Description
Originally rejected by the bbfc on its original release for being “against nature”, this first and best screen adaptation of h. g. wells’ the island of dr. moreau is a taboo-flaunting, blood-curdling spectacular, and one of hollywood’s wildest, most notorious, pre-code pictures. – -shipwrecked and adrift, edward parker finds himself a guest on dr. moreau’s isolated south seas island, but quickly discovers the horrifying nature of the doctor’s work and the origin of the strange forms inhabiting the isle: a colony of wild animals reworked into humanoid form via sadistic surgical experiments. furthermore, parker quickly begins to fear his own part in the doctor’s plans to take the unholy enterprise to a next level. – -featuring a peerlessly erudite and sinister performance by charles laughton (spartacus, hobson’s choice, the hunchback of notre dame, mutiny on the bounty) as the diabolical doctor, a sterling appearance by bela lugosi (dracula, the raven, ninotchka) as the half-beast-half-man “sayer of the law”, and sensationally atmospheric cinematography by the great karl struss (murnau’s sunrise, mamoulian’s dr. jekyll and mr. hyde), island of lost souls now returns to claim a central position among the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from hollywood’s golden age of horror. – -island of lost souls is a true classic of horror cinema from the early 1930s ‘ alongside dracula, frankenstein, freaks, the invisible man, vampyr, and dr jekyll and mr hyde. the film influenced new wave band devo on their 1978 debut album question: are we not men? answer: we are devo! the masters of cinema series is proud to present island of lost souls on dvd for the first time in the uk, a celebration of the film’s 80th anniversary. – – special features: – -‘ newly restored high-definition digital transfer officially licensed from universal pictures -‘ newly created sdh subtitles on the feature for the deaf and hard of hearing -‘ an exclusive video piece in which horror critic and historian jonathan rigby discusses the film and its source novel -‘ more extras to be announced nearer the release date -‘ plus: a lavish booklet featuring rare production imagery, and more!
Year: 1932
