Amazon.com

Every larger-than-life creature feature, from King Kong toGodzilla to Jurassic Park, owes a debt to the original LostWorld, the granddaddy of giant monster movies. Based on an adventure fantasyby Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the story of a maverick scientist (Wallace Beery,under a bushy beard) who finds a land that time forgot on a plateau deep withinthe South American jungles and comes back to London with a captured brontosaurto prove it. His expedition includes Bessie Love, the daughter of an explorerwho disappeared on the previous expedition, and big-game hunter Lewis Stone.The ostensible stars of the picture are all upstaged by Willis O'Brien's dinosaurs,simple models brought to life with primitive stop-motion animation. Hardly realisticby any measure, these pioneering special effects are still a sight to behold,especially the lumbering brontosaur (which receives the most care from O'Brien,both foraging in his jungle and rampaging through the streets of London).

The Lost World was truncated for rerelease in the 1930s and the originalnegative was subsequently lost. David Shepard meticulously "rebuilt" the filmusing material from eight different surviving prints from all over the world,cleaning and restoring along the way. The result, which is 50 percent longerthan previously extant prints, is still not complete but closer than any versionsince its 1925 debut. The difference is not merely in restored scenes but in arediscovered sense of grace in scenes filled out to their original detail and pace.The film moves and breathes once again like a silent film.

The disc features the choice of an original, modern score by the Alloy Orchestraand a classic orchestral score compiled and conducted by Robert Israel (bothenjoyable and effective), 13 minutes of O'Brien's animation outtakes (includinga couple of isolated frames that capture O'Brien manipulating his models), andrudimentary commentary by Arthur Conan Doyle historian Roy Pilot. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Journey to the original Lost World
This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.

Jurassically pioneering adventure
A non-horror movie of definite interest to horror collectors! Courtesy mainly of King Kong, Jaws and Jurassic Park, Harry Hoyt's ambitious 1925 film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, The Lost World, carries some heavyweight genre lineage. Wallace Beery plays the inimitable Professor Challenger who leads an expedition to a lost land roaming with dinosaurs. Few reviewers of Steven Spielberg's abysmal Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World appear to have had sufficient-enough genre grounding to recognise any connection to its 1925 namesake, let alone the remarkable and probably (given Spielberg's admirably consistent homage to cinematic antecedents) deliberate - similarity between Spielberg's awful final act (a T-Rex rampages through San Diego) and Hoyt's (a brontosaurus rampages through London). The creative genius responsible for design of the dinosaurs in Hoyt's Lost World, Willis 'O Brien, would go on to achieve genre immortality for his decidedly more sophisticated work in King Kong (1933), thus laying the ground for later horror-fantasy make-up and design legends like Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts), Stan Winston (Jurassic Park), Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), Tom Savini (Friday the 13th; Dawn of the Dead), Dick Smith (The Exorcist) and H.R. Giger (Alien). Another one for your collection.

Original standard-8 version in the vaults!
I was unaware that The Lost World (1925) had been subject to so much trimming. Stored in my attic somewhere I have what must be a pretty complete print of the film, since it consists of 5 or 6 reels, running time as far as I recall was indeed 80 or 90 mins. And at least some of the 'missing scenes' mentioned by people are definitely included in the print I have (case in point - the head through the window scene is definitely in there). Wow. Must get the Image DVD and run them side by side, something new might turn up. Have to oil the projector up!! I'm not sure when my the print I have same out, but the packaging is very old, and 8mm goes back to the turn of the '30s, which is only shortly after the original revisited the splicing room. Will share my findings.

The Ultimate Vacation Spot!
I love monster movies! I love dinosaurs running rampant! THE LOST WORLD is a very early (1925) example of both. Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together an expedition party to return with him to the amazon jungles, in order to prove his claims of living dinosaurs. Once there, we are treated to some ultra-cool dino-battles and high adventure! First, we see a pterodactyl flying around. Then, we get to watch an allosaurus fight triceratops! Our human heroes become a sideline to the spectacle before us. Willis O'Brien handled the stop-motion with care and detail (the dinos "breathe" and check out the stringy saliva / gore in the allosaurus' gaping maw). Soon, a brontosaurus thunders along, eating plants and minding it's own business, when -BAM!- Another unprovoked allosaurus attack! During it's fight for survival, brontosaurus falls over a cliff, landing in a mud-pool, stuck but still alive. Challenger and company decide to cage the beast and take it back to London. Upon their return, the mega-ton monster gets loose, running amuck through city streets, becoming the world's most dangerous vegetarian. Chaos ensues, with many classic moments of dino-destruction and fun. I highly recommend this movie to all film-freaks, and dinosaur / creature addicts like me...

