Rating: 
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: I was pleased to see a version of this story that had the special effects to back up the concept. However, I think I almost would have rather had a "special edition" of the version with the perfectly-cast John Rhys-Davies than this creationist-basher. The writers used just enough of the standard Creationist arguments to make them sound like legit, but then showed the character (not in the book) as having no answer to the "problems" posed by the staunchly evolutionist scientist. What I'm wondering is why the filmmakers chose a perfectly good (if Darwin-inspired) story to make a pedestal for evolutionist propaganda. It makes it difficult to watch for me, because I am tired of movies and TV portraying preachers as ignorant and uneducated in the way of science, and to use half-hearted attempts at "legitimate" creationist positions in order to make them look even more foolish strikes me as particularly vindictive. Pros: Good look to the story; great effects. Good cast.
Cons: One of many unfaithful adaptations of the book, NOT widescreen, and certainly the writers had a malicious agenda (as opposed to a simple erroneous worldview). Also, the ape-scat scene was pretty nasty.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lost World
Review: I'v never read the novel (plan to some day), but this is the only movie version that I actually enjoyed. The whole film was exellent. The special effects were very good and didn't look fake at all. The acting is great. Roxton is my favorite character of the story. If you are a fan of this story I highly reccomend this film. Too bad they never put it in theaters.
Rating:
Summary: The Lost World
Review: I'v never read the novel (plan to some day), but this is the only movie version that I actually enjoyed. The whole film was exellent. The special effects were very good and didn't look fake at all. The acting is great. Roxton is my favorite character of the story. If you are a fan of this story I highly reccomend this film. Too bad they never put it in theaters.
Rating:
Summary: The besf film adaptation ever of Doyle's novel!
Review: If you didn't see this wonderful Lost World minseries A&E did, buy the DVD or video. Or do like I did-buy it after having seen it on A&E. It was spectacular, by far the best film adaptation I have seen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. No, it doesn't stay true to the novel (face it, few films ever stay true to the novels they are based on), but the differences actually make the story enjoyable and interesting in its own right separate from the novel. The changes from the novel include the following: 1) Professor Challenger-in the book, he is not at all a likeable character, and is not meant to be, but in the film, they made him more amenable, yet still kept much of his stubborness and self-righteousness. It was a good compromise for the purpose of viewer accetability of a main character. 2) Agnes Clooney-the female member of the team in the film was not in the novel, but is still a welcomed addition. She is a more liberated woman in some ways, but it isn't done over the top so she is beating up savages and shooting up things (she isn't Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and that type of character wouldn't have fit in this story). Rather, Agnes as a character does fit a woman living in her circumstances in that time. 4) The Demented Reverend-He wasn't in the book either, but I actually think he wasn't a very good addition. I'm kind of sick and tired of this cliched evil missionary character who kills in the name of the lord. Its been done to death. Thought, admittedly, Peter Faulk played this character very well, and did instill in him more soul and complexity than most of these evil missionary stereotypical characters get in most films. One thing I really liked about this film was how it was an action/adventure story, but it also made you think about what was going on in the story. It had some really good things to say about man's interaction with nature, and preservation of the environment against exploitation. Challenger, towards the end of the film, makes a comment about science often not being accessible to the public at large without it being dressed up a bit as entertainment. This is exactly what this film does in some ways. It presents and entertaining, engrossing adventure, but also presents interesting scientific thoughts about ecology. Just what can happen when man starts mucking about and disturbing the balance of nature? And the answer to that question wasn't entirely clear in one circumstance. The dispute between Challenger's point of view versus Lord Roxton's view on what to do with the Ape Men in the film. They were both right and both wrong from my view. This really points to the difficult balance between how much we should interfere in nature and how much we should just leave things alone. I recommend this film very highly to anyone who loves the original novel, or action/adventure stories in general. This film continues A&E's record of excellence in creating film adaptations of classic stories.
