The Lost World is the first remake of the 1925 film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's story about dinosaurs on a South American plateau, and when I was growing up, it was a staple of WGN-TV's "Family Classics" movie slot.
It may be hard for modern audiences to imagine, but in the days before computer special effects, there were pretty much three ways of putting dinos on screen: 1) stop-motion animation, 2) men in rubber suits, and 3) real-life lizards with some fins glued on. The Lost World, produced by notorious penny-pincher Irwin Allen, went for the latter approach. And during his time as TV's most prolific producer of sci-fi series, he made sure that every one of them had an episode in which the heroes were menaced by stock footage reptiles from The Lost World. Even as a kid I was distressed when the alleged paleontological expert Professor Challenger identified a rubber-horned lizard as a "brontosaurus," but I have to admit that the photographic enlargement tricks are well executed.
On the other hand, the film does feature the worst "day-for-night" shooting I've seen outside an Ed Wood film. It was very difficult to stay focused on the dialogue when the characters kept talking about it being the middle of the night with a bright, blue sky behind them.
The Lost World also includes Jill St. John in a role which makes clear that she was not hired for her acting prowess. She's supposed to be an experienced adventuress, but that's somewhat weakened by her bright, pink pants and the purse-sized dog she brings along on the expedition.
All of that said, it was still a fun, colorful flick, and I can see why I watched it all those times, even though I knew damned well a lizard was not a brontosaur.
Ratings Guide |
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| Zero | What the hell were they thinking? Even Ed Wood was more entertaining. |
| 1/2 |
Dear God in Heaven. Probable involvement of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. |
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Seriously shit. Based upon a Saturday Night Live skit. |
| 1/2 |
Mildly crap. Eddie Murphy made another family comedy. |
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It's not good. It's not bad. It's just there. |
| 1/2 |
Has its moments. A bonus half star for a particularly cool robot or perky breast. |
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Solid entertainment. Exploding robots and/or multiple bare breasts. |
| 1/2 |
As good as most movies can hope to achieve. May include full-frontal nudity. |
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Like Mary Poppins herself, practically perfect in every way. |
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