The Lost World (1925) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA 1924
Director: Harry Hoyt
Cast: Wallace Beery, Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Lloyd Hughes, Alma Bennett
Rating: Unrated
Language: Silent Film
Release Date: 2 February 1925
Running Time: 1 hour 9 minutes

The Movie Review

The Lost World film still 1

Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger


The LOST WORLD
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I dare myself to guess some of you readers must've been shocked to see the year of The Lost World which spells one nine two five. Yes mate, it's that old, almost 90 years ago! But..., The Lost World is not just old, classic, and vintage or whatever you might call it, but it's indeed a legend. How can it not be old and highly-likely forgotten by most viewers or practically any film fan who's not interested in the history of movies when The Lost World was produced and released before Gone With the Wind (1939) or The Wizard of Oz (1939) or King Kong (1933)...

We are the first Dinosaurs in the movie

And if you are still not familiar with those said famous movies, just consider it like this, The Lost World was released before the invention/publication of Winney the Pooh (1926), Mickey Mouse (1928), Popeye the Sailorman (1929) or Tintin (1929). Heck mate, it's even before the era of Bonnie and Clyde from the Era of United States Great Depression. And you know something..., even Academy Awards was not exist yet :-)

However, The Lost World is a pioneer and a milestone in adventure, monster, fantasy and even in horror genre.

Chaaaaarge!

The Lost World is a silent film which was extinct and lost, and I used "was" because of it's in the past. You see, the movie was one of those almost-gone-forever films, if not for the efforts of some people to retrieve back and restore so that movie buffs all around the world can enjoy this classic masterpiece from the 20s. Available for public, you can freely download it for a size ranging from 283.1 MB to 1.8 Gb on Internet Archive.

The movie revolves around the adventure of Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) and his newly assembled team to find the lost world. But it's not solely about scientific finding, because the original founder of this mysterious world is currently trapped somewhere deep inside the jungle and water-ways of amazon. He is a fellow adventurer of Prof. Challenger named Maple White who left his diary for his only daughter, Paula White (Bessie Love). A famous and sympathetic big-game hunter Sir John Roxton (Lewis Stone) agrees to help Professor Challenger on the quest as well as a spirited reporter Edward E. Malone (Lloyd Hughes) which actually through this young man, the managing Editor of London Record-Journal to fund the expedition. The real reason of young Edward Malone to go on an expedition is actually silly, his girlfriend wants to be married only after Edward has faced death. And the brave group ventures to South America and they eventually find the plateau which was the home of pre-historic dinosaurs.

The story is based on the classic novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who is probably more well-known for his other work... Sherlock Holmes. In this first film adaptation of The Lost World, our protagonist and main hero is Professor Challenger, and I must say, the portrayal of Professor Challenger by the vigorous Wallace Beery is utterly splendid. Even without sounds, the man managed to enliven the character with a strong personality and so many gusto.

But Wallace Beery and the rest of the cast are inevitably not the sole "power and/or attraction" of The Lost World, because arguably many movie buffs watch the movie to see how dinosaurs were pictured in the early time of movies. And for this, we have to thank Willis O'Brien who made a breakthrough in visual/special effects by inventing a technique called Stop-Motion Model-Animation. The technique in which he combined real live action of the actors/actresses with model creatures/dinosaurs. You may know his work better from a movie released in 1933... Yup, it's King Kong (1933) which was remade as King Kong (2005). Willis O'Brien is a legend in special effects mastery as he also had a protégé named Ray Harryhausen who also contributed largely to Movie World with Dynamation in a movie titled The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).

I rule London before The Beatles!

So, if you think Jurassic Park (1993) is the first ever movie about real dinosaurs, you're dead wrong mate. In The Lost World, our adventurers and explorers will get first acquainted with the hovering Pteranodon and then with Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus and the ever-famous Tyrannosaurus AKA T-Rex. An Allosaurus even forces Professor Challenger and his team to shoot the bad dino and making the prehistoric predator to bite a burning torch! And not just that, but Professor Challenger's team is also constantly stalked by a nasty Ape-man (played by Bull Montana)! Yeah, although The Lost World is movie-realm-historically significant but it's pre-historically wrong.

I'm looking for Barney!

Of course, after so many years accustomed to modern movies, youtubes and everything fast-paced and loud, for some of you, watching The Lost World requires certain stuff to be prepared... Namely a cup of strong hot coffee, big bucket of popcorns, turning off the ac so you won't get sleepy and have something to do to get rid off the boredom.

Having fun seeing monsters running rampage in town? Creating utmost panic and havoc to the residents? Thinking that it was a genuine creation of Godzilla (1998) or Cloverfield (2008)? You gotta see The Lost World and at least respect it for it depiction of a Brontosaurus escapes from its cage and walking through the bustling city streets of London! There are several versions of the movie, make sure you get the longest one which runs about 100 minutes.

> More Dinosaurs fun for Modern Viewers: Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) and Land of the Lost (2009).

> Historical classic films that you don't wanna miss: Alice in Wonderland (1903) which marks the 1st ever Alice Movie and Murders in the Zoo (1933) which marks the first animal gone wild movie.

>And finally, The Real First Ever Movie about Dinosaur in the whole World is...: The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915) which was created by Willis O'Brien and funded and distributed by the famous Thomas Edison!

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
Twitter: @movielogy
posted: Tuesday, 25 October 2011 01:39 pm