The Island of Dr. Moreau
by Don Taylor
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DVD details
Actor: Barbara Carrera, Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Richard BasehartDirector: Don Taylor
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-08-28
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Island of Dr. Moreau
DVD Review: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Description of The Island of Dr. Moreau
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 DavisBestsellers in DVD
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