Am I Missing Something?

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

What a movie. I love the dinosaur models that were used, they give you that old sense of dinosaurs being completely mindless brutes and eating machines, even when they're a herbivorous species. It's hilarious. The plot and ending will make you so mad, but also hopeful for the future of those who survived the ordeal. I've read the book too, and Edgar Rice Burroughs has really outdone himself. Definitely a must see for those who love classic science fiction.

A lot of people seem to criticize this movie for what they call its "poor" special effects. I think if that becomes the basis on which you're going to judge the movie, you have to keep in mind that it was made 40 years ago, long before the computer generated stuff that dominates today's movies came about. Personally, I found the special effects to be fine - especially considering when it was made, and in any event I don't think the quality of a movie depends on the special effects. Much more important, to me, are the storyline and the performances. "The Land That Time Forgot" certainly gets a passing grade on those.The story begins with a German U-boat sinking a British civilian liner. A few of the passengers make it on to the u-boat and manage to take control of it for a while. To me, far more than the special effects, the idea that a rag-tag group of survivors from a sunken vessel could take control of a German u-boat was probably the most problematic part of the story. Having said that, though, there's an ongoing struggle to control the sub which was mildly interesting to watch. I wondered why the American who had taken command (Tyler, played by Doug McClure) needed seven days to figure out that the Germans had sabotaged the compass so that they were heading south rather than west. Somehow, that seemed to me to be something that probably should have been noticed earlier. In any event, out of fuel and other supplies, the u-boat suddenly encounters Caprona - what had been thought to be a mythical island in the South Atlantic, populated by dinosaurs and primitive humans, all of whom exist together. The struggle for survival in a hostile environment is on!This was fun. It['s not a masterpiece of movie making, but it's a fun adventure, and it even includes a little bit of ethical thinking about the morality of warfare - especially as Captain Von Shoenvorts (John McEnery) and Lisa (Susan Penhaligon) talk about why the Germans would have sunk a civilian vessel with women and children aboard. As the captain replied - the way the ship exploded made it clear that there were arms in the hold; arms that would have been used to kill German women and children. Not everything is as clear cut as we want it to be!The performances were fine. Nothing outstanding, but nothing that detracted from the movie either. It comes from a story written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who's better known as the author who created Tarzan. Frankly, I enjoyed this more than any Tarzan movie I've ever seen. (7/10)

The Land That Time Forgot (1975) *** (out of 4) Set during WWI, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and soon the survivors take over the boat. What remains of the two group end up in some sort of fantasy island where dinosaurs still rule. THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT comes from Amicus who of course were best known for their anthology horror films. During the 70s they turned to the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs and I think for the most part that these films were fun. With that said, if someone is expecting a big-budget, serious monster flick then they're certainly not going to find it here. It's obvious the studio gave the producers very little money and this is easily seen with the monsters. The dinosaur creations are all very cheap and it's clear that they're made out of rubber. At times the monsters don't "move" as they should and especially during some of the scenes where they're being shot yet they really don't show any movement. The most embarrassing effect are the Pterodactyls, which fly through the air without any movement at all. Their wings never move so one really wonders how they can move at all. Oh yeah, we see how they move because the wires holding them are constantly in view. I still really enjoy this film because as an adventure I think the story is good. I found the scenes in the underwater cave to have some nice atmosphere and I liked how the story tried to make the human take over the island or at least adapt to it to where they can live there. I'm certainly not going to ruin the ending but it's really not what you'd expect from this type of film. The bad cavemen make for a good set of villains and the entire German-British-American subplot that kicks off the film was entertaining too. The characters are also quite likable and we're given some good performances with Doug McClure standing out as the hero, John McEnery as the German captain and Susan Penhaligon as the only female. THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT isn't a masterpiece of the genre but as long as you don't take it too serious you should have fun.

The Land That Time Forgot is directed by Kevin Connor and adapted to screenplay by Michael Moorcock & James Cawthorn from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name. It stars Doug McClure, Keith Barron, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Anthony Ainley and Declan Mulholland. Music is by Douglas Gamley and cinematography by Alan Hume. It is the first of four feature films featuring the pairing of director Kevin Connor and actor Doug McClure. Story is set during World War I and sees an uneasy alliance formed between enemies on board a German U-Boat after it drifts for miles and lands in a lost world of dinosaurs and cavemen.Rationale goes out the window, as does any hope of quality thesping, in the sort of cheese laden creature feature that thrilled many a child back in the mid to late 1970's. Film was enough of a success that it spawned three more films of the same ilk; At the Earth's Core (1976), The People That Time Forgot (1977) and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). Of the four, this is the one that arguably has the most about it in terms of plotting and character development. Certainly it's the biggest budgeted of the four. In fact for the first third of the picture it's distinctly un-child friendly, as story focuses on characters from opposite sides of the war clashing on board the U-Boat after the torpedoing of the ship housing the allies. But once the boat reaches arctic climes and wades thru to the sunnier "other side", it's all prehistoric puppets, fisticuffs and square jawed heroics from McClure. Ultimately a fun boys own adventure without sensible trappings. Not as outrageously fun as At the Earth's Core, but a decent launching pad for the 70's creature feature niche created by Connor and McClure. 6.5/10