RRR #4: The Lost World ('25)

(mini-review)

I regard King Kong as one of the best - if not the best - films of all time, but it's obvious that it borrowed several elements from 1925's The Lost World. This film is a revelation. The stop-motion animation (courtesy of Willis O'Brien and Marcus Delgado) is astonishing, even today, although I'm sure millions of MTV viewers would disagree with me. It doesn't get any better than this. I find that the best silent films make you forget that you're watching a classic reel bereft of spoken dialogue, and that's precisely what The Lost World does.

The story goes as follows...a scientist is thought to be mad when he claims to have seen prehistoric creatures on a remote island. He charters an expedition to the island in hopes of proving his detractors wrong. It isn't long before the troupe of fortuitous strangers stumble upon dinosaurs. We get to see a Brontosaurus, an Allosaurus (a smaller T-Rex), a Pterodactyl, a family of Triceratops, and other "terrible beasts" in action. I loved every second that the dinos were on screen. The film takes awhile to collect steam, but once shit hits the saber-toothed tiger, hold onto your fun parts!

The acting is quite capable, and while I didn't care about any of the characters, I dug the impassioned Professor Challenger. Everything about him is cool, from his frazzled hair to his penchant for brawling. The love angle didn't sit well with my stomach, but that's a trivial complaint. This is grade-A meat. A must-see for stop-motion devotees.