The Island of Dr Moreau ★★★

I’VE been trying to find the infamous 1996 version of H.G. wells’ classic novel The Island of Dr Moreau.

It’s almost impossible to get hold of and is apparently unavailable on any streaming service in Australia.

Yes, I know there are other ways to get your eyes on some titles, but I can’t be bothered going down that route.

So, I made do for now with the 1977 version which, unlike the ‘96 version, didn’t warrant a documentary about the subterfuge involved in its filming.

The ‘77 version of The Island of Dr Moreau stars Burt Lancaster in the title role, originally played by Charles Laughton in 1932’s Island of Lost Souls.

Lancaster’s theatrical acting style is actually well-suited to the role of a brilliant geneticist whose God Complex leads him to abandon Victorian societal and moral restrictions and flee to a remote island in order to undertake his controversial experiments on men and animals free of restriction.

Michael York is less successful playing the survivor of a vessel sinking who finds himself stranded on Moreau’s island and struggling to understand the Doctor’s justification for seeking to create a link between human DNA and that of a range of wild animals including bears, bulls and lions.

Also in the cast are Nigel Davenport playing Dr Moreau’s right–hand man and enforcer, and Barbara Carrera as Maria whose relationship to Moreau is akin to a daughter.

The Maria character is potentially interesting but only sketchily drawn in the final cut of this version.

Richard Baseheart, best known for the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea television series, plays the Sayer of the Law and most successful of Moreau’s experiments.

While Wells’ novel no doubt had a lot of provocative things say in 1896 about evolution, the human psyche and medical morality, amongst other things, director Don Taylor’s film restricts these debates to just a few scenes.

This ‘77 version seems more interested in showing off the hybrid makeup, which isn’t that impressive, and the stunt work with wild animals, which is very impressive.

It’s a fascinating story from one of literature’s most creative authors and probably deserves a fourth attempt to produce something most worthy of the source material.

Watched on Prime.