Search - Transatlantic Tunnel / Non Stop New York on DVD

Buyer Beware!

Banjo Cate's granddaughter | New England | 12/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this DVD as an XMAS gift for my husband. Here's his thoughts: 'The Tunnel's video quality is not sharp and looks like it was made from a cheap public domain print, and the soundtrack is worn. This futuristic story about an engineer who sacrifices his family for his project holds up. Production values were good for their time and will remind you of Korda's 'Things to Come' made a few years later. If this DVD used a restored or archive source, you would enjoy it more. A German version using a different cast was made at the same time; that film would be a good companion piece here. The real surprise is the second film made in 1937 featuring three actors from Hitchcock's 'Sabotage' filmed the prior year. Another actor, Francis L. Sullivan, known for later roles in Lean's 'Oliver Twist' and 'Great Expectations,' makes a clever villain. "New York Non Stop' is an entertaining mix of crime thriller/action/romance/comedy and faster paced. It will remind you of Hitchcock's British films of this period. The video/audio quality is much better too. There's another 1950's movie about a robot called Tobor and an odd choice for this DVD. The makers of this DVD should have dropped it and concentrated on getting better quality. At $15 you would also expect at least some liner notes or credits inside or on the back of the DVD case which only features the DVD's release date."

Interesting Views of the Future

Tony Harris | Los Angeles, CA | 11/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Transatlantic Tunnel is a science fiction film in that it depicts the creation of a technical marvel that has happened, a tunnel from New York to England. It's handle in a way that's rather logical and not outlandish. The concerns of the builder, played by Richard Dix include funding, worker safety, and his marriage. Sacrifices and danger are met head on to triumph in this difficult task, it's quite moving. Also the underground train device looks pretty realistic for its time. Non-Stop New York is also surprisingly entertaining. A woman flys to NW from England to prevent the lomming execution of an innocent man, but it so happens the murdered is aboard. The element of science fiction in this film is the plane itself, which is based more on a cruise ship. The plane departs from a dock, there are cabins, and even an outside deck! Weird, but the film is pretty suspenseful."