Warlords of Atlantis
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| Warlords of Atlantis | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kevin Connor |
| Produced by | Jim Brown John Dark |
| Written by | Brian Hayles |
| Starring | Doug McClure Peter Gilmore Shane Rimmer Lea Brodie |
| Distributed by | EMI Films |
| Release date(s) | 1978 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
Warlords of Atlantis was a 1978 science fiction, fantasy film. As the title suggests, the film is about a trip to the lost world of Atlantis. The movie was directed by Kevin Connor from a screen play by Brian Hayles. It was filmed in color with mono sound and English dialogue, and ran for 96 minutes. Warlords of Atlantis received a MPAA rating of PG and was also novelized by Paul Victor.
Contents |
[edit] Story
Around the turn of the century, British archaeologist Professor Aitken and his son, Charles, have chartered a ship called the Texas Rose to take them out to sea. There, they plan to dive underwater in a diving bell designed by American engineer Greg Collinson. Although everyone aboard the ship, including Greg, thinks that the Professors Aitken are just going to look at fish, Charles and his father are secretly searching for proof of the existence of the lost city of Atlantis. He and Greg find it on their first dive - and then some. First they are attacked by a reptilian sea monster which comes through the bottom of the diving bell, but Greg is able to fend it off by sticking a live wire into its mouth, electrocuting it.
Immediately following this, Greg and Charles discover a statue made of solid gold, which is then hoisted up to the Texas Rose. Deckhands Grogan, Fenn and Jacko desire the gold statue for themselves and hatch a scheme to steal it. Grogan cuts the line to the diving bell, trapping Greg and Charles at the bottom of the sea, and then someone (we don't see who but are meant to think it was one of the three mutinous sailors) shoots the elder Professor Aitken in the back. As Grogan goes to attack the Texas Rose's captain, Daniels, a gigantic octopus known as the Sentinel, sent by the inhabitants of Atlantis, attacks the ship. Daniels, Grogan, Fenn and Jacko are kidnapped by the octopus and taken to Atlantis along with Greg and Charles in the diving bell.
The six castaways find themselves washed ashore within a vast, air-filled cavern beneath the ocean floor. Here they are greeted by Atmir, one of the Atlantean ruling class, and the helmeted, spear-wielding Guardians, who promise to take them "to safety." En route, Greg, Charles and the others are told by Atmir that Atlantis is not just one city but seven cities, the first three of which have been "lost beneath the waters of the outer limits forever." Atmir takes the surface-dwellers through the causeway, a prehistoric swamp inhabited by a millipede-like monster called the Mogdaan, and then on to Vaar, the fourth city. Once here, Greg and the others are thrown into a dungeon. All, that is, except for Charles. As a scientist, he is deemed intelligent enough to be granted an audience with Atraxon and Atsil, the king and queen of Atlantis in Chinqua, the fifth city. They wish to make Charles one of them, and explain how they originally came from Mars and are using their mind powers to shape human history.
Meanwhile, Greg and the Texas Rose's crew make friends with Briggs, the captain of the Mary Celeste and the unofficial leader of the Atlanteans' human slaves, and his daughter Delphine. Briggs informs them they are to be slaves to protect Vaar from the constant attacks of creatures known as Zaargs. They will be given gills so they can never leave Atlantis and return to the oxygen-rich surface world (as the Atlanteans, being originally from Mars, breathe a different atmosphere). A convenient Zaarg attack allows Greg and the others to escape their cell but also claims the life of Briggs. Her father dead, a distraught Delphine helps Greg and the crew escape from their cells and shows them a way into Atraxon's palace in Chinqua through the sewers so they can rescue Charles.
Greg, Daniels and Grogan go with her, leaving Fenn and Jacko to guard the tunnel entrance. But Charles is enjoying his newfound status amongst the intellectual Atlanteans and may not even want to be rescued, especially once they show him the "utopia" they aim to create on Earth, leaving him drunk with power. And even if they manage to find and rescue him, they still have to get out of the city, through the causeway past the Mogdaan, and then figure out how to get back up to the surface world. And there's also the matter of figuring out just who shot Charles' father.
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
| Doug McClure | Greg Collinson |
| Peter Gilmore | Charles Aitken |
| Shane Rimmer | Captain Daniels |
| Lea Brodie | Delphine |
| Hal Galili | Grogan |
| John Ratzenberger | Fenn |
| Derry Power | Jacko |
| Michael Gothard | Atmir |
| Daniel Massey | Atraxon |
| Cyd Charisse | Atsil |
| Robert Brown | Captain Briggs |
| Donald Bisset | Professor Aitken |
[edit] Trivia
The film shares many story elements with Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. They both put forth the notion that Atlantis exists in an air-filled cavern beneath the ocean, they're both set around the turn of the century, they both feature the heroes being betrayed by mercenary-minded crew members, they both feature the entrance to Atlantis being guarded by a sea monster.
[edit] Novelization
The novelization by Paul Victor was published in 1978, as a tie-in to the film, by Futura Publications Limited. Told entirely from the point of view of Greg Collinson, it follows the movie more or less faithfully. Notable changes however include the addition of a fourth crew member, Chuck, and the attack by flying fish, which in the film occurs as the surface-dwellers are escaping across the causeway, happens much earlier during their approach to Vaar.
