Customer Reviews

The Lost World (Restored Edition)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just finished watching Image's restored edition of the 1925 Lost World, prepared for DVD issue, but thankfully also released on very high quality VHS tape for luddites like me. This is one case where the VHS tape was not just an afterthought--the quality of the tape is exceptional, and mine had absolutely NO tracking problems, tape glitches, or audio dropouts whatsoever--something that has become all too rare these days.

This version restores many lost scenes and many lost parts of scenes, restoring much character development, as well as some truly-impressive dinosaur footage. Compared to previous abridged versions, this one runs over half an hour longer, thanks to footage from *eight* prints, especially a Czech print found in the 90's from which most of the lost scenes come from.

Anyway, I'm absolutely stunned by the quality of the film. It's never looked better, and for the very first time, it no longer seems like merely an important FX historical curiosity, but is now a fully satisfying adventure/fantasy film. The pacing no longer feels rushed, and Willis O'Brien's groudbreaking stop-motion and matte FX work is still simply amazing today. There's a restored dinosaur stampede and aftermath that features far more fully-articulated dinosaurs than anything in Jurassic Park. I am a fan of dinosaur films generally, and I can honestly say that in its restored form, the 1925 Lost World is simply the best dinosaur film I have ever seen.

The image looks fantastic for such an old film too, and the color-tinting is very intelligently used--blue for night, brown/sepia for indoor, green for jungle--but it never comes across as intrusive. The new percussion-heavy modern musical score (by the Alloy Orchestra) commissioned for this version may be a bit untraditional, but it fits the film perfectly.

The 12 min. of animation outtakes following the film were fascinating too, and helped to underscore how much detail and care went into the FX work on the film--there are some cool moments in the outtakes where freeze-frames actually show the animators at work in the frame.

Anyway, fantastic film, stunning restoration. You've never seen the 1925 Lost World like this until you've seen Image's restored edition--and this is one restoration you can safely buy on either DVD or VHS. A+

The Image Entertainment version is definitely the version of this movie to own on DVD. It is the most complete version available, about half an hour longer than any other version. Also, the picture looks great and real care was taken on the special features. Bravo. However, I would like to point one curiosity about this version. I have seen the truncated hour-long version several times before, and there is a difference in the final "Brontosaurus on the loose" scene. In the shorter, more common version, there is a scene where the Brontosaurus roars into the camera, followed by a shot of its tail, knocking over several people on the street. In Image's restored, extended version, these scenes do not appear, but are replaced with alternate, more subtle shots. First, the dinosaur snarls, then we get a shot of his tail knocking around a single body on the street. The scenes are similar, but different depending on which version of the film you're watching. I thought it strange to watch the restored version of this movie and not see two of the most famous shots. Strangely, they are also nowhere to be found in the special features. It is a slight omission, but one that I noticed right away. If you want to see those scenes, you'll have to get one of the shorter versions of the movie. Still, if you can only own one, I recommend the Image DVD. Overall, it is the most superior and complete version. Too bad it wasn't quite perfect.

This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.

THE LOST WORLD has been restored twice in recent years, but the only version widely available is this one, the Image edition that depicts two dinosaurs on the cover. Be sure, if you want the restored version, that you are getting this one, ASIN:B00005ABVF. There are so many releases on VHS and DVD of the 63-minute abridged version that I have tried and failed several times to get this restored version on the used market -- from marketers who simply don't know the difference. A similarly boxed vesion with only ONE dinosaur by the same artist on the cover, for example, is the old tired hour-long "kiddies' version" of LOST WORLD. It's a case of buyer beware.

Until the Kodak company releases its competing "restoration," the 90-minute Image version, ASIN: B00005ABVF, is the only one to own, for completeness and clarity. My advice is not to try to save a buck or two in the used market UNLESS the seller specifically indicates in advance that he will be seinding you the Image release, that is clearly marked "Restoration" and with a running time of approximately 90 minutes, plus extras -- and it has the two dinosaurs on the cover, as pictured on the Amazon product page. Some versions touting "extra material" only have still photos of the missing scenes. The Image restoration has all its restored footage edited into the movie -- and it all moves!

