| The Island of Dr. Moreau | | Cast : | David Thewlis, Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer | | Director : | Richard Stanley, John Frankenheimer | | Studio : | New Line Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | August 23, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | April 05, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | Unrated | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | What I'm About to Say My Alarm Some of You | Content
 | The Island of Dr. Moreau is a great film. Dare I say it, a piece of underrated mastery. Yes. There I said it.
Let us begin with the genius qualities this film has within it: a brilliant turn by Val Kilmer (one of his best performances)
a decent stretch by Marlon Brando
dazzling special effects by Stan Winston
haunting score, one that resembles the original score for "Alien"
This film is often nightmarish and gripping. It delivers very very frightening moments, both in and out of reality. The genius of the late great John Frankenheimer truly runs through the spine of this film. Even the title sequence is reminiscent of Frankenheimer's abstract "Seconds" title sequence.
Here's what could get me bludgeoned by reviewers: It has a sociopolitical commentary worth sharing. A scary comment on human beings and their capacity for feverish violence and rage. Add that with its wondrous compositions (the film is incredibly shot -it is Frankenheimer, folks) poses a notion about what truly separates us from the animals, is it our ability to reason which we often neglect or is it simply nothing?
One of the most underrated, stylish gems of the 90s. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 26, 2005 | | Summary | NOT SCARY ENOUGH | Content
| Overall the movie was ok, But i were expecting it 2 be a little bit more scary than that. I wanted 2 see this altimate monster that he was trying 2 create, that i thought was surly just around the bend in the movie, & the big finish with everyone trying 2 kill this altimate monster, never came about. I thought marlon brando & val kilmer did there part in the movie, It just that the writers didn't do theirs. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 02, 2005 | | Summary | Col. Kurtz IF he had survived "Apocalypse Now" | Content
| Ever wonder where Col. Kurtz would've ended up if he had survived the end of "Apocalypse Now"? Well, now we know: He exiled himself to a deserted island to create humanimals -- the horror, the horror.
In light of all the bad press one would really think this is a lousy movie. And I can see WHY some people don't like it, the main portion of the flick is really INSANE. However, if you're a sucker for lost-on-an-island type yarns and appreciate the heavy mood & insanity of "Apocalypse Now," you'll probably like it. I'm not saying it's anywhere near as great as "Apocalypse Now" but Marlon Brando and the jungle insanity make the comparison inevitable.
WHAT WORKS: The title sequence is great, perhaps one of the best in all of cinema (another Amazon reviewer noted this, so I'm not alone); the soundtrack is phenomenal ('nuff said); the plot is intriguing; the humanimal make-up is fine ('Hyena' looks especially horrific); the film possesses an undeniable creative pizzazz (i.e. it's moody, atmospheric and insane); and Marlon Brando's 35 minute stint in the film is as captivating as always (you can probably tell I'm a huge Brando fan -- in particular, "One-Eyed Jacks," "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "The Young Lions," "Superman" and "Apocalypse Now" [not "Redux"]).
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The third act of the film is almost total insanity, except for the final ten minutes or so; as a result the story will lose the interest of those who have no appreciation for such artistic flair.
CLOSING THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed seeing Brando in his old age in this flick; it proves he had his magnetic charm until the end. If you enjoyed Brando as 'Kurtz' in "Apocalypse Now" you'll appeciate him in "Island;" in fact, as already noted, Dr. Moreau is a variation of Kurtz in his old age (i.e. nutjob in the jungle).
If you're predisposed for such a flick, "Dr. Moreau" is weird, but certainly worthwhile. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 27, 2005 | | Summary | ALL PLEASURE WITHOUT THE GUILT | Content
| THE CAST WAS SUPERB, THE SPECIAL EFFECTS SUPERIOR. THE PLOT A CLASSIC....WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK OF A FILM?
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| Rating | | | Date | February 08, 2005 | | Summary | An insult to the genius of H.G. Wells | Content
| I wasn't planning on writing a review of "Dr, Moreau" 1996, as it is an inconsequential and wholly forgettable movie, but when I read reviews that described it as "intelligent," I felt I had to write a response. "Dr. Moreau" 1996 is NOT an intelligent movie. Like most bad science fiction it shows contempt for the viewers' intelligence.
The plot revolves around a scientist, Dr. Moreau (Brando) who lives on an island where he is turning animals into humanoids in order to create a race without malice. Now, while this motive (a huge departure from the original book) has a grain of interest in it, that single grain is lost as the plot unfolds. Dr. Moreau controls his race with pain and injections of street drugs, hardly elements condusive to discouraging malice. He has given them a set of laws to obey, but in previous tellings of the story the law was simple and easy to repeat in an almost ritualized fashion. This movie has Ronald Perlman reciting the law in long, pretentious speeches. How are the humanoids supposed to rememeber, and thus obey, these long narrations?
Assisting Dr. Moreau is Montgomery (Kilmer), who is described as a brilliant neurosurgeon. Despite this description, he neither says nor does a single brilliant thing during the movie. At various times he behaves oddly, a forced attempt to make him seem unstable that only comes off as goofy. At other times he flaunts the order of the island and ignores the potential for rebellion among the humanoids. It is hinted that he is so erratic because of drug use, which only begs the question of why the "genius" Dr. Moreau keeps this dangerous and unstable individual around.
The hero of the story, Douglas (Thewlis) is supposedly a UN negotiator. This implies that he is capable of dealing with differences among people and tense situations, including potential violence. However, he shows unbridled disgust for most of Moreau's creations and continuously comes across as a coward. For example, there is a boat that can take him to Timor, a few days away. He won't take it, however, because there is a ratman in a cage (yes, in a cage) guarding it. Plus, whenever there is gunfire, he cringes into a ball, some hero.
And speaking of gunfire, there are evidently tons of guns on the island for the humanoids to use during the predictable (and unimpeded by the "genius" Moreau) rebellion scene. Why does Moreau keep guns around when he is trying to build a malice free society? Why does he need so many when he and Montgomery are the only ones who might use them? Why didn't some one involved in the movie wonder about this?
I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. I would add that the special effects, while entertainingly gruesome at times, contribute little to the story. The humanoid make-up does not represent an improvment over the 1977 version of the story, and thus cannot be cited as a saving grace. Overall, "Dr. Moreau" 1996 presents as just another insipid, poorly designed movie that Hollywood frequently tries to pass off as "science fiction." |
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