Rating:
Summary: classic tale of adventure
Review: It's London in the early 1900s, and Professor George Edward Challenger (played by Bob Hoskins), a crusty zoologist, has a chip on his shoulder. He feels he is missing the academic recognition he deserves. Which is understandable, for Professor Challenger has just discovered living, breathing dinosaurs--in the Amazon rain forest! Back home, he makes his announcement to the scientific community. But the news is met with derision and disbelief. So, humiliated, he embarks on another expedition, determined, this time, to return with irrefutable evidence of his find.
Accompanying him are his colleague and rival, Dr. Leo Summerlee (James Fox); a sturdy white hunter, Lord John Roxton (Tom Ward); and young Edward Malone (Matthew Rhys), a wet-behind-the-ears reporter on the Daily Gazette newspaper. (He's a bit of a milquetoast if you ask me). Soon after their arrival in the Amazon, the quartet picks up Agnes (Elaine Cassidy), the daughter of an English missionary, Theo Kerr (Peter Falk). She inevitable attracts the romantic attentions of Lord Roxton and Malone.
As one would expect, the group encounters a variety of dinosaurs: iguanadons, allosaurs, pterosaurs, and what looks like a brontosaurus. There's even a gigantic forest pig. They run into ape-men and Amazonian Indians between whom, the explorers find out to their cost, a bloody war has been raging. And, they must deal with Agnes's preacher father, whose madness threatens to jeopardise the expedition.
The special effects and animation, from the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs, are top-rate. The ape-men, in particular, make it easy to imagine they are more than just actors in monkey suits and make-up. Very impressive.
The big-game hunter Lord Roxton is worth a special mention. He is by far my favorite character. What a rogue! Watching the swaggering, grim, mustachioed Lord Roxton on screen, it's hard not to chuckle as he flirts with the ladies, intimidates the natives with his shooting prowess, sneers at the weaklings around him, and blasts away at every living creature in sight. The scene where Lord Roxton takes his trusty elephant gun for a one-on-one with a marauding allosaur is arguably the film's high point. A classic aristocratic adventurer, Lord Roxton is the most appealing character here, possibly apart from Professor Challenger himself; he certainly turns out to be the wisest.
As a long-time fan of Kipling, Haggard, Buchan, and other imperial adventure writers, I'm giving this DVD a thumbs-up. This is a movie in the traditional mold, faithful to Conan Doyle's book, attentive to period detail, free of the ideological hang-ups that nowadays tend to mar otherwise sound films of this sort. Plus, like the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was filmed in the beautiful land of New Zealand. But what more would you expect from a BBC production? A jolly good show.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not Doyle and not Widescreen!
Review: Note: This DVD release is not in a widescreen format as advertised, regardless of what the packaging or Amazon.com listing indicates. A&E have released this film ONLY in a full-screen (4:3) version! The recent BBC/A&E(2001 UK & 2002 US) co-production of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic dinosaur tale The Lost World is something of a mixed bag in this DVD release. While the adaptation is interesting in its own right, it is not a particularly faithful version of the classic text. Instead of being the "Boys Own" adventure tale of yesteryear it has become something of a special effects laden morality play that touches on the madness of religious zeal and makes an effort to have science triumph over sheer belief. This moral quandary is demonstrated by the inclusion of Peter Falk's character - the Rev. Theo Kerr. Not only does Kerr become a catalyst for catastrophy in this teleplay, but he also changes the tone of the entire production with his religious zealotry and stance against evolution. While the character does give the viewer the benefit of a villain to jeer, the subplot does drag down the pace of the original storyline. The inclusion of the Agnes Cluny character is less of an imposition than one would expect, particularly surprising when one considers that her inclusion is only to make the whole thing more PC for the 21st century by including a woman into the storyline. Bob Hoskins, while a talented and highly watchable actor, just isn't the robust and bombastic George Edward Challenger of the novel. Where were the outbursts of temper? The physical ejection of Malone from Challennger's home? In fact, where were any of the touches that make Challenger the specific character he is rather than just another nutty professor? A pity that Brian Blessed had not been cast in the part, for he was born to play Challenger. Strangely, top marks in the characterization field go to James Fox for his portrayal of Challenger's academic nemesis - Prof. Leo Summerlee. Fox brought both a stuffy resistance and skepticism to the earlier scenes but grew into an integral part of the team as the story progressed.