don't get too excited
Understand that I'm a stickler for old-school animation, and have long been a fan of the revolution set by Willis O'Brian (the animator of this film). That said, The Lost World isn't that great. It's a choppy, silent film, for one, which doesn't make it easy to watch AT ALL. It moves really slow, too. You can watch it in double-speed and still get the gist of the movie. The animation is scarce, but what is present is actually pretty cool, considering the time it was made. But that's not enough to say this movie is worth buying. There are far better classic animated monster fliks out there. The Lost World is not one of them. ... Read more

Amazon.com

J.M. Barrie's play about the boy who refused to grow up has become a stage classic and a revival standard, but in the movies Disney's animated musical version remains the most famous incarnation. Nearly forgotten is the original 1924 live-action version, a lavish silent fantasy that captures the fairy tale magic of flying children, wicked pirates, and a wondrous storybook land where kids never grow up. Tomboyish Betty Bronson, with an innocent smile and a mischievous spontaneity, is the eternally adolescent boy while towering Ernest Torrence (the burly comic actor best known as Buster Keaton's gruff father in Steamboat Bill Jr.) plays a gleefully flamboyant Captain Hook. This faithful adaptation flies from the Darling nursery to the thick tangle of the Lost Boys' forest, where elaborate, cartoonishly exaggerated animal costumes wander the trails and a floating ball of fairy light reveals herself as a lovely, petite girl in a gossamer gown and glowing hair. A curious thread of American patriotism peaks in the pirate ship climax when the Lost Boys replace the Jolly Roger with the stars and stripes and fly the ship into the stars. Long thought lost, a beautiful 35mm print was recovered years ago and serves as the basis for this restoration. Anna May Wong costars as Princess Tiger Lily, and a fine new score by Philip C. Carli accompanies the film.

The DVD also features a 30-minute interview with costar Esther Ralston, an essay by film historian Frederick C. Szebin, and a treasure-trove of archival stills and promotion materials in a photo gallery. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Journey to the original Lost World
This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.

Jurassically pioneering adventure
A non-horror movie of definite interest to horror collectors! Courtesy mainly of King Kong, Jaws and Jurassic Park, Harry Hoyt's ambitious 1925 film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, The Lost World, carries some heavyweight genre lineage. Wallace Beery plays the inimitable Professor Challenger who leads an expedition to a lost land roaming with dinosaurs. Few reviewers of Steven Spielberg's abysmal Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World appear to have had sufficient-enough genre grounding to recognise any connection to its 1925 namesake, let alone the remarkable and probably (given Spielberg's admirably consistent homage to cinematic antecedents) deliberate - similarity between Spielberg's awful final act (a T-Rex rampages through San Diego) and Hoyt's (a brontosaurus rampages through London). The creative genius responsible for design of the dinosaurs in Hoyt's Lost World, Willis 'O Brien, would go on to achieve genre immortality for his decidedly more sophisticated work in King Kong (1933), thus laying the ground for later horror-fantasy make-up and design legends like Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts), Stan Winston (Jurassic Park), Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), Tom Savini (Friday the 13th; Dawn of the Dead), Dick Smith (The Exorcist) and H.R. Giger (Alien). Another one for your collection.

Original standard-8 version in the vaults!
I was unaware that The Lost World (1925) had been subject to so much trimming. Stored in my attic somewhere I have what must be a pretty complete print of the film, since it consists of 5 or 6 reels, running time as far as I recall was indeed 80 or 90 mins. And at least some of the 'missing scenes' mentioned by people are definitely included in the print I have (case in point - the head through the window scene is definitely in there). Wow. Must get the Image DVD and run them side by side, something new might turn up. Have to oil the projector up!! I'm not sure when my the print I have same out, but the packaging is very old, and 8mm goes back to the turn of the '30s, which is only shortly after the original revisited the splicing room. Will share my findings.

The Ultimate Vacation Spot!
I love monster movies! I love dinosaurs running rampant! THE LOST WORLD is a very early (1925) example of both. Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together an expedition party to return with him to the amazon jungles, in order to prove his claims of living dinosaurs. Once there, we are treated to some ultra-cool dino-battles and high adventure! First, we see a pterodactyl flying around. Then, we get to watch an allosaurus fight triceratops! Our human heroes become a sideline to the spectacle before us. Willis O'Brien handled the stop-motion with care and detail (the dinos "breathe" and check out the stringy saliva / gore in the allosaurus' gaping maw). Soon, a brontosaurus thunders along, eating plants and minding it's own business, when -BAM!- Another unprovoked allosaurus attack! During it's fight for survival, brontosaurus falls over a cliff, landing in a mud-pool, stuck but still alive. Challenger and company decide to cage the beast and take it back to London. Upon their return, the mega-ton monster gets loose, running amuck through city streets, becoming the world's most dangerous vegetarian. Chaos ensues, with many classic moments of dino-destruction and fun. I highly recommend this movie to all film-freaks, and dinosaur / creature addicts like me...

