. Too, how much did both movie versions differ from the book, if applicable?

That last question motivated me to read Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne. Sure, I've seen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That was years ago and I just thought of it as SciFi. I haven't yet read that book.

Well, remembering the Ray Harryhausen movie version of Mysterious Island caused me to become curious about how it related / compared to the book. Either I don't remember the movie very well, or it's just very loosely based on the book. Now I gotta check out the movie while the book is fresh in my mind.

But now I'm intrigued by Jules Verne. I didn't know his science (fiction) was often based on fact, or at least well-educated guesses. I'm impressed by how much he tries to educate his reader while writing about captivating people and places and technology.

As I talk to people about Mr. Verne it becomes plain that he's renowned. I just didn't know it. I probably skipped class that week. Just kidding! I never skipped class more than 1 day at a time. Just kidding! I never skipped class at all. Just kidding! Oh, uh, oops... well, yes, there was that one time...

[ahem] Yes, so definitely give a read to a Jules Verne book or 3. It's proper, old-school English but once you get past that you might be entertained. You'll probably even be educated, just a little.