Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like the Classics
Review: In a time where computer effects have dulled sci-fi films, this film is a refreshing step back. For 1925, the stop motion effects are excellent, until King Kong 8 years later. The love subplot is poorly written and shouldn't have been in there at all but Wallace Beery's Professor Challenger is fun. An excellent way to spend your late nights ( along with Lugosi's Dracula, Godzilla, Karloff's Frankenstein, and Chaney's Phantom of The Opera to name a few.)
Rating: 
Summary: The best Lost World easily.
Review: Out of the three versions of Conan Doyle's masterpiece this is still the best and though the dinosaurs look out-dated now they are far better and more realistic than in the 1960 and 1992 versions.A team of explorers led by the excellently-portrayed Professor Challenger set off to find a plateau in South America where dinosaurs, in isolation from the outside world, have escaped extinction and still live on. They finish up bringing one of the creatures back to London where it escapes and causes havoc. (Both these plots were new ideas back then, and have been ripped off countless times since). Not only a visual treat, this is a piece of cinematic history and is certainly far more watchable than that special-effects-laden bore of the same name. Get hold of a copy of this 1925 classic now!
Rating:
Summary: For Historical Interest, Not Enjoyment
Review: Simply put, the 1 hour 3 minute version leaves too many loose ends around for it to be viewed as a film in anthing except the historical context. Watch this version from that viewpoint only and you will be well served. Expect more and you will be sadly dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining Treat from the Silent Era
Review: The film is shown with its original tinting -- blue for night, red for fire scenes, green for the jungle, and so on -- a device that lends much more variety to director Harry Hoyt's rather pedestrian visual style. The audio track includes not only music but some sound effects -- gunshots, crowd noise -- though, unfortunately, no dinosaur growls! The title cards (i.e., dialogue inserts) have been taken from freezeframes of the print, rendering them crisp and readable. All in all, an enjoyable piece of movie history -- or is it prehistory?
Rating:
Summary: Amazing for when it was done!
Review: The Lost World DVD~ Bessie Love is a lost gem that people rarely watch; if they even know that it exists. The animation and special effects are quite well done for the time period and the story line does not feel forced; nor does it come in second hand as many of the later movies, e.g., Jurrasic Park unfortunately managed to accomplish, i.e., the dinasours are more important then good dialogue and the story line is dumned down to the lowest common dominator. The acting in this movie is surprisingly well done and Bessie Love plays her role with commendable skill and her character does not feel phony. Over all , I would have to reccomend this movie as it has good special effects, well acted roles and an interesting story line.
Rating:
Summary: The First Giant Monster Film
Review: THE LOST WORLD has been restored twice in recent years, but the only version widely available is this one, the Image edition that depicts two dinosaurs on the cover. Be sure, if you want the restored version, that you are getting this one, ASIN:B00005ABVF. There are so many releases on VHS and DVD of the 63-minute abridged version that I have tried and failed several times to get this restored version on the used market -- from marketers who simply don't know the difference. A similarly boxed vesion with only ONE dinosaur by the same artist on the cover, for example, is the old tired hour-long "kiddies' version" of LOST WORLD. It's a case of buyer beware. Until the Kodak company releases its competing "restoration," the 90-minute Image version, ASIN: B00005ABVF, is the only one to own, for completeness and clarity. My advice is not to try to save a buck or two in the used market UNLESS the seller specifically indicates in advance that he will be seinding you the Image release, that is clearly marked "Restoration" and with a running time of approximately 90 minutes, plus extras -- and it has the two dinosaurs on the cover, as pictured on the Amazon product page. Some versions touting "extra material" only have still photos of the missing scenes. The Image restoration has all its restored footage edited into the movie -- and it all moves! The Image restoration is excellent. The picture quality is very good, the movie starts at its original, earlier point in the story, when the reporter's girlfriend Gladys tells him she can only marry an "adventurer," and contains much more footage throughout, including an entire set piece in a native village where Professor Challenger toys with the explorers by fooling them with a blank page instead of the map to the plateau. Also restored is Dr. Summerlee's fascination with insects, and some scenes of the brontosaurus near the end of the picture, like the one that amazed viewers on first run of the brontosaurus' huge head ramming through a window and interrupting a poker game -- and the bronto finally swimming down the English channel with a steamship in the background. This is the first version of the movie for grown-ups. It foreshadows KING KONG, released 8 years later, by generally putting an expedition in a jungle full of dinosaurs, but also in one more specific way -- In Doyle's book, Challenger merely brings back a Pteradactyl's egg, and it hatches in the lecture hall and flies away. In THE LOST WORLD, in 1925, the expedition brings back a giant Brontosaurus, which gets loose and "wreaks havoc" (as the TV Guide was always fond of putting it) in the city. This original idea was later gleefully borrowed and immortalized in the much more popular, sensational, and brilliant KING KONG of 1933 -- by the same special effects master, the most gifted stop-motion animator of all time, Willis H. O'Brien.
