THE LOST WORLD (1992)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological*

Given the importance of Conan Doyle's LOST WORLD novel to the history of "dinosaur cinema," it's surprising that over thirty years passed between this film and the last movie-adaptation of the book. It's also surprising that this version of LOST WORLD is at least decent, which is a word not often used of movies associated with Euro-producer/writer Harry Alan Towers. Not too long before co-writing the first of two LOST WORLD DTV films with one Tim Kirk, Towers also helped unleash the trashy John Carter ripoffs GOR and OUTLAW OF GOR.

The first WORLD actually follows Doyle's novel in many particulars, though I should say right away that the film will not allow Professor Challenger to find very many dinosaurs, because animated dinosaurs would cost more money. Nevertheless, the actors are well cast and have good chemistry. Viewpoint character/reporter Ned Malone (Eric McCormack) goes looking to prove his mettle by getting some major scoop, and his superiors assign him to interview reporter-hating biologist George Challenger (John Rhys-Davies). The opening captures much of book-Challenger's misanthropy as he attacks Malone for deceiving him. But when Malone elects not to press charges, Challenger takes Malone into his confidence about his South American discovery of The Lost World. 

The expedition is soon on its way, excluding the book's Roxton character. It does include Challenger's rival Professor Summerlee (David Warner), a useless cute kid, and a rich girl named Jenny (Tamara Gorski), who's more or less a doppelganger of Jill St. John's "Jennifer" heroine from the 1960 flick. There's a lot more contact with native cultures on the way to find the mysterious plateau of dinosaurs, so the group engages a native interpreter, of whom I'll say more in a bit.

As in the book the expedition gets stranded atop the plateau by a vengeance-seeking criminal. They encounter a few dinos, mostly pterodactyls, but they spend a lot more time with local tribes, none of whom are prehistoric peoples. The book's opposition of current human beings and vicious ape-men is loosely replicated in the religion of the two tribes: a peace-loving tribe that worships the plant-eating dinos and a war-loving tribe that worships the meat-eaters. However, there's no major battle between the tribes; just one scene in which the armed Europeans ward off an attack from hostiles with their rifles. The outsiders endear themselves enough to the good tribe that they're shown the way off the plateau, and when all are back in London, Challenger gets the pleasure of proving his observations by exhibiting a baby pterodactyl. In the book the flying reptile gets loose and is killed accidentally. Here, to provide a sentimental ending, Malone, Jenny and the dumb kid release the baby flyer from captivity, without even once considering that it's likely to perish, whether it stays in chilly England or tries to return to South America.

The interpreter Malu (Nathania Stanford) presents an interesting twist of the character of "The Native Girl" in the 1960 movie. Malu speaks excellent English, unlike the Native Girl, and she's not a helpless femme, being able to defend herself with both rifle and stone-sling. In one scene Malone almost attacks her in the dark, and she points out that he just missed being gutted by her knife. By comparison Gorski's Jennifer proves a bore, and a brief near-romance between Malu and Malone is a pleasing diversion. 

While there are neither battle-scenes nor FX to please the adventure-lover's spirit, director Timothy Bond and the scriptwriters make even the talking-head scenes lively. Rhys-Davies captures more of book-Challenger's immense conceit than either previous film-performer did, and his rivalry with Warner's Summerlee as they debate prehistoric biology is also very much "according to Doyle." Stanford makes a fine educated "jungle girl," McCormack and Gorski are decent, and even the young actor playing the dumb kid isn't bad just because he's saddled with a lame character.