don't get too excited
Understand that I'm a stickler for old-school animation, and have long been a fan of the revolution set by Willis O'Brian (the animator of this film). That said, The Lost World isn't that great. It's a choppy, silent film, for one, which doesn't make it easy to watch AT ALL. It moves really slow, too. You can watch it in double-speed and still get the gist of the movie. The animation is scarce, but what is present is actually pretty cool, considering the time it was made. But that's not enough to say this movie is worth buying. There are far better classic animated monster fliks out there. The Lost World is not one of them. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Journey to the original Lost World
This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.

Jurassically pioneering adventure
A non-horror movie of definite interest to horror collectors! Courtesy mainly of King Kong, Jaws and Jurassic Park, Harry Hoyt's ambitious 1925 film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, The Lost World, carries some heavyweight genre lineage. Wallace Beery plays the inimitable Professor Challenger who leads an expedition to a lost land roaming with dinosaurs. Few reviewers of Steven Spielberg's abysmal Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World appear to have had sufficient-enough genre grounding to recognise any connection to its 1925 namesake, let alone the remarkable and probably (given Spielberg's admirably consistent homage to cinematic antecedents) deliberate - similarity between Spielberg's awful final act (a T-Rex rampages through San Diego) and Hoyt's (a brontosaurus rampages through London). The creative genius responsible for design of the dinosaurs in Hoyt's Lost World, Willis 'O Brien, would go on to achieve genre immortality for his decidedly more sophisticated work in King Kong (1933), thus laying the ground for later horror-fantasy make-up and design legends like Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts), Stan Winston (Jurassic Park), Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), Tom Savini (Friday the 13th; Dawn of the Dead), Dick Smith (The Exorcist) and H.R. Giger (Alien). Another one for your collection.

Original standard-8 version in the vaults!
I was unaware that The Lost World (1925) had been subject to so much trimming. Stored in my attic somewhere I have what must be a pretty complete print of the film, since it consists of 5 or 6 reels, running time as far as I recall was indeed 80 or 90 mins. And at least some of the 'missing scenes' mentioned by people are definitely included in the print I have (case in point - the head through the window scene is definitely in there). Wow. Must get the Image DVD and run them side by side, something new might turn up. Have to oil the projector up!! I'm not sure when my the print I have same out, but the packaging is very old, and 8mm goes back to the turn of the '30s, which is only shortly after the original revisited the splicing room. Will share my findings.

The Ultimate Vacation Spot!
I love monster movies! I love dinosaurs running rampant! THE LOST WORLD is a very early (1925) example of both. Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together an expedition party to return with him to the amazon jungles, in order to prove his claims of living dinosaurs. Once there, we are treated to some ultra-cool dino-battles and high adventure! First, we see a pterodactyl flying around. Then, we get to watch an allosaurus fight triceratops! Our human heroes become a sideline to the spectacle before us. Willis O'Brien handled the stop-motion with care and detail (the dinos "breathe" and check out the stringy saliva / gore in the allosaurus' gaping maw). Soon, a brontosaurus thunders along, eating plants and minding it's own business, when -BAM!- Another unprovoked allosaurus attack! During it's fight for survival, brontosaurus falls over a cliff, landing in a mud-pool, stuck but still alive. Challenger and company decide to cage the beast and take it back to London. Upon their return, the mega-ton monster gets loose, running amuck through city streets, becoming the world's most dangerous vegetarian. Chaos ensues, with many classic moments of dino-destruction and fun. I highly recommend this movie to all film-freaks, and dinosaur / creature addicts like me...