Rating:
Summary: Restored version is the only way to fly!
Review: THE LOST WORLD has been restored twice in recent years, but the only version widely available is this one, the Image edition that depicts two dinosaurs on the cover. Be sure, if you want the restored version, that you are getting this one, ASIN:B00005ABVF. There are so many releases on VHS and DVD of the 63-minute abridged version that I have tried and failed several times to get this restored version on the used market -- from marketers who simply don't know the difference. A similarly boxed vesion with only ONE dinosaur by the same artist on the cover, for example, is the old tired hour-long "kiddies' version" of LOST WORLD. It's a case of buyer beware. Until the Kodak company releases its competing "restoration," the 90-minute Image version, ASIN: B00005ABVF, is the only one to own, for completeness and clarity. My advice is not to try to save a buck or two in the used market UNLESS the seller specifically indicates in advance that he will be seinding you the Image release, that is clearly marked "Restoration" and with a running time of approximately 90 minutes, plus extras -- and it has the two dinosaurs on the cover, as pictured on the Amazon product page. Some versions touting "extra material" only have still photos of the missing scenes. The Image restoration has all its restored footage edited into the movie -- and it all moves! The Image restoration is excellent. The picture quality is very good, the movie starts at its original, earlier point in the story, when the reporter's girlfriend Gladys tells him she can only marry an "adventurer," and contains much more footage throughout, including an entire set piece in a native village where Professor Challenger toys with the explorers by fooling them with a blank page instead of the map to the plateau. Also restored is Dr. Summerlee's fascination with insects, and some scenes of the brontosaurus near the end of the picture, like the one that amazed viewers on first run of the brontosaurus' huge head ramming through a window and interrupting a poker game -- and the bronto finally swimming down the English channel with a steamship in the background. This is the first version of the movie for grown-ups. It foreshadows KING KONG, released 8 years later, by generally putting an expedition in a jungle full of dinosaurs, but also in one more specific way -- In Doyle's book, Challenger merely brings back a Pteradactyl's egg, and it hatches in the lecture hall and flies away. In THE LOST WORLD, in 1925, the expedition brings back a giant Brontosaurus, which gets loose and "wreaks havoc" (as the TV Guide was always fond of putting it) in the city. This original idea was later gleefully borrowed and immortalized in the much more popular, sensational, and brilliant KING KONG of 1933 -- by the same special effects master, the most gifted stop-motion animator of all time, Willis H. O'Brien.
Rating:
Summary: Get the Image Entertainment version!
Review: The new restoration released by Image Entertainment is superb. It replaces a lot of footage, some of which I had no idea even existed. The picture quality is excellent, the film is beautifully tinted, and the score by the Alloy Orchestra is very fitting and really sets the mood. As if that wasn't enough, at the end there is 13 minutes of animation outtakes (can't believe this footage still exists, but I'm glad it does). This is by far the most acceptable version out there, and it probably will be for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Journey to the original Lost World
Review: This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.
Rating:
Summary: Journey to the original Lost World
Review: This 1925 silent film still works as an involving, pretty exciting experience, not in just a "let's see how a dinosaur movie made in 1925 looks" kind of way. This Image Entertainment restored edition is definitely the DVD version to get, as it's about thirty minutes longer than the other editions on the market. I especially liked the epic shots of the dinosaur plateau in the distance; the creepy man/gorilla creature; and the nice views of London at the beginning and end. The dinosaur action is also impressive more than seventy-five years later, though I thought most of the dinosaurs were more cute than scary. Another nice touch is the long booklet included with the DVD; it's a reproduction of the original souvenir program given to patrons at the film's premiere. There are lots of other great extras to enjoy, too, including a choice of two musical tracks to accompany the film. Oh, yes, an excellent article about the various undertakings to restore this movie- including Image's efforts- appears in the 75th issue (dated Sept. 2001, I believe) of "Video Watchdog", a very good monthly digest about genre movies. After reading the article, I went out and picked up "The Lost World", and I'm happy I did.
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