Hitchcoc
"The Island of Lost Souls" is the first version of this H. G. Wells story. It was not a good movie, but it did have great atmosphere. And Bela Lugosi. This version is much better. It's a much slicker rendition of the story. The creatures are much better constructed and the overall effectiveness of the film is quite good. The plot of this has to do with a scientist who is transforming animals into human-like creatures. They are constructed in a place called The House of Pain. Vivisection is performed and while these things are human-like, the maintain vestiges of their animal selves. The do have speech but for the most part they are either enslaved or abused. It is a reasonable telling of Wells story.
amesmonde
Crewman Andrew Braddock survives the wreck of the sailing ship and is assisted by a mysterious scientist Dr. Moreau, however, he soon meets the inhabitants of the island who are far from natural and things are not as they seem.Based on H. G. Wells classic and a remake of Island of Lost Souls (1932) with it's 1977 film pace trappings aside Burt Lancaster is outstanding as Dr. Moreau with great screen presence and Nigel Davenport's short screen time is impressive. While Michael York and Barbara Carrera's performances don't shake any trees the makeup effects are great (reminiscent of planet of the apes) but the abundance of daylight scenes rob them of much of the creepiness and the blood colouring is a little off and of the time.The end twist is brave and bleak and director Don Taylor offers some nice jungle scenery, tension, staging and the closing showdown with real animals and practical stunts are finely executed.
Wuchak
This 1977 version of HG Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is an adventure/drama/sci-fi film about a shipwreck survivor, Andrew Braddock (Michael York), who finds himself on a remote Pacific island where mysterious things are happening. Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster) governs the island with his the cynical associate Montgomery (Nigel Davenport). Barbara Carrera is on hand as the doctor's ravishing woman, Maria, but there's something decidedly strange about her. The best thing about this movie is the mounting mystery of the first half. Once the mystery is fully unveiled it becomes uninteresting, mainly due to the storytelling, but the somewhat lame mid-70's creature make-up doesn't help. The latter's reminiscent of the ape F/X of the original "Planet of the Apes" (1968) applied to other beasts. However, this is to be expected since it came out in the mid-70s. The St. Croix locations (US Virgin Islands) are another huge positive. The film doesn't skimp out on showing the natural beauty of the area, which the '96 version did with Cairns, Queensland. Needless to say, the movie's a must for those who like island adventure/dramas. Lancaster is outstanding as the visionary doctor obsessed with genetics. Whereas Brando played the part as an utter eccentric – and Marlon is always entertaining – Burt plays the character low-key but with great underlying passion and is therefore more interesting. A good example is when Moreau asks Braddock with scientific zeal, "How does a cell become enslaved to a form, to a destiny it can never change? Can we change that destiny?" Braddock understandably replies, "Should we?" Disappointed, Moreau immediately dismisses himself. Later, the doctor reveals the extents that he is willing to go for the sake of scientific progress when he exclaims, "If one is to study nature, one must become as remorseless as nature." This is his weakness and downfall, the fact that the attainment of his goals transcends universal morality. Yet, the first half paints him in an almost admirable light. We see a visionary palpably excited about the altruistic prospects of his work, like removing deformities. So Moreau's goals are definitely benevolent. Not to mention, anyone with an inkling of vision can relate to his statement (paraphrasing): "People of vision often become outcasts." Then there's the mysterious and exotically beautiful Maria. Read the spoiler section below for a revelation about her that's more obvious in other versions of the story. Davenport is also effective as the alcoholic mercenary, Montgomery. His response to Braddock's initial inquiry about what kind of animals are on the island is notable. Amused at the question, Montgomery cackles: "All kinds, Lad; all kinds" (ending with a disturbing laugh with loads of hidden meaning). The score by Laurence Rosenthal is worth citing as it's haunting and befits the time period of the story, the late 1800s. Interestingly, the score was clearly ripped off (sort of) by James Horner for the even better music of 1981's "Wolfen."There are also some interesting subtexts: The humanimals who get to live in Dr. Moreau's compound are more human-like in appearance than the animals living in the smelly humanimal cave in the forest. Consider, for instance, the almost palace-like lifestyle of the most human-looking one compared to the others. Wouldn't this lead to tensions between the factions? While Moreau is a benevolent dictator he's still a dictator and dictators are rarely good. Another potent theme is the importance of genuineness in governing authorities. Once Moreau is disobeys his own law, the humanimals revolt. Unfortunately, I can't give it a higher rating for two important reasons. One, the storytelling isn't compelling and therefore the overall effect of the movie is mild amusement. However, the climax is pretty spectacular, particularly a couple of memorable images that I don't want to give away. The second reason is noted below. The film runs 99 minutes. GRADE: B-***SPOILER ALERT*** Don't read further unless you've seen the movie.When Braddock and Maria are discovered by a ship at the end and it's clear that Braddock has reverted back to full-human after days at sea, the original version of the movie reveals that Maria was actually another one of Moreau's experiments and was reverting back to being a panther! This is clear if you look at one of the film's pics shown on IMDb, but there is no image like this in the DVD version of the film (which I assume means the original theatrical version as well, but some dispute this). So it's clear that the producers nixed the original ending for a stereotypical happy one. IDIOTS!
tavm
This is the second film adaption of H. G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" I've seen, the previous one being 1933's Island of Lost Souls. Perhaps because the first one seemed very primitive, I found this version more entertaining. The material changes also helped as this time an Andrew Braddock (Michael York) is washed ashore with someone else but that someone else disappears soon after. He is found by Montgomery (Nigel Davenport) who introduces him to Dr. Paul Moreau (Burt Lancaster). Living with him is the exotic and sexy Maria (Barbara Carrera). Also inhabiting the island are various creatures led by the Sayer of the Law (Richard Basehart). I'll stop there and just say compared with the Charles Laughton characterization, Lancaster is very much more charming and subtle before we find out what he is capable of. Also, Montgomery here seems a bit more cynical but is still convincing when he turns a corner. And this Braddock character doesn't have a fiancée at home so he's...oh, watch the movie. Besides more exciting action scenes, there's an actual score by Laurence Rosenthal that compliments every segment it accompanies. And the tropical background scenes are so breathtaking. Kudos to director Don Taylor for making such a rousing adventure/horror film. And to American International, usually known for making drive-in exploitation features, for such a fine quality product. Nothing much more to say except that I highly recommend this version of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
