Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey Of Richard Stanley's Island Of Dr. Moreau

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming services is Severin Film's new documentary LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY'S ISLAND OF DR MOREAU.

Fans of Richard Stanley, behind-the-scenes documentaries, Marlon Brando, or cinematic train wrecks will love this new look at the circumstances behind the filming of the 1996 Island of Dr. Moreau.

South African filmmaker Stanley had written the script, worked with Stan Winston's FX team, and prepared storyboards for his life-long dream of bringing an adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic to the screen. The circumstances that unfolded are stranger than any story brought to the screen.

Richard Stanley is a fascinating character. A fine director, brilliant raconteur, student of anthropology, He had directed several music videos, documentaries for British television, and the features HARDWARE and DUST DEVIL when he started work on bringing H.G. Wells' Island Of Dr. Moreau to the big screen.


I won't spoil any details, but the documentary from David Gregory's Severin Films goes into great detail into the history and autopsy of Moreau. The doc provides commentary from many of the cast and crew and director Stanley. Noticeably absent are Val Kilmer and David Thewlis, although given Kilmer's behavior onset, it's likely he'd rather not have the past brought up.

Well worth your time to check out!

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Soul-Journey-Richard-Stanleys/dp/B00YXRPP6K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438471271&sr=8-2&keywords=lost soul the doomed journey of richard stanley's island of dr. moreau

 

I watched this the other day. Quite entertaining.

 

I dunno, I watched the documentary and it seems that there are some valid issues regarding the placing of the film locale and Richard being over his head in regards to directing a big budget film. They seem to allude to him having a breakdown on the set.

Don't get me wrong, we all know once he was replaced the final film once released was very, very bad.

It makes me wonder why Brando and Kilmer signed on to this when by all accounts they seemed hell bent on sabotaging as much as they could get away with...

 

The doc definitely didn't gloss over Stanley's difficulties on the project. Seems that ultimately when it became a big budget/big Hollywood production, the money people didn't want an unproven director running the set. If he'd had an experienced AD whom he trusted and was there to keep things going, it might have proven different.

Frankenheimer may have finished the film, but the director of The Manchurian Candidate wasn't visible in the final product.

 

If Frankenheimer couldn't reign in Brando and Kilmer, what chance did Stanley have?

There's a lot of documentaries being made about "lost" films and they all purport their subject to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hyperbole overload if you ask me.

Take Jodorowsky's Dune - now think about if Lynch's Dune was never made, "Oh my God, the Eraserhead guy almost made Dune?! Oh, that's a match made in heaven, it would have been a masterpiece." Unfortunately, Lynch made and finished Dune and we know it's a bad, boring film.

The point I'm trying to make is many proposed films sound good on paper, completing a good film is not quite as easy.

 

Very true! Kilmer seemed to have an agenda that lasted the whole production. He challenged Richard during a take and when it came down to the young director or hot box office star, the star and the accompanying budget that came with his involvement would win. Stanley just didn't have the experience or clout to control Kilmer, and he admits he erroneously assumed having Brando on his side would protect him.

 

Watching on Netflix

 

Kilmer was also very difficult on the 2000 sci-film film Red Planet, where he and Tom Sizemore got into a series of escalating fights. This did not help the movie's success (or lack thereof).

 

Which might explain the lack of interaction between the two on Heat.

 

Well, I would still rather see a film made by someone who is passionate about the subject matter (Stanley), than someone brought in for other reasons .
I quite enjoyed this doc as I am a fan of the book and movie.

 

I picked up the 3 disc BD for the plentiful extras. There's a pretty remarkable 15 minute segment where Stanley gives an extemporaneous talk on Welles, his writings, and Moreau in particular.

Wells and Joseph Conrad had a falling out as Wells was convinced Conrad used Moreau as a template for Heart Of Darkness and based Kurtz on Moreau. Conrad insisted that Kurtz was based on explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who just happens to be Richard's great grandfather.

 

I kinda like Red Planet.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Dune Bad? Sure. Boring? Never. It's just plain weird.

 

Thanks for the tip. Just added it to my Netflix cue.

 

Nice analogy! Point taken!

 

In fairness to David Lynch, the studio substantially recut Dune and changed it quite a bit from what he wanted released, so he disavowed the theatrical version. But I've seen his original version and it was also bad and boring. I've often said there are some works of fiction which work great as novels but translate very poorly to film.