The Lost World (1960/20th Century Fox)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
To have
plenty of product to show off their CinemaScope format, Fox and Irwin Allen
produced a cycle of Sci-Fi/Adventure films that did for those genres what Elvis
Presley did for the Musical; not much, but the film were interesting even when
they were hokey and silly. One such film
was a 1960 remake of the 1925 silent, stop-motion classic (0included in this
DVD set!) The Lost World, based on
the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best know for creating Sherlock Holmes.
This
version offers Michael Rennie, David Hedison, Jill St. John, Fernando Lamas,
Claude Rains and Ray Strickland. Like
MGM’s new version of H.G. Welles’ The
Time Machine the same year, the film was sold as a fantastic, wholesome
literary adaptation that should inspire readers of all ages to pick up a book.
The
visual effects are not stop motion, but very dated, as is some of the
acting. The cast keeps this interesting,
even when the screenplay by Allen and Charles Bennett has many lulls
throughout. Most interesting is St.
John, giving a straight out performance without the terrific, subtle sass and
wit that informed hits like Tony Rome
and Diamonds Are Forever. This film helped her career more than anyone
else here, though Hedison eventually worked for Allen long term on the hit TV
version of Voyage To The Bottom Of The
Sea.
It is not
always thrilling, but in its 96 minutes, is at least interesting and worth a
look.
The anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is soft and even color-challenged, in part because the
DeLuxe color of the print used is in trouble of fading, though it is only just
about to do so. The shoot by Winton C.,
Hoch, A.S.C., a John Wayne regular who became the same for Allen, the scope
compositions are often very good for such a film. The Dolby Digital 4.0 mix is the best,
recreating the four-track magnetic stripe stereo of the better 35mm
prints. Extras include stills, press
book with click on enlargement options, comic book and Fox Movietone reel on
the film, Footprints In The Sands Of
time featurette on DVD 1 and the 1925 original restored on DVD 2. The 1.33 X 1 black and white (with some
tinting) picture on that looks pretty good for its age.
- Nicholas Sheffo
