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The Lost World

The Lost World

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good video, but no music!
Review: This is a review of the Timeless Classics version of this film. Pretty much everything was intact, with the original cards, and the film was tinted all orange, but there was no music! In fact, when I turned up the sound on my copy, it sounded like a sitcom's soundtrack was recorded on instead! I could even hear the laugh-tracks! Come on, guys. It couldn't have been that hard, I mean geez, the film was even recorded in SP (highest quality), you could have added some music!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Lost Extras
Review: This is DVD for Disappointing, Very Disappointing. And Sloppy, too. Very Sloppy. Slingshot gives us a (reasonably) good transfer of a classic and lovely old monster movie, but the supposedly "Special Collector's Edition" fails to deliver half of the extras advertised on the back of the DVD. There is no Second Audio Track (Music Only), no in-depth essay by Scott MacQueen, no Ray Harryhausen Letter, no Technical Notes, and no recreation with stills and script excerpts of "missing scenes" of the original 10-reel version. What a pity! I'm returning my copy and hoping that someone else releases it with the care and supplements that the movie deserves.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: THE FIRST WORLD
Review: This is perhaps the best it will ever get. THE LOST WORLD here is presented as near complete as possible, in the best condition it has been in perhaps since it first starting playing in 1925. THE LOST WORLD on DVD is a must have for any sci-fi/fantasy fan and collector. It's outdated, aged, goofy and down right silly at points, but there is no denying that THE LOST WORLD was thrilling entertainment to a world just getting to know and understand dinosaurs (which may be hard to beleive for us here today - but at one point, dinosoaurs were brand new, so new that they challanged the very fabric of man's place in the Universe and put into question the age of the Earth itself). The DVD, while not heavily featured, does contain more than you might imagine - there are animation outtakes which are very interesting, two new ochestral scores (both of which fit tone and mood very well), plus film commentary by Ray Pilot, which is why this DVD package falls short of a five stars. While Ray Pilot knows his material, he spent eight years researching to write THE ANNOTATED LOST WORLD, he seems reluctant to step over the action and leaves HUGE portions of this film in its silent format - which I found difficult to understand. For someone who spent so much time as he did you'd think he wouldN't shut up (like Tom Weaver in THE WOLF MAN or CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON - Weaver gets going to fast and furious he's out of breath by the close of the credits), but he does - so much so, and for so long that I actually forgot I had the commentary on until he spoke again - scaring me. But while he is slender on the talk, he does part with some interesting information (plus some pure oddball remarks reguarding mass education and newspapers which make some kind of sense to the history of the film - but not to the film itself, plus, who dosen't know how stop motion works today? If you don't then Pilot will tell you, but if you do - be patient)and is worth one run through. But all is not lost - included with this DVD is a wonderful reproduction of the original program handed out to the general public at the screenings. It features facts, cast, film notes, plus stories about the LOST WORLD, the history of the dinosaurs, pictures, original art work and even a promo for a song not featured in the film (remember, it's silent), but can be picked up in sheet music form and also on record at your local phonograph shop. For me, this was the best touch - it reminds me that every age likes to think it has invented the wheel, and in the case of movie marketing, we think we got it licked - but here's proof that hype and promotion existed both before sound and color. You will not go wrong in picking up THE LOST WORLD. It is history and it is very fun and entertaining.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Jurassic Park of the Silent Era
Review: This lightweight silent movie about an expedition to the Amazon in search of prehistoric creatures was a milestone in special effects during the silent era; today, however, it has more historical importance than entertainment value. The story concerns a professor who returns to London from the Amazon to gather an expedition for further exploration--and to rescue heroine Bessie Love's father, who has been left behind. The cast plays effectively, but the special effects are the thing. Once back in the jungle, the expedition faces everything from ape men to T-Rex to what in my day was called Brontosaurus--and the film's climax ultimately finds the latter set upon an unsuspecting London. The story's influence on later films will be extremely obvious to even the most casual viewer.

The monsters are created via stop-motion animation, and although fun to watch are crude in comparison to the 1930s KING KONG or the 1950s and 1960s creations of the great Ray Harryhousen. If you are interested in silent film, stop-motion animation, or the development of special effects, you will certainly enjoy the film; if your interest is more casual, however, you may find it little more than a curiosity of merely passing interest. A historical note: like many silent films, THE LOST WORLD does not survive intact. During the 1930s, its producers sought to cash in on the interest in stop-motion animation generated by KING KONG by cutting THE LOST WORLD's plot elements to the bone and re-releasing it as a specialty film. The re-edited version is the only version that survives today.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best movie of the 20's
Review: This movie is based on Sir Auther Conan Doyal's novel about a group of explorers who explore a platue that has living dinosaurs on it! There are a lot of dinosaur scenes, including one where they take a dinosaur to England! Which one do you say? Well see this movie and you'll find out!

