- Actors: Burl Ives, Troy Donahue, Gert Fröbe, Hermione Gingold, Lionel Jeffries
- Directors: Don Sharp
- Writers: Harry Alan Towers, Dave Freeman, Jules Verne
- Producers: Harry Alan Towers, Louis M. Heyward
- Format: PAL
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: U
- Studio: Momentum
- DVD Release Date: 25 Jun 2001
- Run Time: 95 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B00005B73O
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 60,330 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Collectors Edition, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Produced in the wake of the all-star "comedy spectacular" Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Fantastic Flying Fools (originally titled Blast-Off, and also released as Those Fantastic Flying Fools) is based very loosely on a Jules Verne novel. A 19th century British newspaper offers a prize to the first scientist who is able to construct and launch a rocket to the moon. Contestants from all over the world compete for the prize, including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines cast members Terry-Thomas and Gert Frobe. Much of the slapstick is tiresome and derivative, but there is one cute closing gag involving villains Terry-Thomas and Lionel Jeffries and a Siberian chain gang. There's precious little of the spirit of Jules Verne in Fantastic Flying Fools, save for the woodcut illustrations which decorate the opening credits. ...Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon ( Those Fantastic Flying Fools ) ( Blast Off )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite Magnificent, but a cosy enough time-filler,
By
This review is from: Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon [DVD] (DVD)
You can usually tell how unsuccessful a film has been from the number of alternate titles it has, and this lavish period comedy has more than it's share - as well as (to give it its full title) Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon, P.T. Barnum's Rocket to the Moon, it's also known as Blast Off and Those Fantastic Flying Fools. The latter is the real giveaway, with producer Harry Alan Towers aiming for the kind of success that Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines enjoyed by poaching a couple of its stars (Terry Thomas and Gert Frobe) for a comedy about the space race set in the Victorian era, with a bankrupt P.T. Barnum's attempts to finance a rocket being undermined by caddish Terry-Thomas and various other would-be comical characters with a vested interest in seeing him fail. It's all rather twee and very predictable, but in an undemanding and slightly comforting way - while it's rarely particularly funny, it's oddly difficult to dislike even if it often feel more than a little similar to The Mouse On the Moon. With surprisingly lavish production values and a jaunty score from John Scott it's certainly not essential viewing but if you don't have too high expectations it's strangely likeable.
No extras on the DVD, but it does boast an acceptable transfer in its original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
2.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Missed Opportunity---Stay Away!,
By bella - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
I've always liked this occasionally amusing attempt to duplicate the success of "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines". In the USA this film was retitled "Those Fantastic Flying Fools." It's periodically shown on cable in a grainy, color-faded horrendously pan-and-scan version (the film is in Cinemascope, or its 1967 equivilant).
So I was overjoyed to discover an official widescreen DVD release. This feeling changed once I watched the movie. It is properly letterboxed, but that's the only good thing I have to say. Problems? Let me count them: 1. it's apparently a PAL transfer and a clumsy one. The movements are jerky whenever someone crosses the screen or the camera pans, which is frequently; 2. The print is murky; it's almost always too dark; 3. the color fades in and out and rarely looks true; 4. the soundtrack is out-of-sync through most of the movie, making this British production look like a bad English-dubbed film; 5. even considering the time difference with a PAL-to-NTSC video transfer, the film runs no more than 108 mins. (103 mins. real time), which means there are at least 10 mins. missing from this version. Stick with the pan-and-scan cable version (which runs 118 mins.) until someone does this one on video correctly! Wham!USA certainly didn't. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Simply awful,
By Andy Baird "-------" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
The title is a tipoff of what to expect, since Verne never wrote about a rocket to the moon. (The adventurers in "From the Earth to the Moon" were launched from a 900-foot long cannon.) This movie, like the title, has little to do with Verne... or good storytelling, for that matter. Adding insult to injury, as others have noted, the video transfer is lousy. Want Verne? Read a book. Don't waste your time or money on this movie.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointment,
By Michael L. Kenslow "Michael Kenslow" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon [DVD] (DVD)
Oh my gosh, what a piece of junk. The cover claims it's digitally remastered. What they did was video tape the movie as it was shown by film on a large screen (apparently out of focus). The resolution is so bad, I can hardly watch it. The video camera was setting low, so the dept perception is altered in your version. When you see tall walls in the movie, they look like they are leaning backwards and not really standing straight up.
The audio is not sequenced with the video, so you hear the actors talking after their mouths have already stopped. The color and contrast are bad too. It's a shame they had to mess up a movie I've loved since I was a kid. But, they did. Don't waste your money. |
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