The Image restoration is excellent. The picture quality is very good, the movie starts at its original, earlier point in the story, when the reporter's girlfriend Gladys tells him she can only marry an "adventurer," and contains much more footage throughout, including an entire set piece in a native village where Professor Challenger toys with the explorers by fooling them with a blank page instead of the map to the plateau. Also restored is Dr. Summerlee's fascination with insects, and some scenes of the brontosaurus near the end of the picture, like the one that amazed viewers on first run of the brontosaurus' huge head ramming through a window and interrupting a poker game -- and the bronto finally swimming down the English channel with a steamship in the background.

This is the first version of the movie for grown-ups. It foreshadows KING KONG, released 8 years later, by generally putting an expedition in a jungle full of dinosaurs, but also in one more specific way -- In Doyle's book, Challenger merely brings back a Pteradactyl's egg, and it hatches in the lecture hall and flies away. In THE LOST WORLD, in 1925, the expedition brings back a giant Brontosaurus, which gets loose and "wreaks havoc" (as the TV Guide was always fond of putting it) in the city. This original idea was later gleefully borrowed and immortalized in the much more popular, sensational, and brilliant KING KONG of 1933 -- by the same special effects master, the most gifted stop-motion animator of all time, Willis H. O'Brien.

It looks like Amazon hasn't been paying attention again, as usual!

There was only one Lost World released in 1960. Wallace Beery, one of the stars of the 1925 silent classic, DIED 10 years before the Irwin Allen film was made.

I would love to have a DVD of this Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, David Hedison, and Claude Rains masterpiece, even if produced by such a schlock company as GoodTimes. But alas, this seems not to be.

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT, AMAZON!!!

Do not confuse the "remastered" edition with the (Restored edition). The remastered edition from A2zcds is 67 miniutes in length. There are no varying tints, as another reviewer has falsely lead people to believe. Coincidentally the same and only review as written by jenny (last name escapes me) is the only one that appears on the a2zcds website. It's entirely shown in sepia. But that's not the bad part, because it looks pretty good. The bad part is, it's recorded on cheap dvd-r. Yes CHEAP DVD-R and has the worst possible soundtrack that doesn't even remotely reflect the action that is taking place on the screen. Plus the only bonus feature is a2zcds schilling of their other dvds. Plus the price is a lot more than a lousy homemade dvd-r should ever be. Another thing that makes me mad is that you can only review one edition of The Lost World, because they lump all the reviews together. Restored edition= Very Good. Remastered edition= Bad, Very Bad.

It might come as a surprise to today's general movie-goer that back in 1925 audiences were already thrilled and delighted by a special effects action/romance/adventure spectacle not at all unlike the modern-day "Jurassic Park" type of films. This DVD really brings back the glory days of the silent era when all the genres of movies we have today actually developed and even reached their peak of sophistication, and "The Lost World" is a good example of how talented and skilled filmmakers already were back in the 1920s. Based on the famous novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Lost World" is a fictional adventure story based on a few facts, such as the discovery of a high mountain plateau in an unexplored jungle where unknown plants and animals were believed to exist. But then fancy and fantasy take over, and the explorers find aggressive, prehistoric dinosaurs roaming the plateau, and that's when the fun and excitement begins, culminating in a grand climax of a captured dinosaur wreaking havoc in the streets of London with scenes that could rival those of "King Kong" made only several years later. Watching these scenes, it is obvious that a great deal of dedicated effort went into the lengthy animation scenes, especially as many different kinds of prehistoric animals are featured in "The Lost World".

It is fortunate that we now have a nearly completely restored version (minus about 10 minutes) of this special film which was a worldwide sensation in 1925, and can still stand up to modern-day movies of the same genre. While some scenes are obvious props or paintings, and sometimes the animals' movements and volcanic eruptions are just a little less realistic than modern digital or computer-generated images, the overall impression of "The Lost World" is that it was a great achievement and landmark in cinema, and paved the way for King Kong, Godzilla, Jurassic Park and many other similar movies along the way. There are two excellent musical accompaniments to choose from on this DVD; a traditional orchestral score, and a more adventurous score by the Alloy Orchestra with unusual sound effects which I actually found to be more suitable at times, such as in the action scenes with the dinosaurs. Along with excellent music and near-perfect picture quality, there are also some bonuses such as the reproduction of the original souvenir program booklet with various interesting articles and pictures, as well as a good audio commentary by an expert on Arthur Conan Doyle. His commentary gives in-depth insight into Doyle's story, how the book differs from the film, but also explanations about how the special effects and animations were done. Even for those of us not especially crazy about dinosaurs, "The Lost World" is still an exciting and fun adventure, and an important, historically significant film for all sincere film enthusiasts.

