Xerox96

5/10

When talking about old movies or series, there’s often a certain sense of pretentiousness, of trying to be “different.” There are several works of this style that I try to recommend to friends and family without being able to completely shake off that feeling. And it often happens that the old is taken as something better, as the superior version of things, when many times it isn’t; well, *The Lost World* is definitely a case in which the old clearly surpasses the new. The 1925 version of *The Lost World* is clearly superior to this one in practically every aspect—a silent, monochrome film barely restored by the community made me take it much more seriously, from its romance to, perhaps more importantly in this film, its dinosaurs and creatures. The romance between Ed and Jennifer in this movie is revealed completely at the end; throughout the film we never see any evidence of attraction between these characters, unlike the 1925 version, where flirting and intimate, tender scenes are constant. On the special effects side, this is undoubtedly the worst part of the film, as the beautiful stop-motion dinosaurs of the 1925 version are replaced in this version by… (drum roll) iguanas with makeup! In every scene with these prehistoric monsters—moments when you should feel tension, awe, or danger—the only thing I can think is, “…It’s just an iguana!” The positive aspect of the film is undoubtedly its characters and some of their interactions (again, the romance is definitely not one of them). The dog is incredible.

John Chard

0/10

Irwin Allen asks us politely to get lost in his world. The Lost World is directed and produced by Irwin Allen, who also co-adapts the screenplay with Charles Bennett from the novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle. It stars Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, Claude Rains, David Hedison, Fernando Lamas and Richard Haydn. A CinemaScope production in De Luxe Color, music is by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter and cinematography by Winton C. Hoch. A loose adaptation of Doyle's novel, this version was the first talkie to surface after the silent original back in 1925. The story pitches a diverse group of travellers/explorers onto an Amazonian plateau where it is hoped that proof of living dinosaurs can be made. Monster malarkey does follow. Given that it has a diverse reputation and average ratings on internet movie sites, you would be fooled into thinking this was a flop. Far from it! It made very good coin at the box office and it continues to be a well received fantasy favourite shown on TV schedules during holiday periods. In fact, there is a cult fan base out there whom steadfastly will defend the pic from violent attack! Irwin Allen used his average budget in areas other than for the creature effects, this is obvious, while it's true to say that most of the acting is from the school of ham and cheese sandwich. Yet the slurpasaur effects are engaging and effective. Oh for sure none of the creatures look like dinosaurs, which begs the question on why didn't they just write it as a new raft of undiscovered dinosaurs? But suspense and peril is eked out and the world created by the art design team is impressively interesting. The usual character stereotypes exist, including a surplus to requirements female character (St. John), who is attired in pink trousers and brings her pet poodle pooch along for the trip! The formula would get tired over the on coming decades (see Disney's Island at the Top of the World which would crib from this pic), yet there's still a lot of fun to be had with big creatures, big spiders, diamonds and a secret race of people with a specialist appetite - while you can't beat a good old chase finale topped off by peril and twisty strife. Sometimes cheap and cheerful, sometimes full of fun and frolics, all things considered, there's a good time to be had for the discerning creature feature/fantasy adventure film fan. 6.5/10