The Lost World (2003)
Front Cover Actor
Bob Hoskins
James Fox
Movie Details
Genre Action; Adventure; Family; Fantasy; Sci-Fi
Director Stuart Orme
Language English
Running Time 80 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
Not the Steven Spielberg blockbuster, this Lost World is a splendid BBC TV dramatisation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous adventure story. Bob Hoskins makes an unusually genial Professor Challenger, far less of a bully than Doyle's character, but his slightly stereotyped companions are nicely filled out by a solid cast. James Fox is Challenger's more timid but still covertly adventurous rival, Tom Ward is the moustachioed big game hunter who faces an Allosaurus with an elephant gun, and Matthew Rhys plays the tagalong reporter hoping to impress his faithless fiancée.

As usual, the adaptation adds a woman--orphaned jungle girl Elaine Cassidy--to the expedition, and an interesting villain (religious fanatic Peter Falk) beefs up the travelogue by marooning Challenger's gang on the South American plateau where dinosaurs, cavemen and Indians coexist eventfully. The Walking with Dinosaurs-style effects work well for the TV frame, but the real success is in integrating the Boys' Own adventuring with subtle eco-awareness, complex character interplay and the reliable wonder of soaring Pteranodons and Carnosaur attacks. --Kim Newman

Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 578
In Collection Yes
Product Details
Edition DVD Retail
Format DVD
Region Any Region
Release Date 03/06/2002
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
PAL