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Just saw this on Netflix last night. I vaguely remember this film. I might have watched it on cable a very long time ago but it probably wasn't the "Directors Cut". Anyone know the difference? What was added or taken out?
The film started out promising and had a good cast. Burt Lancaster is always solid, and Michael York's performance was really impressive in "the transformation" scenes. Barbara Carrera character was just window dressing, though nice window dressing.
The make up effects are dated and surprisingly wasn't much of an improvement over Planet of the Apes a decade earlier. The animal-human hybrids "aped" it up to much and were just annoying. And the climax made no sense at all! The photography was pretty straight forward but there were a few interesting shots. Especially the lifeless body hanging in front of the flaming village.
Blink and you'll miss the weird twist in the last 30 seconds of the film!
SPOILER ALERT
The original ending had Michael York turning around after spotting the ship thinking they are saved and seeing that Barbara Carrera returning to her true Animal form in the boat and her about to jump at him and more then likely kill him.
As a matter of fact that is the version that Laurence Rosenthal scored and that music is heard in the final film under the "Happy Ending"...
Ford A. Thaxton
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Posted: |
Jun 4, 2015 - 9:37 AM
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By: |
RoryR
(Member)
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It wasn't that bad. The manimals (sp?) just hammed it up to much, and that is what annoyed me the most. That and the ending was retarded.
SPOILER:
They attack the village, burn it to the ground and when doing so release all the wild animals in cages so they can in turn attack and kill them all in the process. Meanwhile our hero's just hide off camera until all the carnage is done.
Maybe not that bad, but I don't care for it. I'm looking at it right now on Netflix and I was wrong about it being in Panavision. According to IMDB its correct aspect ratio is 1.85:1, but I can't understand why it wasn't shot in scope. The budget seems to have been $6 million. Anyway, Netflix is streaming it in 4:3, which makes it look even more like a made-for-tv movie. My guess is it'll be cropped to 1.85 for the Blu-ray, and if you think the manimals ham it up too much in this version, then you better stay away from the Laughton version. By the way, Wells disapproved of the Laughton version and there hasn't been any version that was faithful to the novel.
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I'm in agreement with most of what has been said here.
I've seen all three films. RoryR is spot on regarding the Laughton version. And the Lancaster version is fairly mediocre.
What I've never been able to understand is why the Brando version has been universally trashed. Heath referred to it as "forgettable rubbish," and that's precisely what many others have said about it. While it's far from being a perfect film, I have a great deal of appreciation for the Brando version. It does suffer from some poor CGI work to be sure, but there are also some fine qualities in the film that I think are worthy of attention.
Starting at the top, I love the powerful main title design by Thomas Cobb and Kyle Cooper. It's one of my very favorites. Of course, being a huge Saul Bass fan, I'm a sucker for exciting title designs.
I love Gary Chang's musical score.
I find Brando's performance to be a fascinating piece of work from a great actor. His flamboyant take on Dr. Moreau was to portray the creator whose creatures all refer to as "Father," as…a mother. According to director John Frankenheimer, Brando arrived on the set with all of his costumes, which he had selected himself. His wardrobe and his manner are totally feminine. I happen to believe that his entire performance is based upon an impression of Katherine Hepburn. He even appears in a very Hepburnesque neck veil.
Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk and Ron Perlman round out an excellent cast, each of whom have some memorable moments in the film.
Again, it's far from perfect, but I don't believe it deserves to be thrown in the "rubbish" bin either.
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The Marvel Comics adaptation gave us the intended ending in its full grim glory.
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) turns to camera and says "Bernard" in a somewhat campy patrician manner. I wondered who the hell this mysterious Bernard was... until I figured that Mr Manimal had actually said "Burn it". Personally, I prefer the idea that the monsters call out random names of non-existent people for no reason. But that's me. 
