Year: 1925
Director: Harry O' Hoyt
Country: US
Language: N/A
By 1925, now-acclaimed animator William O' Brian had completed several short subjects using stop-motion technology, including The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915) and The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918). His overall goal was to combine stop-motion and live action with more realism and drama than ever before. This goal would lead him to the impressive film The Lost World (1925)
This is the first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.
Concerning an expedition by a group of men with differing goals. Their shared destination is a plateau of rock, hidden deep in the Amazon jungle, upon which live creatures forgotten by time. Later Lost World would be the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. We are shown many sketches drawn by the main character, which builds up great suspense. We know the animals are “tremendous in size and ferocity,”, but the doodles enforce the point and offer us a taste of things to come.
Unfortunately the technical limitations of 1925 meant that O'Brian's stop motion didn't really work. The obvious rubber models moved stiffly and had very little speed. Most importantly it didn't feel like the animated dinosaurs and live action humans were part of the same universe. When the humans say they are in danger, we don't feel like they actually are in danger. This is a shame because the film had great potential and was building up to something quite great before the dinosaurs showed up.
The Lost World makes a poor picture, but it is a nice case-study of special effects development. We see bits and pieces of King Kong (1933), O'Brian's masterpiece, but know that the technique isn't quite ready yet. Worthy of a glance for curiosity's sake.
No comments:
Post a Comment