Interzone
"extremely detailed...useful...covers...many of the cinema’s unacknowledged borrowings from Verne...recommended"

Science Fiction Studies
"fun...handsomely illustrated throughout...easily readable"

Classic Images
"Renzi writes well...intelligently...one of the better books to emerge in some time"

Book Description
Jules Verne—Voila!—is a name that resonates with visions of fantastic adventures and images of exotic exploits. In his voyages extraordinaires, the noted French author integrates his encyclopedic knowledge of science and geography with his ability to tell fascinating and entertaining tales, taking his readers on unprecedented journeys across the globe, into the earth, and out into space. This revered writer, who with his boundless imagination had hoped to contribute substantially to the world of letters, has surpassed that expectation to become coincidentally a significant influence on film. This comprehensive filmography not only offers an incisive analysis of Verne’s epic creations, but also presents an examination of the films inspired by his stories and characters. If one tries to think of all the films adapted from the works of Jules Verne, a fair sampling might be easy to come up with. If one looks more closely at the plots and motifs of many other films, science fiction and otherwise, their origins are revealed to have been derived from Verne. For example, most film enthusiasts are familiar with Disney’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and a few may even be aware of the 1916 silent version. But Verne’s classic undersea novel also provided the underpinnings for such other movies as Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Innerspace (1987). The central arrangement is by Verne’s title with a brief thematic analysis of the novel. The entry then presents in chronological order all cinematic adaptations of that work, allowing the user to make ! comparative analyses of not only the movies but also their relationships to Verne’s original story. Filmographic data are provided for each adaptation, along with a plot synopsis that blends critical commentary with an examination of the connection between the movie and Verne’s work.

About the Author
Thomas C. Renzi is an administrator and instructor at Buffalo State College (New York). He lives in Buffalo.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This comprehensive filmography not only offers an incisive analysis of Verne's epic creations, but also presents an examination of the films inspired by his stories and characters. If one tries to think of all the films adapted from the works of Jules Verne, a fair sampling might be easy to come up with. If one looks more closely at the plots and motifs of many other films, science fiction and otherwise, their origins are revealed to have been derived from Verne. For example, most film enthusiasts are familiar with Disney's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and a few may even be aware of the 1916 silent version. But Verne's classic undersea novel also provided the underpinnings for such other movies as Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Innerspace (1987). The central arrangement is by Verne's title with a brief thematic analysis of the novel. The entry then presents in chronological order all cinematic adaptations of that work, allowing the user to make comparative analyses of not only the movies but also their relationships to Verne's original story. Filmographic data are provided for each adaptation, along with a plot synopsis that blends critical commentary with an examination of the connection between the movie and Verne's work.

SYNOPSIS

Not only are the obvious adaptations of Verne's adventures examined, but also those derivations that bear mere elements. The arrangement is by Verne's title 'and begins with an analysis of the novel. The entry then presents in chronological order all adaptations, facilitating comparative analyses of not only the movies but also their relationships to the original story. Filmographic data are provided for each film, along with a plot synopsis and commentary.

FROM THE CRITICS

Choice

Renzi writes well...intelligently...one of the better books to emerge in some time"-Classic Images; "concise and incisive.

Interzone

extremely detailed and useful...covers not only the obvious adaptations but many of the cinema's unacknowledged borrowings from Verne...recommended.

Science Fiction Studies

fun...handsomely illustrated throughout...easily readable...the only study currently available that discusses Jules Verne in the context of the international film industry.

Cirt.

Comprehensive!

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