So, what about the dinosaurs? In short, they are truly splendid. While not quite the slick work of Spielberg's Jurassic Park series, the viewer will see these creature effects as palpable, living and breathing dinosaurs. Beautifully executed at every turn. The Special Edition DVD is as mixed a bag as the prodcution itself. While the box packaging states "Exclusive Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1)" it is no such thing. A&E screwed up, as this presentation is in the broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1. I gather that stickers will be issued to retailers indicating the packaging error/correction. This is unfortunate as the film was clearly shot in a widescreen format which makes the most of the scenic vistas to be found in the New Zealand locations. The audio on this DVD is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo which is fairly robust, but the dense jungle settings could have been favorably enhanced by a full 5.1 Surround track. Still, not at all bad for a "Made for TV" production. The extras featured on Disc 2 are fairly straightforawd, consisting mainly of a superficial A&E behind the scenes promo - "Inside the Lost World" and a complete copy of The History Channel's "Dinosaur Secret's Revealed". The former offers a fairly brief glimpse into the workings behind the making of the film (a few shots that include a look through the camera viewfinder make it clear this was shot in a widescreen format)with comments from Hoskins and crew members. The latter gives an in-depth look into the history of paleontology and the role of dinosaurs in film. Highly entertaining and informative. The biographies and bibliographies noted as extras are so poorly executed as to be hardly worth mentioning. Overall, the double-disc special edition DVD is something of a let-down. If you've seen the television broadcast of the main film and the extras, there is nothing on this DVD set that you haven't seen before. Had this actually been a widescreen release, then it would have indeed been a "special" edition well worth the cost! Bottom line: If you caught it on television give this DVD set a miss, but if you haven't seen it before, there are much worse ways of spending 4-5 hours.
Rating: 
Summary: What Do The Drums Say, B'wana?
Review: Quite watchable made-for-TV (A&E Network) adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sci-fi adventure. I'll admit I've never read the original story so I don't have any book-to-screen nitpicks to bore you with. Taken as it is, this production is an old-fashioned, "grand" adventure tale that plunges right into the action as soon as the opening credits roll (no time for exposition...got to leave room for those "Biography" promos!) Bob Hoskins goes into "gruff yet lovable fireplug" mode as expedition leader Professor Challenger, off to investigate an evolutionary anamoly where dinosaurs, fierce cannibals and "apemen" exist together on an uncharted plateau in South America. Fellow scientist James Fox gives comic relief playing a skeptical "Scully" to Hoskins' "Mulder". Newcomer Tom Ward plays the dashing Errol Flynn/Clark Gable-type adventurer with much aplomb. Dark-eyed Irish beauty Elaine Cassidy, who starred with Hoskins in the little-known gem "Felicia's Journey" (check it out), gives good support as the locally-raised Englishwoman who serves as thier jungle-savvy guide. Good special effects, especially in an exciting and truly terrifying attack on a native village by a pack of ravenous "Maneater" dinosaurs. Good harmless fun, if you're in a purely "popcorn" mood.
Rating:
Summary: "The Lost World" finally remade with decent special effects
Review: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" reminds me more of the pulp fiction adventure yarns of Edgar Rice Burroughs than Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories or Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" sequel of the same name and the movie that Steven Spielberg made with that title (although "Jurassic Park III" is actually closer to the novel). There was a rather legendary silent version made in 1925 (It was the first in-flight movie, shown on an Imperial Airways flight in a converted Handley-Page bomber from London to Paris in April of that year) with Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger, special effects by an uncredited Willis O'Brien, and an appearance by the author as himself. Irwin Allen made a less than stellar version in 1960 with Claude Rains and Jill St. John, another cheap production in 1992 starring John Rhys-Davies, a slightly less successful one with Patrick Bergin in 1998, an even cheaper production in 1999 with Peter McCauley as Challenger that became a television series, and then this two part BBC/A&E co-production.
