Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

From AIP schlockmeister Samuel Z. Arkoff comes a tale of Victorian madman, Vincent Price, with a huge airship taking captives, including a miscast Charles Bronson, on his mission of death and destruction. It's not exactly a high minded Jules Verne adaptation, but it is scripted by the great Richard Matheson. I'll blame the film's mediocrity on journeyman TV and film director William Witney.

For a movie made by a studio that specialized in drive-in cheapies for teenagers, directed by a guy who specialized in Saturday afternoon serials those teenagers probably watched when they were younger, this must have been a real treat. For somebody who just missed both those time periods - it's still a surprisingly-good if modestly-budgeted Victorian SF (pre-Steampunk) adventure, with two great performances by Vincent Price and Charles Bronson (yes, really!). Price is well- meaning mad scientist Robur "The Conqueror", who builds a heavier-than-air flying warship (kind of the grandfather to SHIELD's Helicarriers), which he and his loyal crew uses to convince the Nations of the Victorian World to Disarm - by blowing their weapons up REAL good! (I'd mock - but given my own country's government has tried this numerous times, it's apparently a popular notion.) Robur shanghais four "guests" - a Government mission out to discover the meaning of strange voices emanating from Pennsylvania's "The Great Eyrie" mountain. Leading the mission is Department of the Interior officer John Strock (Bronson), who at first appears sufficiently impressed with Robur's vision to go along, over the objections of the others - Balloonist Philip Evans, his fiancée Dorothy Prudent and her father. But Robur's plan to Make War to End War ends up getting the attention of the world's governments - and not in the way he'd hoped...!Reportedly screenwriter Richard Matheson believed Bronson badly miscast as Strock - but he was wrong. Bronson gives Strock a kind of primal strength and presence that makes him a believably capable foil for Price, combining his usual late-career ham with some genuine notes of depth and poignancy. Mary Webster makes Dorothy Prudent a strong, smart, capable heroine who clearly deserves better than the petty jealous borderline cowardly drip she's engaged to (David Frankham) - and in Strock she finds it. Serials veteran Whitney directs with a flair for thrills and adventure, but also shows with both Ms. Webster's performance and in Price's quieter moments that he was a good actor's director as well. The F/x work wasn't quite State-of-the-Art for 1961, but it's more than good enough for the story this movie's telling (another benefit of Whitney's serials experience is knowing how to get the most bang for his special effects buck). Definitely worth streaming, buying the DVD or catching on some classic movie channel.

One might wonder after first hearing about "Master of the World" is how the filmmakers were able to pull off this Jules Verne adaptation with one of American-International Pictures' B movie budgets. Well, the interiors of the flying craft look okay, and I guess the model of the flying craft itself is okay. But otherwise, the low budget shows, with ample use of stock footage and a lot of shoddy special effect sequences. The screenplay has some holes as well, such as the fact that it's never revealed how the villain managed to construct his flying craft in the first place. And it's really weird seeing tough guy Charles Bronson in a movie that's essentially a fantasy. But despite these problems, the movie is kind of fun if you approach it the right way. It's goofy, but naive in a way that makes the movie kind of charming. And except for the lengthy black and white opening sequence, the movie never gets boring; you'll be curious about how things will be wrapped up in the end. If you are in a kind of silly mood when sitting down to watch the movie, there's a good chance you'll be entertained.

A sleepy Pennsylvania town is awakened in 1868 when Captain Robur (Vincent Price) comes sailing in on his airship. A few of the city locals join him, curious about this new way to fly, and eager to stop him when they think he has had a bit too much power for his own good.Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the prologue, which was perfect for this film. The montage of various flying devices that did not work. Some of this footage has become classic, but it fit the theme perfectly here: a world where the only way to fly is with balloons suddenly seeing a new method in disbelief.Vincent Price is great as Captain Robur, but when is he not? He would go on to declare this one of his favorite roles. Charles Bronson plays the other lead, John Strock, and may surprise fans of Bronson. (Some have said he was miscast, but I do not see any problem with it.) We also have Henry Hull as Prudent, more or less representing the "old ways" (which are quite old by now, given the story takes place just after the Civil War).David Frankham is also great, and interestingly came on board thanks to Vincent Price. His role was already filled by AIP regular Mark Damon, but Damon skipped out to film another project. Price suggested Frankham because they had worked on "Return of the Fly" together. Frankham is not as well known as Damon, but he is a valuable resource because he has provided multiple commentaries in recent years.Richard Matheson wrote the script, based on two Jules Verne stories. Matheson has consistently been a great writer, particularly in conjunction with Vincent Price and AIP. Jules Verne is not a source used often enough -- beyond "Around the World in 80 Days" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", his work remains largely untouched. This film proves that more can be done -- and also that you can get around the world in ten days. Interestingly, the plot revolves around a man who thinks he can end war by using the threat of invincibility. While the idea of having a war on war is admirable, one has to wonder if Matheson had in mind the nuclear bomb when writing the script -- surely the bomb's creation was thought to end war as we knew it, but only encouraged others to acquire nuclear bombs. Likewise, one assumes that governments would push to build Robur-style airships.Vincent Price (or Charles Bronson) fans should check this one out. It is not a horror film, not by any means. It is typically classified as science fiction, though I would put it more in fantasy. Price still has a bit of the villain inside him here, but it is not the murderous, insane type... it is a misunderstood, misguided antihero. As always, the definitive edition is on Scream Factory's Vincent Price Collection (Volume 3). We have an incredible audio commentary with David Frankham and a moderator named Jonathan -- Frankham is very knowledgeable about Les Baxter, and even offers a slight diversion to discuss "Werewolf of London". Few people alive today know the AIP of the 1960s like Frankham. The disc also includes the full-length documentary "Richard Matheson: Storyteller", which is priceless and will be covered in its own review.