Leofwine_draca An unnecessary second remake (following the oft-forgotten '77 version with Michael York) of 1932's THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, based of course on the classic short story by H.G. Wells. A huge flop on release, this movie starts off pretty well and looks extremely promising with the crisp, highly colourful photography and interesting locations (Queensland actually). Sadly it deteriorates constantly as it goes on, until it becomes an almost parody of itself at the end, and is completely impossible to take seriously!Directorial disputes resulted in original director Richard Stanley being fired in place of the more mainstream John Frankenheimer, although even his veteran presence can't hide the dodgy editing and episodic nature of the narrative. The movie opens very promisingly with an well-choreographed fight aboard a rubber dinghy (trust me, it is very impressive) but that about as exciting as it gets. British star David Thewlis (not a bad actor, but his character is far too whiny to be likable) meets up with the ever-grouchy Val Kilmer, who takes him a remote island where they meet the incredible Marlon Brando. Brando overacts as never before in this movie, dressed in a white sheet and white face-paint, and his hamminess knows no bounds; his performance is so terribly and completely off beat that it serves as one of the movie's highlights.Soon afterwards, a hyena man discovers the implant which Moreau uses to control him through painful shocks, and tears it out, thus inciting a riot amongst the beast men, who eventually storm the island and learn how to use guns. The action-packed finale is absolutely terrible and laughable, with the beast men having far too much screen time (forget the eerie glimpses in the original - here they're on screen for ages which totally ruins their impact) and running and jumping about all over the place before they all kill each other.Aside from the miscast Thewlis, the wooden Kilmer and the laughable Brando, there is one other main character - Fairuza Balk (THE CRAFT), who plays a panther woman. Balk is far more attractive here than she was as the teenage witch in that other '96 horror movie, and indeed her feral beauty does most of the acting for her. Hidden inside costumes and make-up are a number of noted actors like Ron Perlman, Mark Dacascos, and Verne Troyer, but you'd never recognise them. The special effects are by Stan Winston, and the beast men are initially very impressive, with CGI being interspersed flawlessly with live-action footage. Sadly their overexposure soon shows and, as you see more and more of them, the less impressive they become until the laughing stocks of the finale.The morals are muddled and the film ends in an inconclusive fashion with most of the cast dead and the rest carrying on with their lives. A tragedy it is not as most of the dead characters are selfish and unlikeable or just plain odd. In the other versions, Moreau was attacked and killed at the end of the film, but that happens halfway through here, leaving the movie floundering with nowhere to really go afterwards. Kilmer ends up going mad too and dressing as Brando, but the irritatingly non-conclusive script means that you never figure out why.With an above average cast wasted along with a substantial budget, hopefully the poor reception of this movie at the box office has put off any other chancers with an idea of making a buck from a remake of a classic horror film. In an ideal world it certainly would, but I'm not so sure. THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is worth a look as a curiosity piece for sure, but it feels all the more frustrating as you get the impression that a good idea is in here somewhere, waiting to get out.

Python Hyena The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996): Dir: John Frankenheimer / Cast: David Thewlis, Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Temuera Morrison: Remake of the 1977 classic about authority and power over a powerless medium. David Thewlis is boarded onto a ship where Val Kilmer takes him to an island populated by creatures that are half man and half animal. A device is planted within their system that controls them. Concept still works with much suspense but the climax is an ongoing battle that never seems to end. Director John Frankenheimer succeeds in the film's mood but he is hardly matching his work in The Manchurian Candidate. Thewlis fares well amongst the cast as a drifter becoming a prisoner but upon learning the process involved he sets his sights on survival. Marlon Brando is an interesting case as Moreau but his concluding scene was perhaps a tad premature. Val Kilmer is confusing towards the conclusion and unreadable before that. He locks Thewlis in a room and becomes like a different person. Fairuza Balk plays an animalistic female who attempts to help Thewlis but unfortunately her role is nothing more than a romantic tease and a violent dismiss. Whether viewers will prefer this over spending all day watching Animal Planet is up to them. The theme still works regarding our animalistic behavior that traumatize our society. Score: 7 / 10

rfb-geo Balk smolders. So what? Brando emotes. Interesting. Kilmer embarrasses himself. Perlman growls. Thewlis tries. Worth watching just to see how bad a movie with a great cast and a great director can be. Gratuitous violence, but tame by today's standards. Doesn't help. The 1977 version had Barbara Carrera, so we forgive that. The original (Island of Lost Souls), even in black and white, with a low budget, is far better. This cast makes the ailing, hammy Bela Lugosi look like Oscar material. Brando, for all his talent, doesn't touch Laughton. Frankenheimer makes a couple of points. Men and animals aren't that far apart. The law is determined by the point of a gun. And artistic pretension doesn't make a bad movie better. Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

redalert51 Essentially the " Directors Cut " or should say is the unrated cut ,scenes , such as the beginning of the beast peoples take over which is more blood thirty , the killing , of Dr Moreau , teeth biting into his flesh , also there is one " Hyena Swine " chews the doctors ( father, the) arm off with inter-cuts of various animal people's blood soaked teeth. I personally believe , how a few minutes of graphic shoots shown, in sequence , can make the difference . The reason for my mid rating is , the blu ray release , did not not have the any bonus features , no commentary track , extended documentaries or a retrospect of people who work on the film , I do not know if the DVD release , has the features I mentioned , I perused , one release online and there were no indication of any features . Though the picture are excellent on the Blu ray and likewise with the audio , I hope this will be of help , to interested parties of this much maligned film ....Thank you , for the opportunity ..