Overview

Even for those who have never read Jules Verne (1828--1905), the author's very name conjures visions of the submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the epic race in Around the World in Eighty Days, the spacecraft in From the Earth to the Moon, and the daring descent in Journey to the Center of the Earth. One of the most widely translated authors of all time, Verne has inspired filmmakers since the early silent period and continues to fascinate audiences more than one hundred years after his works were first published. His riveting plots and vivid descriptions easily transform into compelling scripts and dramatic visual compositions. In Hollywood Presents Jules Verne, Brian Taves investigates the indelible mark that the author has left on English-language cinema. Adaptations of Verne's tales have taken many forms -- early movie shorts, serials, feature films, miniseries, and television shows -- and have been produced as both animated and live-action films. Taves illuminates how, as these stories have been made and remade over the years, each new adaptation looks back not only to Verne's words but also to previous screen incarnations. He also examines how generations of actors have portrayed iconic characters such as Phileas Fogg and Captain Nemo, and how these figures are treated in pastiches such as Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). Investigating the biggest box-office hits as well as lower-budget productions, this comprehensive study will appeal not only to fans of the writer's work but also to readers interested in the ever-changing relationship between literature, theater, and film.

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9780813161129

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Reviews

Fortunately for us all that giant among Vernian scholars, Brian Taves has no snobbery for the liveliest art. Indeed he happens to be an authority on both subjects and those of us who adore Jules Verne movies are in for a major treat. You're also in for a surprise if you think you are very well versed in the subject, for Taves has taken the subject from the very earliest days of the cinema to the present. -- John Goodwin, Emmy-winning makeup artist and science fiction authority

The film not covered under the umbrella of the book's title has simply got to be the film that has not been produced yet. Taves' Hollywood Presents Jules Verne succeeds on multiple levels and will be of interest to the casual fan and future researcher alike. A century's worth of pictures are discussed yet, incredibly, perspective never goes wanting at any time. -- Steve Joyce, co-author of American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913--1929

This is surely the most detailed and knowledgeable summary of adaptations of Verne's work to mass media that is likely to appear for decades to come. It's the volume that all subsequent scholars will cite and against which subsequent work will be judged. Taves has a remarkable, seemingly inexhaustible store of information and insight on Verne's work. -- Rick Worland, author of The Horror Film: An Introduction

Author Information

Brian Taves is a film archivist with the Library of Congress. He is the author of more than one hundred articles and six books, including The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies and Thomas Ince: Hollywood’s Independent Pioneer.

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