What strikes one immediately at the beginning of this story is its unexpected wit and sly satire. Classics tend to put people off as stodgy and dry. However, Tim Curry brings out a playfulness in Jules Verne's work that's too often missed. By the first few chapters, the audience should be quite enthralled with this band of travelers and their journey to come.

Big screen versions of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" have often been made, from the 1959 version with James Mason and Pat Boone to the recent 3D Brendan Fraser action film. So most people may, understandably, be confused by the novel’s original storyline. However, when you hear this performance you realize that Verne was a masterful and economic storyteller. He uses only two main speaking characters; Professor Lindenbrock and his nephew Alex, accompanied by their strong yet silent Icelandic guide. Their voyage is as much about the personal journey of the Professor and Alex as the actual trek through the Earth, and the story is often told through the inner thoughts of these main characters.

An exceptional showcase of Verne's words paired with Curry's narration is the chapter describing the raft trip across the expansive underground sea. There's a hint that something may be lurking in the waters and Alex starts to imagine prehistoric teeth and claws on nightmarish beasts. Curry's narration over this long building scene will make the hair rise on the back of your neck. You get so caught up in the imagined horror that when the monsters finally show up, they seem to pale in comparison to what Verne and Curry have created through the power of suggestion.

Curry unabashedly throws himself into the minor players while the main characters are superbly well studied and thoughtfully portrayed by this talented and seasoned actor. Alex is played as a bit of a Victorian slacker and Lindenbrock is an archetypical absent-minded professor. Both men do change dramatically through their adventures though — Alex finding a genuine intellectual curiosity while Professor Lindenbrock gains a new appreciation of just what it takes to get into the history books. —Cleo Creech