don't get too excited
Understand that I'm a stickler for old-school animation, and have long been a fan of the revolution set by Willis O'Brian (the animator of this film). That said, The Lost World isn't that great. It's a choppy, silent film, for one, which doesn't make it easy to watch AT ALL. It moves really slow, too. You can watch it in double-speed and still get the gist of the movie. The animation is scarce, but what is present is actually pretty cool, considering the time it was made. But that's not enough to say this movie is worth buying. There are far better classic animated monster fliks out there. The Lost World is not one of them. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Seven decades before Michael Crichton borrowed the title of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic adventure tale, The Lost World was the movie sensation of 1925. (The film is not to be confused with Steven Spielberg's sequel to Jurassic Park.) Just as Spielberg's dinosaur thrillers would advance the technology of computer-generated spectacle, Doyle's classic story provided a perfect opportunity to exploit the illusions made possible by stop-motion animation. Eight years before he stunned audiences with the amazing special effects of King Kong, pioneering stop-motion animator Willis O'Brien created the dinosaur stars of this classic silent-film fantasy. Following Doyle's plot, the film plays like a dress rehearsal for King Kong and establishes a now-familiar scenario: Wallace Beery plays a visionary scientist who returns to the remote South African plateau where he'd earlier discovered a jungle haven of prehistoric creatures.Determined to introduce this discovery to the world, he returns to London with a captive brontosaurus, which later escapes and goes on a destructive rampage through the city. Though somewhat quaint by modern standards, this silent classic remains a milestone of fantasy filmmaking, and Lumivision's splendid collector's edition DVD presents the film in near-pristine condition. Accompanied by a newly composed musical score, the film is supplemented by a series of still photographs to illustrate the legendary missing scenes from the original (and long-lost) 10-reel version. To further showcase the animation work of O'Brien (who would later inspire and mentor Ray Harryhausen), the disc also includes several excerpts from his pioneering films from the early 1920s. Included too is a still-frame library and an informative onscreen essay by film historian Scott MacQueen. If you're a silent-movie buff or a fan of imaginative movies, consider this an essential addition to your DVD library. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Journey to the original Lost World
This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.

Jurassically pioneering adventure
A non-horror movie of definite interest to horror collectors! Courtesy mainly of King Kong, Jaws and Jurassic Park, Harry Hoyt's ambitious 1925 film version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, The Lost World, carries some heavyweight genre lineage. Wallace Beery plays the inimitable Professor Challenger who leads an expedition to a lost land roaming with dinosaurs. Few reviewers of Steven Spielberg's abysmal Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World appear to have had sufficient-enough genre grounding to recognise any connection to its 1925 namesake, let alone the remarkable and probably (given Spielberg's admirably consistent homage to cinematic antecedents) deliberate - similarity between Spielberg's awful final act (a T-Rex rampages through San Diego) and Hoyt's (a brontosaurus rampages through London). The creative genius responsible for design of the dinosaurs in Hoyt's Lost World, Willis 'O Brien, would go on to achieve genre immortality for his decidedly more sophisticated work in King Kong (1933), thus laying the ground for later horror-fantasy make-up and design legends like Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts), Stan Winston (Jurassic Park), Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), Tom Savini (Friday the 13th; Dawn of the Dead), Dick Smith (The Exorcist) and H.R. Giger (Alien). Another one for your collection.

Original standard-8 version in the vaults!
I was unaware that The Lost World (1925) had been subject to so much trimming. Stored in my attic somewhere I have what must be a pretty complete print of the film, since it consists of 5 or 6 reels, running time as far as I recall was indeed 80 or 90 mins. And at least some of the 'missing scenes' mentioned by people are definitely included in the print I have (case in point - the head through the window scene is definitely in there). Wow. Must get the Image DVD and run them side by side, something new might turn up. Have to oil the projector up!! I'm not sure when my the print I have same out, but the packaging is very old, and 8mm goes back to the turn of the '30s, which is only shortly after the original revisited the splicing room. Will share my findings.

The Ultimate Vacation Spot!
I love monster movies! I love dinosaurs running rampant! THE LOST WORLD is a very early (1925) example of both. Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together an expedition party to return with him to the amazon jungles, in order to prove his claims of living dinosaurs. Once there, we are treated to some ultra-cool dino-battles and high adventure! First, we see a pterodactyl flying around. Then, we get to watch an allosaurus fight triceratops! Our human heroes become a sideline to the spectacle before us. Willis O'Brien handled the stop-motion with care and detail (the dinos "breathe" and check out the stringy saliva / gore in the allosaurus' gaping maw). Soon, a brontosaurus thunders along, eating plants and minding it's own business, when -BAM!- Another unprovoked allosaurus attack! During it's fight for survival, brontosaurus falls over a cliff, landing in a mud-pool, stuck but still alive. Challenger and company decide to cage the beast and take it back to London. Upon their return, the mega-ton monster gets loose, running amuck through city streets, becoming the world's most dangerous vegetarian. Chaos ensues, with many classic moments of dino-destruction and fun. I highly recommend this movie to all film-freaks, and dinosaur / creature addicts like me...

don't get too excited
Understand that I'm a stickler for old-school animation, and have long been a fan of the revolution set by Willis O'Brian (the animator of this film). That said, The Lost World isn't that great. It's a choppy, silent film, for one, which doesn't make it easy to watch AT ALL. It moves really slow, too. You can watch it in double-speed and still get the gist of the movie. The animation is scarce, but what is present is actually pretty cool, considering the time it was made. But that's not enough to say this movie is worth buying. There are far better classic animated monster fliks out there. The Lost World is not one of them. ... Read more