The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)

How sad is this?

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Once the home of shlock drive-in movies AIP, American International Pictures, slightly transformed in the seventies, giving plenty of drive-ins movies to fill the screens but with more quality than had been seen in the sixties. Granted those classic films, in particular the Edgar Allan Poe flicks presented to us by Roger Corman, were great but times changed and so did AIP. Budgets while still small were upped a tad and the actors employed had name value other than as AIP stars. A perfect example of that was this film.Andrew Braddock (Michael York) is a shipwrecked engineer who finds himself casts adrift on the shores of an unknown island. When he goes in search of water the only other survivor is carried off by an unseen force. Unaware of this Braddock is being tracked as well and in running finds himself caught in a ground trap, saved actually from what was behind him.When he wakes he finds himself in bed and indoors, a man named Montgomery (Nigel Davenport) at bedside. Montgomery tells him he is the guest of Dr. Moreau, his employer and it isn't long before Moreau (Burt Lancaster) himself shows. Braddock is welcomed and told that it will be a while before another boat arrives.When feeling up to it, Braddock gets out of bed and sees Moreau talking to a young woman. He finds out her name is Maria (Barbara Carrera) and that as Montgomery puts it, is Moreau's. He rescued her as a young child and she is now willingly in his debt. Invited to dinner Moreau finds himself called away to handle a situation on the island and excuses himself.All moves along at a quick pace here with Braddock eventually learning what was out there in the jungle and what Moreau is up to. SPOILER ALERT. It seems that Moreau has been experimenting in gene therapy, converting animals into human beings but not quite. That elusive last element still eludes him and rather than humans he's created humanimals, animals standing on two legs with the ability to talk and think and yet still tied into those instincts placed there by the creator. How Braddock reacts, what transpires when he finds a group of these humanimals and the plans Moreau have for him unfold before the final credits.Based on the novel by H.G. Wells, the story has been used in several movies as well as this one. It is actually the fourth time the story was used. The movie is extremely well crafted with some great cinematography, acting, directing and some find makeup effects. At the same time there is nothing to make it stand out above the rest. It's well-made and not quite generic in how that comes across but not exceptional at the same time.And yet the movie never fails to entertain. The story holds your interests as does the telling of it which could have gone terribly wrong. Instead we're witness to one star whose glow was beginning to fade in Lancaster (who still remains a strong presence), an actor who was at his peak in popularity in York and an actress who made a splash with this film only to never rise much higher. Their combined efforts make the movie an enjoyable old style story that leans more towards science fiction than horror that will have you staying with it till the end.Olive Films has released this one with a minimum of extras including a commentary track, a visual essay and the original trailer. Still, the picture clarity is above most and the value is there. Fans will want to pick the film up, AIP completest will want to add it to their collection and horror/sci-fi fans will want to enjoy it as well.

There are many who will miss the fire and malevolence of Charles Laughton's Dr. Moreau from the Island Of Lost Souls. But this version of the H.G. Wells novel The Island Of Dr. Moreau has an awful lot to recommend it. For one thing it is closer in plot to the story that Wells actually wrote. And unlike the Laughton version which came out in 1932 and was set in that year, this one is set at the turn of the last century when the book actually came out.Still there's Burt Lancaster as the scientist banned like Dr. Frankenstein for his fiendish experiments now confined on an island with Nigel Davenport another disgraced medico and trying to study what is the actual cause of evolution. Like in the other two versions he's getting all kinds of animals to experiment and ratchet up evolution, creating these freaks of nature whom as he says always seem to revert.His most successful experiment is with Barbara Carrera and newly arrived marooned sailor Michael York gets her mojo going. It's one of the reasons that York is kept alive as he soon discovers. But there's more in store for him.Laughton's classic was completely created on the back lot of Paramount Studios. This one has the advantage of some really lush location shooting on the Virgin Islands in the real tropics where Wells set his story. And I also think Michael York in his prime is far more the sex object the character was supposed to be than Richard Arlen in the Laughton version.This is a good version of The Island Of Dr. Moreau and miles better than the version Marlon Brando did in the 90s.

Burt Lancaster plays Dr. Moreau in this adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel that sees shipwreck survivor Andrew Braddock(played by Michael York) come ashore on the island, where Moreau, along with his assistant Montgomery(played by Nigel Davenport) have been experimenting with the genetics of the local animals, turning them into human-like beings. Barbara Carrera plays Maria, a mysterious cat-like woman who he is attracted to. They run into the leader of the "beast men", the Sayer of the law(played by Richard Basehart)who tries to keep them under control, but events will soon conspire against them as the rebellion grows...Bland filming of the famous story is far less intense than the classic version with Charles Laughton, and director Don Taylor has little feel for the material. The acting is good however, and the location filming helps make this watchable, though is still a misfire.

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, uneven at best, nonetheless boasted an interesting (if curiously laid back) performance by the normally scene-stealing Charles Laughton. His back-against-the-wall finish was one of the few times in said film that he really let loose. It wasn't, unfortunately, enough to save the movie from borderline mediocrity. The third version of this story to be brought to the big screen featured drama queens Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer vying for top honors at a picnic at a leper colony, and boasted some of the most jarringly bad cgi ever witnessed by Man (or Manimal). It was the second go-round that turns out to have been the best of three. Burt Lancaster gives what has to be (next to his performance as Elmer Gantry) one of the finest performances of his career, as does Michael York. The makeup, handled by Academy Award winner John Chambers, remains the finest realization to date of the Men turned Manimals. Recommended.