-Derrick Davis Age 12

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of THE best dinosaur films
Review: This silent version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel and predecessor to the great King Kong is the best of the 5 or 6 adaptations of the novel. The stop motion photography in this film is more than impressive. Willis O'Brien was able to give those animals a life that even today's computer technology can't match. And the scenes leading up to all the fantastic dinosaur sequences aren't boring at all. This film can keep one's interest from beginning to end.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: don't get too excited
Review: Understand that I'm a stickler for old-school animation, and have long been a fan of the revolution set by Willis O'Brian (the animator of this film). That said, The Lost World isn't that great. It's a choppy, silent film, for one, which doesn't make it easy to watch AT ALL. It moves really slow, too. You can watch it in double-speed and still get the gist of the movie. The animation is scarce, but what is present is actually pretty cool, considering the time it was made. But that's not enough to say this movie is worth buying. There are far better classic animated monster fliks out there. The Lost World is not one of them.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: When Will we see the Full Version?
Review: Until recently, I would have given this video 4 or 5 stars...but from what I understand there is a restored version of this film with long-lost footage. More scenes of the dinosaur in London, Etc. So... hey guys..if this is true, how about getting us the full movie on video?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The First Giant Monster Film
Review: We have to thank Doyle because not only is this a good film, but without it, there would be no Jurrasic Park. There would be no King Kong or The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, and if they never existed, Toho would never have the idea to make Godzilla or Rodan! An expedition and rescue goes to an old uncharted island where they see the most unbelievable thing, a land of dinosaurs and a carnivorice apeman with a chimp that lures pray to him! At the time, these special effects were amazing and so realistic. I gave it 4 stars because of the terrible DVD quality.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Superb DVD of The Lost World
Review: When I first heard that Image Entertainment was doing a DVD restoration of The Lost World, I knew I wanted to get it. Well, with my family's recent purchase of a DVD player, this was one of the first titles I bought. I'll tell you, this DVD is worth it.

This edition is the most complete version of The Lost World released since 1925. Unlike most versions, which are about an hour in length, this version is an hour and a half. The picture has been cleaned up and looks crystal clear. It's possible that this movie may have never looked better. There's no sound because, hey, it's a silent movie. But there is a choice of two film scores: A traditional Orchestra or a modern day Orchestra. The modern day Orchestra includes sound bites in the scoring (Gunshots, dinosaur roars). Most of the scenes have been tinted according to where they are set (Blue for night, red for fire, light brown for indoor, etc.). There is also a commentary track from Roy Pilot, author of The Annotated Lost World.

About half an hour worth of new footage has been added in. There are establishing shots in London, where Edward Malone is told by his fiancée that she won't marry him unless he does something courageous. Here's a bit of trivia: The first shot in the film (A tugboat sailing in front of the London skyline) parallels the same opening shot of King Kong eight years later. Many other scenes that were removed from the movie have been included back in. Many fans will be delighted to know that the scene were the Brontosaurus, after rampaging through London and falling off a bridge, swims past an Ocean liner has been included. There is even a brief shot of the legendary scene were the Brontosaurus interrupts the Poker Game. There are also scenes that take place at an outpost in South America before the explorers head to the Lost World as well as scenes which better establish the rivalry between Professor Challenger and Professor Summerlee.

After the movie, there are thirteen minutes worth of "Animation Outtakes". This is mostly test footage of the stop-motion models of the dinosaurs. Nevertheless, it's still fascinating stuff (Look for Willis O'Brien in a couple of the frames). In addition, a reproduction of the 1925 souvenir booklet is included along with the package.

After watching The Lost World, some people may laugh at the Special Effects. It's easy to tell that some of the clay models are nothing but clay models. But many of the other great dinosaur films owe a little gratitude to this pioneer. Willis O'Brien was later able to perfect his craft of stop-motion photography and made King Kong the great film it is. Jurassic Park, The Godzilla series and The Lost World: Jurassic Park owe some inspiration to this movie. I say it's about time that this important dinosaur movie gets the respect it deserves in a version which will undoubtedly be chariest for years to come.


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