World Famous Comics: The Island of Dr. Moreau (Unrated Director's Cut)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (Unrated Director's Cut)
Starring: Fairuza Balk, Marlon Brando, Mark Dacascos, Peter Elliott (II), Clare Grant Directed By: Frankenheimer, John Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC Label: New Line Home Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 20, 1997 Running Time: 100 minutes Theatrical Release Date: August 23, 1996
Amazon.com: Previously filmed in 1933 (as Island of Lost Souls) and 1977, the classic H.G. Wells story was filmed again for this graphic 1996 version. The film was roasted by critics, but it's an utterly fascinating failure, largely due to the performances of David Thewlis, Val Kilmer, and especially Marlon Brando in the title role as a mad (and in this case outrageously bizarre) scientist whose experiments in crossbreeding humans with animals have gone terribly awry. Thewlis plays the wayward scholar who is rescued at sea by Kilmer and brought to Moreau's island to discover the doctor's unnatural "children." Fairuza Balk plays Moreau's half-cat daughter, but it's Brando and Kilmer (in one scene doing a killer Brando impersonation) who steal the show, along with the astounding makeup effects created by Stan Winston. A guilty pleasure by any measure, this movie has definite cult-favorite potential, and in addition to offering a "director's cut" with previously unseen footage, the DVD includes audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer, who replaced the original director on short notice and completed this film under highly stressful conditions. --Jeff Shannon
Pretty Good, but Why Bother? I found this version of TIODRM pretty entertaining. However, I wasn't quite sure why this film got made. On the surface, it didn't appear to add much to the story that is really new or original. In the final analysis, it seems to have provided both Brando and Kilmer with a perfect vehicle to ham it up. Brando put a pretty good spin on the character of the brilliant scientist gone way off the deep end--he appears to be playing the good Doctor as a flamboyant homosexual. But Val Kilmer is great as his burned out assistant who is slowly losing his grip on reality. In fact, I suspect the only reason Kilmer did this film is because it afforded him a chance to not only work with Brando, but to get away with parodying him on screen while getting paid for it. All in all, worth a look.
Great, awful movie! If you enjoy bad movies, you'll love this blight on the resume of Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. Hey, why not? At least modern B-movies, such as this, have 5.1 sound. I'm pretty sure that this movie is always on in Hell.
Needs to be remade I liked all the actors but I agree with another reviewer that Val Kilmers character was a little odd. I guess it made sense if you think about it and I guess they were trying to imply the rot had already set in on the island. Most of all, I did not like the special effects and I can only think that will be more and more noticeable as the film ages. The animal costumes and makeup looked pretty bad-more like great halloween costumes. Brando, a great actor, has never been a favorite of mine and I watched this movie because I like Kilmer. Overall, kind of a depressing movie that I wouldn't want to watch again.
Love thhe idea, not the execution... So the story of "The Island" is really fun and interesting. I love the plot. The execution of this film though is a little weak.
Really, the acting is not that great. Val Kilmer was never that great and neither was Fairuza Balk, but Marlon Brando and David Thewlis are always great and pretty much hold together this film.
I think the problem was that the filmmaker was not really sure what type of genre to make this film and really it is just sort of muddled.
I do recommend it if you are a sci-fi, H.G. Wells, or Oingo Boingo fan though...
a must-watch on social issues If you don't pick up the metaphors or hidden message throughout the movie, you will (and should) at the end of the movie. Then, you'll be like "aha!"
*The Island of Dr. Moreau* is a story about a mad scientist (Brando) converting animals into humans. However, his experiments aren't perfect...yet. (Well, except one...at least, on the outer appearance.) These creatures reminds me of *The Fly*, caught between two species, more animal than human. Therefore, these creatures must be regulated so that their animal instincts do not take over and create chaos.
The problem is that when you have animals with human DNA/intelligence, they become a deadly combination. Chaos is inevitable. But who wins at the end? These mutated creatures or the humans?
The movie ends with a montage of riots, wars and other public disorders. Wait a minute. We're humans with animal behavior, attacking and clawing others. You almost feel a slight tingling of shame when you see this montage. So, are we not a deadly combination that cause nothing but chaos? Are we to be controlled and regulated?
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