This version of "The Lost World" has the twin virtues of being more faithful to Doyle's novel that the previous versions and the best special effects. This is something of a tradeoff because the antiquated parts of the original story tend to stick out a big. Professor Challenger (Bob Hoskins) returns from the Amazon with what he claims is the bone of flying dinosaur that he killed. An expedition to return to the area and find the legendary lost plateau were there are still living dinosaurs is put together, funded by the famous sportsman Lord John Roxton (Tom Ward) and the London "Gazette," who is sending along a young reporter named Edward Malone (Matthew Rhys), who hopes taking part in a heroic endeavor will impress the girl of his dreams (Joanna Page), who happens to be the flighty daughter of the newspaper's owner. Also along for the fun is Professor Thomas Summerlee (James Fox), who considers his old friend Challenger a crackpot, and the party is joined in the Amazon by the missionary Theo Kerr (Peter Falk), an ardent creationist, and his niece, Agnes Clooney (Elaine Cassidy), who is apparently the only one of the group who could really survive in the jungle on their own.
In the first part of the story the group makes its way up the Amazon, finds the lost plateau, discovers the easiest way up to it has been blocked, but comes up with a dangerous way of getting there. They then become trapped and discover it is indeed a lost world of pteradons, iguanadons, allosaurus and even ape-like creatures that seem strangely human. The second part of the story has the group finding that in addition to the dinosaurs and primitive anthropoids there is also a native tribes, which raises all sorts of issues as to the responsibility of scientists and the Darwinian impulse in nature. But usually there are more immediate concerns. Edward is still obsessed by the girl who is clearly not waiting for him back home (he names the lake he discovers "Gladys" after here), but when he notices Agnes is a true modern woman they are immediately attacked by an allosaurus in an interesting representation of Victorian morality gone mad.
"The Lost World" was filmed in New Zealand just before "The Lord of the Rings" made the land the current front-runner for the most beautiful place on the planet. The dinosaurs, which were done by the same group that did the "Walking With Dinosaurs" specials, are adequate to the task if not particularly memorable (do we already have jaded sensibilities over seeing such creatures brought to life by computers?). Director Stuart Orme has to keep things relatively simple for the camera to make the special effects work, but this one really is more about the characters and the story.
Hoskin's Challenger does seem a bit of a crackpot, much more an eccentric adventurer than a dedicated scientist like Summerlee. He has a bit of a chip on his shoulder and is rather impetuous, which is a dangerous combination given the place lost in time. Lord Roxton is an interesting character in that he is the requisite crack shot and natural leader who takes control without being condescending, but has an Achilles heel, at least as far as Agnes is concerned, with his "survival of the fittest" philosophy. Summerlee makes a nice transition from skeptic to true believer, enjoying the sense of wonder and discovery that accompanies finding out he was wrong. Unfortunately science wins out over religion here as Kerr is turned into a crazed fanatic who is unable to see the log in his own eye.
The romantic subplot takes a backseat to the adventure on the plateau. Edward is literally the last person to realize that he has fallen for Agnes, whose rejection of Roxton is pointed enough that his lordship reconsiders his position. However, in the end this version of "The Lost World" is pro-environment in direct context to its predecessors in the genre from "King Kong" to "Jurassic Park." There are those who want to exploit the dinosaurs and put them on exhibit and the explorers who return from the jungle have to decide what is more reputation: those magnificent creatures or their own reputations and places in history. That ending is telegraphed, as is finally establishing the young happy couple, but there was a nice final scene that emphasized another lesson learned that leaves the viewer with a warm, fuzzy feeling. The results are going to be more enjoyable for a younger audience than an older one, but that is appropriate with this particular tale.
