Starring: Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera, Richard Basehart Directed By: Don Taylor Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 28, 2001 Running Time: 99 minutes Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) Theatrical Release Date: July 13, 1977
Amazon.com: The Island of Doctor Moreau is a remake of 1932's Island of Lost Souls and, of course, an adaptation of H.G. Wells's classic tale of the dangers of playing God. Shipwreck victim Andrew (Michael York) washes up on a tropical island and is taken in by Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster), who lords over a compound staffed by some distinctly odd-looking servants. Also along for the ride are the mysteriously beautiful Maria, menacing shadows in the jungle, and lots and lots of cages in the House of Pain. While not as eerily creepy as its predecessor, The Island of Doctor Moreau has some fun makeup tricks and a good tiger fight or two, not to mention a thorough discussion of legal nuance by the island's "natives" ("What is the law?" "Not to walk on all fours!"). Definitely a fine afternoon's entertainment. Remade in 1996 with Marlon Brando. --Ali Davis
Mad Scientist ^ It's a good movie, a bit of a brain teaser. tipical mad scientist doing what he thinks is good, but not fully considering the impact he is having on other living beings. Dr. Moreau has tunnle vision, trying to eradicat desiese, but not seeing the pain and suffering he is causing to the victems he is testing on.
"THAT IS THE LAW!" ^ I saw this upon its theatrical release in '77 and recall being quite taken with the story... I never saw the original with B. Lugosi (ISLAND OF LOST SOULS), and I have to admit an affection for, but confusion concerning, the M. Brando version...
The casting for this version is brilliant: accordingly, Lancaster is the closest to the WELLS description of the Dr. in the book, and his performance is stellar as only he can be...
York is innocent and endearing as the castaway, and Davenport is perfectly cynical with a touch of neutral evil...
HOWEVER, pay close attention to Basehart's portrayal of The Sayer Of The Law... his performance is unprecedented... torn between what he was (an animal) and what he is striving to be (a man, a leader, a mentor, a symbol for justice and righteousness among his peers), he delivers a powerful performance which was sadly overlooked by the academy... what more can you expect from this gifted actor who portrayed Admiral Nelson ("Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea") AND Ishamel ("Moby Dick")... the culmination of his performance elicited what I rarely experience from a motion picture: tears...
Highly recommended...
BALTHAZAR "AIR COOL" PLATINI, III
The Island of Dr. Moreau ^ Based on a novel by H.G. Wells, the greatest sci-fi writer ever. You won't see those types of stunts w/animals anymore. A true "classick" for anyone w/a penchant for the bizarre.
man-beast ^ this is a great classic, some great work by Richard Basehart, much better than the remake.
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! ^ The 1977 horror film "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is a fun surprise for those unacquainted. Part of an unusual class of big-budgeted 1970s American International projects including The Amityville Horror (1979) and Meteor (1979), the film's money shows in the form of a terrific cast, sweeping locales and artful makeup of the Planet of the Apes team. Based on H.G. Wells' The Island Of Dr. Moreau and a remake of the superior Island of Lost Souls in 1932, the film is a variation on the Frankenstein tale with a mad scientist conducting abominable experiments against nature.
Michael York, at the peak of popularity following the success of The Three Musketeers films, plays shipwreck survivor Andrew Braddock who washes ashore an isolated island in the Pacific. He encounters the fortified compound of Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster), a menacing presence with an interest in science and floppy hats. Braddock soon notices deformed servants, eerie howls from the jungle and a laboratory where Moreau burns the midnight oil. An assistant, the mercenary rogue Montgomery (Nigel Davenport), keeps to himself and drinks a lot. There's also the lovely Maria (Barbara Carrera), an oddly distant and confused woman who Moreau coddles with great care. Maria and Braddock have their eyes on each other and when they finally consummate their attraction, with the doctor eerily looking on, the candle-lit scenes are surprisingly sexy.
The film builds towards none-too-shocking revelations as Braddock discovers Moreau is conducting genetic altering experiments on animals of the island. The experiments have not succeeded, and Moreau's paradise is inhabited by menacing tribes of mutant animal/men shuffling around in jungle shadows.
When Braddock finally stumbles upon the cave of human beasts, we are introduced to lionmen, tigermen and bearmen, oh my! The makeup is about as complex as Lon Chaney, Jr.'s turn as The Wolf Man, but no matter. You feel genuine sympathy for the creatures. Richard Basehart's performance as "Sayer of the Law," a role Bela Lugosi played in the original, is excellent. Things take a turn for the creepy as Braddock becomes a prisoner of Moreau's experiments, leading to the film's most intense scenes.
If in the right mood, there's great fun to be found in "The Island of Dr. Moreau." I liked Moreau's compound, a tropical oasis barely holding back the vines of the menacing jungle. The movie is served well by the location filming in the Virgin Islands. The direction of TV veteran Don Taylor is adequate, with several jump-from-your-seat scare scenes popular in the day. The conclusion feels abrupt, as Braddock and Maria frantically attempt to escape the chaos of the island. It's abundantly clear Maria is one of Moreau's experiments (her character was a panther woman in the original). In fact, producers unwisely changed the original ending where she reverts to animal form. If you look closely, the final shot of Maria shows her face to be misshapen, with a quick edit creating the weak illusion of a happy ending.
Oh well, this is a great discovery for lovers of old-fashioned horror films, with the fine work of Lancaster and York giving this tale an enjoyable touch of class.
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