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.

The movie starts out with a bit of slapstick as a cub reporter, Edmond Malone (with ink on his face from an accident in the copy room) gets himself insinuated to a hall where Professor Challenger is lecturing. Since reporters are not allowed in, he gets in thanks to the help of big game hunter Sir John Roxton. Sir John is a handsome, older guy.

Students there are razzing the professor, playing with their noisemakers and yelling at the professor who claims that there are live dinosaurs in the Amazon jungles. Several think he is a liar and a fraud. He dares his audience to come with him as he returns to the jungles to find these monsters.

A few raise their hands. One guy from the society who claims the Prof is a liar and a fraud and wants to prove it. The other is that same John Roxton. And then Edmond raises his hand. Things go smoothly until Edmond admits that he is a news reporter.

The professor jumps up and tries to kill the guy and chases him out of the lecture hall!

This is all very interesting as a start. We have a newspaper that wants the story, we have the professor being labeled as a fraud and we have poor Edmond who is tired of wishy washy assignments and wants a little danger.

I think all four are getting more than they bargained for.

The film moves quickly through the preliminaries of getting the professor to agree to having a reporter on the team and Edmond's anxious, desperate actions to make this all happen for himself.

The film is not in the greatest of shape in this Front Row Entertainment DVD copy, however. The darks and lights are faded and the film scratchy and at times hard to follow because of the dust and scratches throughout the film.

As the story goes one, we find one Maple White, whose diary was found that told of his exploration of this plateau where the dinos were found. His daughter, who we meet in the professor's study, wants to find her father who was abandoned and left up on that plateau alone. Oops. Bessie Love as Maple White's daughter is cute, but she's no Greta Garbo!

The main attraction are the dinosaurs and the early still life animation created by Willis O'Brien, who also did the still life animation King Kong (which in turn inspired Ray Harryhausen to try his hand in it) and the rest, as they say, is history.

This DVD is not to be confused with Image restoration, which apparently had some outtakes and some interview with an Arthur Conan Doyle historian, as well as two different kinds of orchestras to choose from.

The original negatives were lost in the 1930s. Hopefully I can get a better copy. My DVD is very bare-bones, with scene selections.

Recommended! These films owe their allegiance to this 1925 silent marvel:

The Lost World (Special Edition) - 1960 & 1925 versions
Lost World (1960) [VHS]
The Lost World - Jurassic Park (Full-Screen Collector's Edition)

There had been dinosaurs in films before this 1925 feature, such as "The Dinosaur and the Missing Link" and "The Ghost of Slumber Mountain", both made before 1920. However, this was the first film to feature realistic looking dinosaurs on a large scale, setting the ground work for "King Kong" eight years later. Apparently, there are several versions of this film in circulation. In this case it pays to get the more expensive version from Image Entertainment. It has the longest running version of the film to date, and for all of the splicing that likely went into compiling it, the film actually flows quite smoothly. For all the abuse the original went through over the years, this version is pretty clear with only a few scratches in the film here and there. Plus you get a couple of treats you probably don't get on cheaper versions - a running commentary and the roughly 15 minutes of omitted scenes of dinosaur animation. When you view the omitted scenes you can quickly find the one flaw that caused their deletion - the cameraman has caught a frame or two of someone actually moving the dinosaurs through the stop-animation process. Otherwise they are very clear close-ups of the creatures.

Besides being a pretty good silent picture, this film is interesting for several reasons. First, it is interesting to see what people thought that the various dinosaurs looked like in 1925. Plus, for me, it was interesting to see Lewis Stone in an early film and to notice that he looks the same age - approximately 50 - in every film role I've ever seen him in, from this film up through the Andy Hardy pictures. The one real annoying feature of the film is the presence of the solitary caveman in the lost world. Why is he alone? Is he the last of his kind? The first? Is his chimpanzee companion a "relative" or just a companion? Nothing is ever said about it.