It's a little known fact that at any given time there are 273 crackpot scientists toiling away in deserted regions of the world on harebrained schemes, the initial good intentions of which are lost through said scientists' blind determination to achieve his objectives regardless of who or what he has to kill, maim, grow, shrink, create, resurrect or mutate. Sadly, for viewers of this film we end up in the company of one of the less interesting of these dedicated professionals. Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster) is like a rather intelligent but dull uncle who everyone forgets is there whenever more than two people are gathered together, and so makes for a rather uninspiring bad guy.
The Island of Dr. Moreau is adapted from the novel by H. G. Wells, which was written somewhere around the beginning of the 20th Century. The trouble is, way back then, boys own horror/adventure stories like this didn't really have that much going on beyond the initial idea, so we have to wade through long passages of not-very-much-happening-at-all before we get to anything that can even come close to being described as exciting. Michael York plays Andrew 'Nice-but-Dim' Braddock with a permanent expression of bewilderment on his face, although whether that is because he is in character or is simply wondering how he ended up in such a dull movie is difficult to figure out. Barbara Carrera is absolutely stunning but has nothing to do other than look absolutely stunning, and is clearly only in the film for that reason. The mutants, when they finally appear look a little comical now. Back in '77 they were probably cutting edge, but time and technology move on and now they just look like actors wearing make-up. In fact Richard Basehart, who plays the Sayer of the Law, looks like that fine old English actor Dennis Quilley in need of a shave and a haircut.
At 99 minutes, this film drags on for far too long. It looks pretty with its Virgin Islands locations, but that is no compensation for having to sit through such a lot of dullness. Give it a miss.
The Island of Dr. Moreau is adapted from the novel by H. G. Wells, which was written somewhere around the beginning of the 20th Century. The trouble is, way back then, boys own horror/adventure stories like this didn't really have that much going on beyond the initial idea, so we have to wade through long passages of not-very-much-happening-at-all before we get to anything that can even come close to being described as exciting. Michael York plays Andrew 'Nice-but-Dim' Braddock with a permanent expression of bewilderment on his face, although whether that is because he is in character or is simply wondering how he ended up in such a dull movie is difficult to figure out. Barbara Carrera is absolutely stunning but has nothing to do other than look absolutely stunning, and is clearly only in the film for that reason. The mutants, when they finally appear look a little comical now. Back in '77 they were probably cutting edge, but time and technology move on and now they just look like actors wearing make-up. In fact Richard Basehart, who plays the Sayer of the Law, looks like that fine old English actor Dennis Quilley in need of a shave and a haircut.
At 99 minutes, this film drags on for far too long. It looks pretty with its Virgin Islands locations, but that is no compensation for having to sit through such a lot of dullness. Give it a miss.