Rating:
Summary: Slick, Better-Than-Average Version of Doyle's Classic Tale
Review: The BBC/A&E production of "The Lost World" tunred out much better than I expected, giving us slick storytelling and solid characters with good acting. THE STORY is 'basically' the same. Well, at first I was worried looking at the cover -- six people apparently looking at the dinosaurs. Six? Yes, the film, based on Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, added TWO extra characters to the original expedition team (misunderstood genius Prof. Challenger, natural-born cynic Prof. Summerlee, newsreporter Edward Malone, adventure-loving hunter Lord Roxton), which are about to reveal the secret of the plateau in the Amazon, and to prove that dinosaurs are still living there. THE NEW CHARACTERS are one zealous priest and his niece, played by Peter Falk and Elaine Cassidy respectively. They join in Professor Challenger (Bob Hoskins) and his team in the jungle, only to complicate the situation -- deadly dinosaurs, the more dangerous apemen (or the Missing Link) and the "Indians" (so they say). The addition, in fact, works for the better, getting rid of the annoying elements in the original book, like the patronizing way Doyle treated the natives in the book. And other changes done to the story are justified, but some might find the different tone in the ending (or the modernized answer to Challenger's expedition) slightly anti-climax, compared with the slient version, or Spielberg's "Lost World." SPECIAL EFFECTS are first-rate, with the convincing images of dinosaurs walking in the jungle. The fierce fight between the humans and the allosaurs is the highlight of the film though some kids find it too horrible. (And parents should be warned that there is a suggested scene of cannibalism). The location is fantastic, showing some of the scenes (like the entrance to the plateau) almost exactly as the book tells us. In spite of its length (more than 2hrs 30 mins), "The Lost World" keeps on rolling as smooth as "The Jurassic Park," and it makes you think a little about the way we meddle with the nature. It aspires to be more than just a dinosaur movie, and it succeeds well.
Rating:
Summary: Slick, Better-Than-Average Version of Doyle's Classic Tale
Review: The BBC/A&E production of "The Lost World" tunred out much better than I expected, giving us slick storytelling and solid characters with good acting. THE STORY is 'basically' the same. Well, at first I was worried looking at the cover -- six people apparently looking at the dinosaurs. Six? Yes, the film, based on Conan Doyle's 1912 novel, added TWO extra characters to the original expedition team (misunderstood genius Prof. Challenger, natural-born cynic Prof. Summerlee, newsreporter Edward Malone, adventure-loving hunter Lord Roxton), which are about to reveal the secret of the plateau in the Amazon, and to prove that dinosaurs are still living there. THE NEW CHARACTERS are one zealous priest and his niece, played by Peter Falk and Elaine Cassidy respectively. They join in Professor Challenger (Bob Hoskins) and his team in the jungle, only to complicate the situation -- deadly dinosaurs, the more dangerous apemen (or the Missing Link) and the "Indians" (so they say). The addition, in fact, works for the better, getting rid of the annoying elements in the original book, like the patronizing way Doyle treated the natives in the book. And other changes done to the story are justified, but some might find the different tone in the ending (or the modernized answer to Challenger's expedition) slightly anti-climax, compared with the slient version, or Spielberg's "Lost World." SPECIAL EFFECTS are first-rate, with the convincing images of dinosaurs walking in the jungle. The fierce fight between the humans and the allosaurs is the highlight of the film though some kids find it too horrible. (And parents should be warned that there is a suggested scene of cannibalism). The location is fantastic, showing some of the scenes (like the entrance to the plateau) almost exactly as the book tells us. In spite of its length (more than 2hrs 30 mins), "The Lost World" keeps on rolling as smooth as "The Jurassic Park," and it makes you think a little about the way we meddle with the nature. It aspires to be more than just a dinosaur movie, and it succeeds well.
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