The Lost World Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		5.0

The Lost World Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 11, 2017

Harry Hoyt's "The Lost World" (1925) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley. The supplemental features on the disc include a collection of rare outtakes; three short films directed by Willis O'Brien; original promotional and archival production materials; and new audio commentary by amateur filmmaker and film historian Nicolas Ciccone. The release also arrives with a 14-page illustrated booklet featuring Lobster Films' Serge Bromberg's essay "The Lost World: The Secret of the Restoration" and various technical credits. With music and English intertitles. Region-Free.

A different world

There are a few very important bits of information that you should be aware of before viewing this new presentation of Harry Hoyt’s film The Lost World. The first is that Flicker Alley’s upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a brand new 2K restoration, so this isn’t an older restoration project that is now simply being transferred in high-definition. More importantly, however, the restoration was completed while the film was also fully reconstructed. What does this mean? It means that different surviving elements -- original 35mm nitrate copy, safety print, various 16mm copies, etc. -- were accessed, rescanned and used to essentially rebuild the film from scratch, and deliver the most complete version to date. Finally, the acclaimed maestro Robert Israel composed and adapted a brand new score for the film which was recorded with The Robert Israel Orchestra in 2016. I mention all of the above because even if you have seen The Lost World before, you definitely have not seen it as it is presented on Flicker Alley’s Blu-ray release.

Now let’s talk about the film. It has had a very troubled history but the two events that probably complicated it the most are that horrendous fire at Universal Studios in which original elements were lost, and then its transition into public domain status which allowed many different parties to copy and distribute it. So obviously it has been virtually impossible to experience the film as it was envisioned by its creators.

Hoyt worked from an excellent original script by Marion Fairfax that remains respectful of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novel, but the truth is that the film has stood the test of time primarily because of its very bold visual style. Obviously, this isn’t a film that should be directly compared to the other more recent studio projects that have tackled the same material because it comes from the silent era, but even today it is exceptionally easy to tell that it was determined to be a trend-setter and basically went all in with the special effects.

Now you are probably wondering what exactly these ‘special effects’ were. They were basically very early -- but actually very, very successful -- attempts at stop-motion animation that allowed director Hoyt, effects specialist Willis O'Brien, model designer Marcel Delgado and their assistants to recreate the dangerous world that the explorers enter and bring back to live the massive dinosaurs. In footage that uses them the depth, scope, and movement are really very much on par with what can be seen in much more advanced stop-motion projects that were created many decades later. For maximum effect there is also an excellent selection of vintage tints and fonts, and even one very nicely done sequence in which color was used to light up a torch that is thrown at an angry T-Rex.

The new score is quite dramatic but at the same time also playful and full of various exotic flavors. More importantly, however, it genuinely supports the film’s adventurous spirit, rather than only pretending to do so and instead trying to shine on its own.

*The new 2K restoration of The Lost World was completed by Lobster Films, the same company that delivered the fabulous restoration of Georges Méliès’s iconic film A Trip to the Moon, and was produced with David Shepard’s involvement.

The Lost World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Harry Hoyt's The Lost World arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley.

The release is sourced from a brand new 2K restoration and complete reconstruction of the film. I think that the end result is outstanding, and not only because the quality of the restoration is outstanding, but because the entire film was basically very carefully rebuilt from scratch. Indeed, there is footage that comes from multiple sources -- original 35mm nitrate copy, safety print, various 16mm copies, etc. -- and yet balance, transitions, and overall image stability are very, very good. Of course very minor blemishes and some sporadic drops of density where different types of footage is used remain, but the film has a wonderful organic flow and overall appearance that make it very easy to enjoy pretty much as its creators envisioned it. Furthermore, delineation and even depth are frequently quite striking. In fact, I took one specific screencapture to show just how easy it is to see even unusually small details -- see #24 where the man climbs the ladder. Furthermore, there are no traces of poor digital work. In fact, quite the opposite is true. There are many sequences where the trained eyes will quickly recognize that very careful balancing work was performed to ensure that important organic qualities were retained as best as possible. The tints are also very effective. There is proper balance and existing details are never compromised by the chosen color. Because of the nature of the entire project some minor unevenness during transitions remains -- mostly where different footage from sources with different resolution was assembled -- but overall image stability remains very pleasing. All in all, this is an excellent reconstruction of The Lost World that I would not hesitate to place in the same category with the one that German label Alpha-Omega produced for Ernst Lubitsch's The Loves of Pharaoh. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Lost World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. English intertitles are provided with the main feature.

The film can be viewed with a brand new score that was composed by Robert Israel and recorded with The Robert Israel Orchestra in 2016. I thought that the music was quite diverse with a very appropriate chamber quality. To be clear, it does not have a lot of oomph but it enhances the dramatic atmosphere in ways that I think these types of early films actually benefit from. There are no mixing or encoding anomalies to report.

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

• Deleted Scenes - presented here is a collection of restored outtakes from a 1925 original nitrate transfer of The Lost World. These deleted scenes represent Willis O'Brien's first animation attempts for the film. With music. (10 min).

• R.F.D., 10,000 B.C. (1917) - this short film was directed by Willis O'Brien for producer Thomas Edison. Silent. (9 min).

• The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) - this short film was directed by Willis O'Brien and is presented here in a new 2K restoration by the Dinosaur Museum/Blanding, Utah. Music by Terry Huud. (14 min).

• Creation (1930) - presented here is an unfinished short by Willis O'Brien that apparently gave Merian C. Cooper the confidence to hire him for King Kong. The film was animated frame-by-frame. Silent. (6 min).

• Image Gallery - a large collection of original promotional and archival production materials for The Lost World.

• Audio Commentary/Audio Essay - included here is a new audio commentary by amateur filmmaker and film historian Nicolas Ciccone. If you enjoy The Lost World and wish to know about the many different versions and how the the film was reconstructed, I strongly recommend that you find the time to listen to the commentary in its entirety. It is very illuminating, with an enormous amount of factual information about missing scenes, different edits, color schemes (tinting and toning), the stop-motion animation, the careers of the stars, etc.

• Booklet - 14-page illustrated booklet featuring Lobster Films' Serge Bromberg's essay "The Lost World: The Secret of the Restoration and various technical credits.

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

If you have been keeping an eye on this upcoming release there is no doubt in my mind that you already know more than enough about Harry Hoyt's The Lost World, but I guarantee this will be the first time that you will actually experience the film pretty much as it was envisioned by its creators. There are still a few tiny bits that are missing, but the new 2K restoration/reconstruction produced by Lobster Films/Blackhawk Films is as competent and definitive as any admirer of the film could have hoped it would be. This isn't an exaggeration, and you will know that it is not once you place the shiny Blu-ray disc in your player. It was created by film lovers for film lovers, and it easily shows. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.