Sadly Over-hyped

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Burt Lancaster plays Dr. Moreau in this adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel that sees shipwreck survivor Andrew Braddock(played by Michael York) come ashore on the island, where Moreau, along with his assistant Montgomery(played by Nigel Davenport) have been experimenting with the genetics of the local animals, turning them into human-like beings. Barbara Carrera plays Maria, a mysterious cat-like woman who he is attracted to. They run into the leader of the "beast men", the Sayer of the law(played by Richard Basehart)who tries to keep them under control, but events will soon conspire against them as the rebellion grows...Bland filming of the famous story is far less intense than the classic version with Charles Laughton, and director Don Taylor has little feel for the material. The acting is good however, and the location filming helps make this watchable, though is still a misfire.

On a desolate island a man (Michael York) discovers that its inhabitants are experimental animals being turned into strange looking humans, all of it the work of a visionary doctor (Burt Lancaster) , as he's horrified to uncover experiment transforming beasts into humans , Humanimals . The mad doctor isolated on the remote island has spent years creating half-men , half-animals , some real abominations . Acceptable adaptation based on H.G. Wells' novel realized by and with remarkable makeup by John Chambers . It's an excitingly produced remake of 1933's ¨Island of the lost souls¨ with Lancaster heading a solid casting as a nutty doctor who develops a process of transforming animals into half-humans at an desolated tropical island . Through experimentation Moreau-Burt has upset the balance of nature . It starts when Michael York is shipwrecked at sea and arrives in a strange island where he's terrified to discover the terrible genetic experiments realized by Dr. Moreau .Passable horror-fantasy chiller that is developed up and down with some grotesque moments and in other side contains eerie and thrilling scenes. It results to be a strong rendition of H.G. Wells' novel about an isolated scientific who has spent several years creating half-animals turning beasts into half-human . Cast is frankly well. Lancaster's sturdy acting and good secondary casting as Richard Bashehart displaying a magnificent portrayal of one of the beasts ,the law-sayer , Nigel Davenport and a gorgeous Barbara Carrera . Watchable by excellent makeup by the late John Chambers . Colorful cinematography by the classic cameraman Gerry Fisher and thrilling musical score by Laurence Rosenthal. The motion picture is well directed by Don Taylor . He was an actor and director as TV as cinema , he played one of the leads in the Army-Air Force production of Hart's play, "Winged Victory¨ . Returning to civilian life, Taylor resumed his work in pictures with a top role in the trend-setting crime drama ¨The naked city (1948)¨ and played successful films as ¨Destination Gobi , Battleground and Stalag 17¨. In later years Taylor became a film and TV director, being nominated for an Emmy for his direction of an episode of "Night Gallery" (1969). Don met his wife Hazel Court when he directed her in a 1958 episode of "Alfred Hitchcock presents" (1955). Taylor was an expert filmmaker on adventures genre as ¨Adventures of Tom Sawyer¨ , Terror as ¨Damien : Omen 2¨ and science fiction as ¨Island of Dr. Moreau¨, ¨Escape from Planet of Apes¨, and ¨The final of countdown¨. Rating : Good . Acceptable and passable fantasy-terror fare although better viewed in big screen . The movie will appeal to Burt Lancaster devotees who will want to check out his excessive performance . Other adaptation based on H.G. Wells' known novel are the following : The classic of 1933 titled ¨The island of lost souls¨ by Erle C. Kenton with Charles Laughton , Kathleen Burke , Bela Lugosi and Richard Arlen ; and remade in 1996 , retelling by John Frankenheimer with Marlon Brando -who hams it up a bit- , David Twellis ,Ron Perlman , Fauriza Balk , William Hootkins and Temuera Morrison

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.

Michael York IS this movie, first off. The atmosphere is competently generated and the story runs at a good pace. The makeup effects were adequate for the age, and the screenplay is superior. So what went wrong? Barbara Carrera's part was, for the most part, wasted. As Moreau's most successful work, she should have enjoyed more character development and less "doe caught in the headlights" moments. Michael York was, at the time, vastly underrated as a leading man, although he carries it off brilliantly here. And finally, the color was a mistake. Like Mel Brooks's Dracula: Dead and Loving It, it would have played far better in black and white. Frankly, if you turn your color down and the contrast up a notch or two and watch either of these works in black and white mode, the enjoyment factor is greatly elevated.What went right? Lancaster played his Moreau more casually, calmly. Instead of attempting to copy Laughton's over-the-top mad scientist routine, he did well as the good man gone awry. He proceeds with his experiments seemingly out of a genuine caring for understanding, rather than the old "because I can" or "ruling the world" ploys.The first half of this work is strong, atmospheric, and well done. The last half is more mechanical and plodding, though the first half does a long way towards carrying it all through to the conclusion.Frankly, this isn't as well done, or enjoyable, as the 1930's original, but it's light years above the 1990's remake. Oy Vey.It rates a 6.4/10 from...the Fiend :.