Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Lost Continent Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 15, 2020

For 1968’s “The Lost Continent,” Hammer Films endeavors to take viewers to a mysterious place on Earth where monsters live and dark civilizations have developed undisturbed. The excitement is all there, if viewers are comfortable sitting around for over an hour of screen time while dull edges of drama are polished by a production in no hurry to show off its horror extremes. Welcome to “The Lost Continent,” which provides Hammer’s customary padding to such a startling degree, the creature feature aspects of the story almost intrude on the interpersonal problems of doomed travelers on a danger-plagued ship.

“The Lost Continent” is an adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel (one of the characters is actually reading the book on the voyage), giving the screenplay a challenge to manage all sorts of personalities on the doomed ship, with everyone assigned backstory and secretive behavior. Dramatic depth is all well and good, but it gradually becomes clear director Michael Carreras isn’t interested in taking the tale out of first gear. “The Lost Continent” remains in one place as relationships are sorted through, becoming more of a disaster movie as the first hour of the picture works hard to arrange hostilities, with the payoff being a battle for survival in the middle of dangerous, even carnivorous waters.

Hammer fans are a most forgiving bunch, but “The Lost Continent” drags for far too long, trying to drum up excitement with clashes of temperament before it gets to the monster mash, and even that lacks a real sense of insanity. There’s a giant octopus and crab to hold attention and live up to marketing and poster promises. More sinister is a run-in with Spanish Conquistadores and their child leader, which is the level of weirdness and threat the entire endeavor should be running at. Instead of building to something big, Carreras fumbles the potential of the gruesome adventure, showing more interest in actress Dana Gillespie’s heaving cleavage than the pace of his own film.

“The Lost Continent” is presented in two versions: The Theatrical Cut (87:04) and The Extended Cut (97:03).

The Lost Continent Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bringing "The Lost Continent" to Blu-ray, Shout Factory tries to offer something special for fans of the feature, with the default viewing experience set to The Extended Cut. Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox didn't provide source materials for the longer version, forcing Shout to turn to standard definition scenes to complete the story. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation also provides a new 2K scan of "original film elements" from The Theatrical Cut, leaving obvious differences between HD and SD, even with the best upscaling efforts. The rest of picture does what it can with soft cinematography, and detail does come through, doing well with close-ups, handling makeup and sweaty reactions on creased faces. Costuming retains clarity for the production's sexploitation inclinations, preserving sheerness and shortness. Creature encounters also showcase interesting rubbery textures. Colors have their highlights, including the glowing green of monster eyes and the redness of blood. Clothing supplies lighter pinks and purples. Skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable. Scratches are periodically detected. The last five screenshots showcase the SD footage.

The Lost Continent Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is a little more obviously aged, providing a quieter, slightly muddled listening event for "The Lost Continent." Dialogue exchanges aren't defined in full, losing some position with scoring selections, which periodically overwhelm the performances. Hiss and pops are present as well. Soundtrack offerings lack snap, but basic instrumentation is understood, including pronounced bass. More violent events with monsters and angry men lead to fuzziness. Standard definition scenes are noticeably louder, with sudden clarity breaking up consistency.

The Lost Continent Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary feature film historian Richard Klemensen.

• "A Conversation with Dana Gillespie" (17:36, HD) sits down with the charming actress, who recalls her early years in London during the 1960s, enjoying the nightlife and music revolution, even befriending David Bowie. Turning to acting, Gillespie quickly realized she was built for "buxom wench" parts, breaking into the business in pictures such as "The Vengeance of She." Eager for work, Gillespie accepted a weight loss demand for "The Lost Continent," starving herself for 21 days to look thin for the production. The interviewee discusses her co-stars and director Michael Carreras, and she recounts her first viewing of the feature, with her introduction eliciting howls of laughter from the audience. Gillespie provides an appreciation for Hammer Films and recalls a few technical challenges, also exploring music from The Peddlers, her own singing career, and the cult legacy of "The Lost Continent."

• "The Men Who Made Hammer" (22:17, HD) spotlights the work of Michael Carreras, with writer Richard Klemensen supplying an extensive overview of the man's life and career. The interviewee begins with biographical details, exploring Michael's pained relationship with his father, Jimmy, the co-founder of Hammer Films. After service in World War II, Carreras dove into the family business, eventually pushing for Hammer to try different things during their horror heyday, but failure was a constant result for the man and his productions. Klemensen examines various movies and company battles as Hammer entered the 1970s, with Carreras eventually confronted by bad deals and little money as the decade ended. Klemensen closes with memories of his time with Carreras, meeting the filmmaker in 1977, and again in 1994, taking part in a special dinner in his honor.

• Interview (4:57, HD) is a scattered conversation with actor Norman Eshley, who, on-camera, feels the rush of memories when asked to reflect on his career. Proud of his "variety of work," Eshley is quick to brand "The Lost Continent" as silly business, remarking he was "dreadful in it." Thoughts on co-stars and an anecdote about a wild ax stunt are also included.

• Interview (3:40, HD) is a very brief chat with special effects artist John Richardson, who recounts his presence on "The Lost Continent" set, joining his father, who was already working on the movie. Richardson offers positive memories of the cast and crew, also detailing director Norman Leslie's firing midway through production, and shares a few behind-the-scenes details.

• Interview (6:31, HD) with composer/arranger Howard Blake is a short summary of his hiring, brought on to "The Lost Continent" to provide a love theme, asked to add something to Gerard Schurmann's score. Blake plays the theme on his piano, offering a snippet from his work, and goes into Schurmann's troubles with the tune, claiming theft in the press.

• "Uncharted Seas" (21:06, HD) is a discussion of "The Lost Continent" with critic Kim Newman.

• "The World of Hammer" (24:57, SD) is a 1990 episode of the television program, hosted by Oliver Reed. Titles offered for analysis include "She," "The Lost Continent," "Slavegirls," and "One Million Years B.C."

• T.V. Spots (1:24, SD) include two commercials.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:48, SD) is included.

The Lost Continent Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Performances are competent and last-act mayhem is welcome, finally getting "The Lost Continent" where it needs to be in terms of action and alien world discovery. There are moments of B-movie heaven, but nowhere near enough of them, with the feature trying to stuff all its bigness into the last 20 minutes of the effort when it should've been spread around all 90 minutes of the run time.