THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD (1974) *** Volcanoes, exploding zeppelins, young love forged by adventure, Viking Shangri-Las, whales, ice floes...that Robert Stevenson sure knew how to make a kiddie flick. What gets lost in all of his cool characters, and moral lessons exhorting the impressionable towards heroism, is that his movies look so great. The interior of the zeppelin cockpit, the ice everywhere (especially mountains and underground), the Assembly of Elders, Agneta Eckemyr running downstream leading Vikings astray, the volcanic passages, Gunnar Öhland ranting before the flames--it's simply impossible to imagine these sets and scenes looking more perfect. It's almost like getting caught in Jules Verne's head (he didn't write it, but whoever did must have loved his stuff)...now there's an idea for a fine psychedelic Saturday afternoon feature. Even the phony backdrops are so phony that their lack of quality becomes a virtue! Stevenson doesn't spend a lot of time with his characters here, relying primarily on stereotypes that deserve some consideration. The aristocratic Englishman is pompous and domineering, the Frenchman melodramatic and skittish, the Eskimo ignorant but courageous, and the American boring and businesslike. That last one wasn't even a stereotype at the time, maybe prophesy should be added to the litany of Stevenson virtues. So there's a magnitude of political incorrectness that wouldn't get past a lot of censors today, but it saves a lot of writing that might detract from the plot and Stevenson makes sure that the best is brought out in everyone (except, obviously, Öhland). Maurice Jarre's music is all tremendous, but that bit that goes off as they enter the whale's graveyard should be used as an intro by the next great metal band.
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