Am I Missing Something?

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

... although any limitations on what could have been shown or done were much more lax in this film 44 years later. Yet I just like the original better.This is another take on the H. G. Wells novel about the "mad" scientist experimenting with animals on a South Seas island, performing surgery on them in "the House of Pain" to try to transform them into human beings. Of course, things never go as planned in these films. Moreau is, after all, "tampering in God's domain" (though that hoary old expression is mercifully not used in this film).Difficult to not compare this version to the first adaption, 1933's Island of Lost Souls, which I find far more satisfactory. In the original Charles Laughton brought a creepy, perverse quality to his Moreau. He was unsettling but effective, and when he cracked that whip in the "What is the law?" scene with the man beasts there was more than a hint of the sadist about him.The surprising casting of Burt Lancaster as Moreau in the 1977 version fails to bring any of these same odious qualities to the film. It's difficult to work up much of a dislike for Lancaster's scientist in spite of his activities. He's still Burt, and he has to battle against his good guy screen persona.Island of Dr. Moreau also surprisingly jettisons one of the kinkiest aspects of the 1933 film, the Panther Girl, as originally played by Kathleen Burke, his most near perfection human like creation from a beast, with whom Laughton's Moreau is eager to see if an unsuspecting male shipwrecked on his island (Richard Arlen) will be willing to mate.The '77 version does have beautiful Barbara Carrera slinking around, and she certainly intrigues (well, more than intrigues) Michael York, now in the Arlen role. Lancaster is aware that they are sexually attracted to each other and ready to mate - but to what purpose, since it turns out Carrera is a normal human, and no kind of Panther Girl. There is a hint in her final scene, however, that she may not be quite so normal, after all, but it went by so quickly I wasn't quite certain if it was my imagination.The man beasts in the original are more effective than here. For starters, you didn't get a really good look at the makeup in the original (outside of a closeup of Bela Lugosi), so much of it is left to the audience's imagination. In the '77 version you see the makeup and, to be honest, it's not so much frightening as it is artificial in appearance (on about a par with that to be found in the original Planet of the Apes).The '77 version, however, interestingly, does show what happens to the man beasts after everything blows up on the island, something the '33 original left to our imagination. This version also has Moreau strapping down and experimenting with York, something not done in the '33 version. That is one of the more interesting aspects of this production, as well.In the final analysis, this is a fairly mediocre adaption of the Wells story, but one should still see it to make his own assessment. There would be another version with Brando almost 20 years later, of course. It's been too long since I've seen that version to talk about it, though I do recall disliking it at the time.

On a desolate island a man (Michael York) discovers that its inhabitants are experimental animals being turned into strange looking humans, all of it the work of a visionary doctor (Burt Lancaster) , as he's horrified to uncover experiment transforming beasts into humans , Humanimals . The mad doctor isolated on the remote island has spent years creating half-men , half-animals , some real abominations . Acceptable adaptation based on H.G. Wells' novel realized by and with remarkable makeup by John Chambers . It's an excitingly produced remake of 1933's ¨Island of the lost souls¨ with Lancaster heading a solid casting as a nutty doctor who develops a process of transforming animals into half-humans at an desolated tropical island . Through experimentation Moreau-Burt has upset the balance of nature . It starts when Michael York is shipwrecked at sea and arrives in a strange island where he's terrified to discover the terrible genetic experiments realized by Dr. Moreau .Passable horror-fantasy chiller that is developed up and down with some grotesque moments and in other side contains eerie and thrilling scenes. It results to be a strong rendition of H.G. Wells' novel about an isolated scientific who has spent several years creating half-animals turning beasts into half-human . Cast is frankly well. Lancaster's sturdy acting and good secondary casting as Richard Bashehart displaying a magnificent portrayal of one of the beasts ,the law-sayer , Nigel Davenport and a gorgeous Barbara Carrera . Watchable by excellent makeup by the late John Chambers . Colorful cinematography by the classic cameraman Gerry Fisher and thrilling musical score by Laurence Rosenthal. The motion picture is well directed by Don Taylor . He was an actor and director as TV as cinema , he played one of the leads in the Army-Air Force production of Hart's play, "Winged Victory¨ . Returning to civilian life, Taylor resumed his work in pictures with a top role in the trend-setting crime drama ¨The naked city (1948)¨ and played successful films as ¨Destination Gobi , Battleground and Stalag 17¨. In later years Taylor became a film and TV director, being nominated for an Emmy for his direction of an episode of "Night Gallery" (1969). Don met his wife Hazel Court when he directed her in a 1958 episode of "Alfred Hitchcock presents" (1955). Taylor was an expert filmmaker on adventures genre as ¨Adventures of Tom Sawyer¨ , Terror as ¨Damien : Omen 2¨ and science fiction as ¨Island of Dr. Moreau¨, ¨Escape from Planet of Apes¨, and ¨The final of countdown¨. Rating : Good . Acceptable and passable fantasy-terror fare although better viewed in big screen . The movie will appeal to Burt Lancaster devotees who will want to check out his excessive performance . Other adaptation based on H.G. Wells' known novel are the following : The classic of 1933 titled ¨The island of lost souls¨ by Erle C. Kenton with Charles Laughton , Kathleen Burke , Bela Lugosi and Richard Arlen ; and remade in 1996 , retelling by John Frankenheimer with Marlon Brando -who hams it up a bit- , David Twellis ,Ron Perlman , Fauriza Balk , William Hootkins and Temuera Morrison

My Take: Good-looking and well-cast, but utterly tedious. I haven't read the book yet, and this is the only version of the novel that I have seen. This adaptation has its moments, but apparently too few than one might expect. Burt Lancaster delivers a wonderful performance, and so does the rest of the cast, but the film lags a bit too long. The make-up job on Richard Basehart and the other creatures are excellent, but doesn't show much to save some rather unimpressive moments.I'm sure H.G. Wells wouldn't roll on his grave with this since it is wonderfully fashioned, but it definitely not a classic like the first one, "The Island of Lost Souls", has become, but definitely worth a look for some fine performances, exotic locations and fine creature make-up. Also for those most in need of nap. Rating: ** out of 5.