Mittelpunkt Der Erde Ganzer Film Deutsch 1959 - Die Reise Zum

Unlike the American version, which boasted CinemaScope and Technicolor, Genschow’s film was shot in black and white (Agfacolor was too expensive) and aimed squarely at a domestic German family audience. It was produced by Berlin’s Alfa-Film, and its entire budget would have barely covered the catering for the Hollywood production. The film adheres broadly to Verne’s 1864 novel but compresses and simplifies it for younger viewers. The story begins in Hamburg, where the brilliant but eccentric Professor Otto Lidenbrock (played by Genschow himself) discovers a cryptic runic manuscript from the 16th-century Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm. The message claims that whoever descends into the crater of Snæfellsjökull volcano will reach the center of the earth.

For decades, it was considered a lost film. No pristine negatives survived. The only known prints were battered 16mm copies from a children’s matinee circuit. In 2006, a Swiss collector discovered a near-complete 35mm print in a barn, which was digitally restored by the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin. That restoration now circulates occasionally on German cult-film streaming services. The film remains extremely rare outside of Germany. As of today, there is no official Blu-ray release. However, a DVD edition was produced by Pidax Film in 2015 (Region 2, German audio only, no subtitles). It occasionally appears on the German streaming platform Mubi or Amazon Prime DE under the title Jules Verne: Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde (1959) . English-speaking viewers will need to find fan-subtitled versions, which circulate in underground film collector circles. Comparative Verdict: Hollywood vs. Hamburg To watch the 1959 German Journey is to witness a fascinating parallel universe of filmmaking. The James Mason version is a polished, respectable studio picture. Genschow’s version is a fever dream of cardboard and courage. It lacks spectacle but compensates with an obsessive, handmade texture. It is not a good film in the traditional sense—but it is an authentic one. For lovers of cinematic oddities, regional genre history, and Jules Verne completists, Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde (1959) is an essential, haunting, and deeply curious treasure from the other side of the 1950s. die reise zum mittelpunkt der erde ganzer film deutsch 1959

While most film enthusiasts immediately recall the 1959 Hollywood version of Jules Verne’s classic novel starring James Mason and Pat Boone, a very different, much rarer, and fascinatingly unique German adaptation premiered in the same year. Directed by Fritz Genschow, Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde ( Journey to the Center of the Earth ) is a remarkable artifact of West German postwar cinema—a low-budget, charmingly earnest, yet visually ambitious children’s adventure that stands as a stark contrast to its glossy American counterpart. Production Context: The Genschow Signature By 1959, director Fritz Genschow had already carved a niche for himself as the king of German fairy-tale cinema. He was infamous (and beloved) for his adaptations of Frau Holle , Hansel and Gretel , and Little Red Riding Hood . Genschow operated with a philosophy of imaginative frugality: elaborate costume dramas built on soundstages with painted backdrops, miniature work, and stop-motion effects. When he turned to Jules Verne, he brought that same handmade aesthetic to science fiction. Unlike the American version, which boasted CinemaScope and

Yet, there is undeniable charm in the ingenuity. A sequence where the trio crosses a chasm via a rope bridge—with the bridge clearly wobbling on a studio gimbal—creates genuine tension because the actors look genuinely terrified. The stop-motion lizards, while jerky and far from Ray Harryhausen’s work, possess a creepy, surreal quality. One critic called it “the most lovingly handmade underground ever committed to film.” Fritz Genschow casting himself as Professor Lidenbrock is the film’s defining artistic choice. He plays the professor not as the absent-minded genius of Verne’s novel, but as a booming, authoritative, almost stern patriarch—a distinctly post-war German father figure. His Lidenbrock is less a scientist and more an explorer-conqueror, shouting orders at Axel and Hans. Alexander Engel’s Axel is a perpetual whipping boy, constantly complaining of hunger and fatigue, providing broad, slapstick relief. The story begins in Hamburg, where the brilliant

The weakest element is the complete absence of any female character (unlike the American film, which added a love interest). This gives the German version a stark, all-male, almost claustrophobic dynamic, reinforcing its identity as a pure “boys’ adventure” in the tradition of Karl May. Upon its release in West German cinemas in October 1959, Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde was met with mixed-to-poor reviews. Critics called the special effects “primitive” and the pacing “lethargic.” Audiences, having seen the trailers for the American version (which opened in Germany three months later), largely stayed away. The film vanished quickly, playing out its life on television reruns (ZDF aired it twice in the 1960s) and on obscure home video labels.

Accompanied by his skeptical nephew Axel (Alexander Engel) and the stoic Icelandic guide Hans (Heinz Eckner), Lidenbrock descends into the volcanic shaft. The film’s first act is surprisingly faithful: the descent through narrow chimneys, the loss of water supplies, and the discovery of the “Hansbach” underground river.

Once the trio reaches the “central ocean,” the film transforms into a pure fantasy landscape. Due to budget constraints, the famous dinosaur battle is omitted, replaced by a prolonged encounter with stop-motion giant lizards (resembling oversized iguanas). They also meet a race of subterranean “primitive humans” (local Berlin actors in furry costumes) who worship a giant, cyclopean mushroom. The climax involves an erupting geyser of molten rock that shoots them back up through the chimney of Stromboli, spitting them out onto a Sicilian beach. Where the 1959 American film used matte paintings and live-action reptiles, Genschow’s version uses what he had. The underground forests are papier-mâché stalactites drenched in stage fog. The “central sea” is a painted tarp rippling under wind machines. The giant mushrooms are oversized umbrellas covered in plaster.