Irwin Allen's Voyage To the Bottom Of The Sea (1961) was originally released on DVD paired with Richard Fleischer's Fantastic Voyage (1966), which was fairly satisfying as far as it went. But this Special Edition re-release of Allen's movie considerably expands on that basic release -- the old transfer was not available to be compared, but the new edition looks beautiful, and comes with a commentary track, interviews, and a documentary, as well as reproductions of publicity art, production stills, shots of original props, and the original trailer for the movie. In contrast to the original release, this DVD comes in a handsome slipcase that is squared off at the edges and gives the item the look of a book on a shelf. The letterboxed (2.35-to-1) transfer captures the film's visual splendor -- and there is a lot of the latter, derived mostly from L. B. Abbott's special effects and the still-impressive set designs -- and the rich color of the original, about as well as the best theatrical print that this reviewer has ever seen. The movie has been given a generous two-dozen chapters, which break the episodic plot down nicely and form a pretty fair outline of the story. The featurette on the history of science fiction is reasonably informative, and the interview with Barbara Eden is entertaining and, actually, rather touching at times as she recalls her extensive work with Irwin Allen. The weak link, if there is one, lies in the commentary track by Tim Colliver -- he means well, and he tries hard with his lecture, but he's a little too unfocused at times, and he often seems to be pitching his discussion at a juvenile audience (he is a grade-school teacher, when he isn't writing books) rather than adult listeners. He also makes the mistake -- possibly over a lack of analytical ability -- of spending a great deal of time comparing the action in the movie to the details of the novelization, which gets tedious after the fifth or sixth time he does it. He occasionally brings up an important point, but more often he ends up repeating himself in the comparisons. His work is worth hearing, but not more than once, in this critic's view, which is a shame, given the effort.