The Lost World

"My brontosaurus has escaped! Please keep off the streets until I can recapture it." Fortunately, it's not the dialogue on the intertitle cards that's the main attraction of this 1925 silent classic based on Arthur Conan Doyle's novel about a "lost world" in the heart of the Amazon, where a crew led by Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) discovers Amazing Prehistoric Creatures Behaving Badly (courtesy of stop-motion animation genius Willis O'Brien, who would really show off his technical chops eight years later on a little film called King Kong). The escaped bronto? Eventually, our intrepid adventurers do manage to wrangle a brontosaurus and bring it back to civilization, where it promptly escapes, leading to the aforementioned public safety warning. Fans of Spielberg's The Lost World (VL-11/00) will probably be bored, but buffs will appreciate the nicely restored version offered up here, which includes a choice of two soundtracks, 13 minutes of animation outtakes and sparse commentary by Arthur Conan Doyle historian Roy Pilot. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 19, 2017—Flicker Alley, 110 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray, 1925's The Lost World features a great transfer with extras including audio commentary by film historian Nicolas Ciccone, the 1918 short film “The Ghost of Slumber Mountain” by filmmaker and special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien (14 min.), O'Brien's 1917 short “R.F.D., 10,000 B.C.” made for producer Thomas Edison (10 min.), O'Brien's 1930 unfinished short “Creation” (6 min.), deleted scenes (10 min.), an image gallery, and the booklet essay “The Lost World: Secrets of the Restoration.” Bottom line: a definitive edition of this early classic that shines on Blu-ray.]