The Island of Dr. Moreau

1996 "The gates of hell are unlocked."
4.6| 1h36m| PG-13| en
Details

A shipwrecked sailor stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have found a way to combine human and animal DNA—with horrific results.

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Reviews

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Nigel P This is adapted from the story by HG Wells in 1896, which was famously filmed as 'The Island of Lost Souls' in 1932, concerning animal/human hybrids.Initially, Douglas's (David Thewlis) disrespectful comments about Moreau's cross-bred children, whilst in their presence, grinds alongside their exemplary manners. Indeed, the agent is told there is not one note of malice in them. However, it soon becomes obvious that Moreau's control over them is far from humane, and the good doctor is – not that there was ever much doubt – insane.Marlon Brando wrestles with an upper-crust British accent and some outsized false teeth. The accent is perfect, the prosthetics less so, rendering occasional moments of dialogue incomprehensible. His performance though, is terrific. Dangerous and a lot of fun. From his first appearance, draped in white, outsized sunglasses and a full face smothered in white 'sunblock', he is delightfully bizarre.The film loses something when Brando's presence is removed, and events become a bit of a jumble. Val Kilmer's Montgomery, who takes Moreau's place, is good, but he's no Marlon Brando.Ultimately, 'The Island of Doctor Moreau' is a thoroughly enjoyable film. David Thewlis (who joined the film after shooting had started, replacing another actor) initially seems miscast as Douglas, but he soon proves himself as the talented actor he is. The same can be said for the various hybrids, most of who really take advantage of the excellent make-up jobs and imbue them with tangible emotion which would be lost if everything was achieved with CGI.It is difficult to ignore the critical mauling the film received, due in part to a series of unfortunate occurrences behind the scenes. Viewed almost 20 years after its release – and I speak as someone yet to see the original Charles Laughton version, so therefore have no other film to compare this to – I found it hugely enjoyable.
SnoopyStyle UN peace negotiator Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) survives a plane crash and other survivors in the Java Sea. He is rescued by Montgomery (Val Kilmer)'s ship. Edward is dropped off with Montgomery on a mysterious island. He meets Aissa (Fairuza Balk) and then Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando). Moreau has been on the island for 17 years obsessed with animal research.There are some interesting makeup jobs. I think Thewlis is miscast for Douglas. He should be more of an innocent and maybe younger. The start is kind of interesting but then a white-out Marlon Barndo comes in with his Popemobile. It turns something interesting into something ridiculous. It's like Brando insists on being stupid looking. It just deteriorates from there on. The movie loses all tension as the plot meanders. Thewlis is such a cool customer that he can't project fear from the mounting danger. It's also not campy enough to be funny.
rfb-geo Balk smolders. So what? Brando emotes. Interesting. Kilmer embarrasses himself. Perlman growls. Thewlis tries. Worth watching just to see how bad a movie with a great cast and a great director can be. Gratuitous violence, but tame by today's standards. Doesn't help. The 1977 version had Barbara Carrera, so we forgive that. The original (Island of Lost Souls), even in black and white, with a low budget, is far better. This cast makes the ailing, hammy Bela Lugosi look like Oscar material. Brando, for all his talent, doesn't touch Laughton. Frankenheimer makes a couple of points. Men and animals aren't that far apart. The law is determined by the point of a gun. And artistic pretension doesn't make a bad movie better. Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
redalert51 Essentially the " Directors Cut " or should say is the unrated cut ,scenes , such as the beginning of the beast peoples take over which is more blood thirty , the killing , of Dr Moreau , teeth biting into his flesh , also there is one " Hyena Swine " chews the doctors ( father, the) arm off with inter-cuts of various animal people's blood soaked teeth. I personally believe , how a few minutes of graphic shoots shown, in sequence , can make the difference . The reason for my mid rating is , the blu ray release , did not not have the any bonus features , no commentary track , extended documentaries or a retrospect of people who work on the film , I do not know if the DVD release , has the features I mentioned , I perused , one release online and there were no indication of any features . Though the picture are excellent on the Blu ray and likewise with the audio , I hope this will be of help , to interested parties of this much maligned film ....Thank you , for the opportunity ..