The Island of Dr. Moreau

1977 "A tropical paradise, untouched by man... where a bizarre civilization exists."
5.9| 1h39m| PG| en
Details

A ship-wrecked man floats ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is inhabited by a scientist, Dr. Moreau, who in an experiment has turned beasts into human beings.

Director

Producted By

American International Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Michael_Elliott The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Andrew Braddock (Michael York) shipwrecks and eventually washes up on a jungle island. Once there he is introduced to Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster) who at first seems like a nice guy simply doing research. Pretty soon Andrew begins to realize that the doctor is doing strange experiments between men and animals and the result are some mutated creatures living in the jungle.Whenever people speak about the H.G. Wells adaptations of this story, it seems this one here is forgotten and sometimes it doesn't even come up. Of course, they always discuss the greatness of 1932's ISLAND OF LOST SOULS and they always discuss the disastrous Marlon Brando version. Why is this film from 1977 rarely mentioned? I'm going to guess because it's not really a flat-out horror movie. The majority of its running time it appears to be trying to be a real medical drama and a showcase for Lancaster.Is that a bad thing? I personally don't think so but it does make for a rather slow running time and I'm sure some people would have preferred more horror elements or more of a spotlight being placed on the creatures. With that said, I think this is a mildly entertaining movie thanks in large part to the performances in the film. Lancaster always carried himself with such grace that he had no problem fitting into this role to where people could see this character and think that he was a good man. I thought Lancaster was good in the part, although the screenplay never really allowed him a chance to go crazy or mad.York was also good in the lead role, although his character too suffers from not getting too much to do until the very end. Nigel Davenport is good in the supporting role as the doctor's help and Barbara Carrera made for a good love interest. Richard Basehart got to play the role originated by Bela Lugosi and I couldn't help but think that Basehart had seen the earlier version and remembered Lugosi's performance.With all of that said, the film really does come to life during the final fifteen-minutes once the creatures decide that they have had enough. I thought the various animals that were used were great and I also thought the action was nice. There were some tense moments that happened during the final action sequence so overall the film at least goes out on a good note.
Hitchcoc "The Island of Lost Souls" is the first version of this H. G. Wells story. It was not a good movie, but it did have great atmosphere. And Bela Lugosi. This version is much better. It's a much slicker rendition of the story. The creatures are much better constructed and the overall effectiveness of the film is quite good. The plot of this has to do with a scientist who is transforming animals into human-like creatures. They are constructed in a place called The House of Pain. Vivisection is performed and while these things are human-like, the maintain vestiges of their animal selves. The do have speech but for the most part they are either enslaved or abused. It is a reasonable telling of Wells story.
gavin6942 A shipwrecked survivor (Michael York) discovers a remote island with a mad scientist (Burt Lancaster).Some people argue there has never been a good adaptation of "The Island of Dr. Moreau". Maybe it is because I never read the book, but I think those people are wrong. "The Island of Lost Souls" is excellent, and I believe it is now part of the Criterion Collection (as it should be). And the 1990s version has its charms, despite its many faults.And this one is quite good, clearly the inspiration for Devo and House and Pain, probably even more so than "Lost Souls". Michael York is a brilliant actor and adds weight to science fiction. Burt Lancaster is pretty decent, too, and makes a good villain.
ma-cortes 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