"The Lost World" of Willis O'Brien
Edited by Roy KinnardThe Lost World Arthur Conan Doyle (photoplay novel)
With apologies to Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael Crichton, et al, the 1925 film story will always rank first to my mind when "The Lost World" is mentioned. I love this film.
The two recent DVD efforts have only increased my high opinion of this movie. There is even more footage in another George Eastman House restoration that has still to be released to the home market. As long as there is more to be seen, they've got a captive market with me.
As Kinnard points out in his introduction, there was super-condensed Encyclopedia Britainica 10 minute featurette cut from the film and even a 2 reel spoof called "The Lost Whirl" (1928). So there are possibilities for even more DVD extras.
I have to admit that I am a "The Lost World" completist. I purchased the photoplay novel just to savor the inserted film scenes. This is even though I already had a reading copy of Doyle's story and several video versions of the film in addition to the DVDs. But Kinnard's publication of the original shooting script of film is especially "just the ticket" for me.
Some quotes of my favorite tidbits:
-notes on how make-up should be applied to Bull Montana:
"...similar to that which he used when he appeared as the ape in 'Go and Get it' with Marshall Neilan". (there's a title I'd like to know more about)
-music cues:
"With this slow fade the motif of the music changes - becomes definitely threatening- great war drums begin to rattle and boom at first distant - then louder and louder..."
-tie-ins between scenes:
"Note: This sketch must exactly conform with scene shown later in picture." (when referring to a sketch in explorer Maple White's notebook.)
-the fleshing out of the characters Gladys (Malone's London love interest), Gomez and Zambo...and others.
Once you get the hang of it, reading a script like this can flow almost like reading a novel. One thing that I did get an appreciation for was that writing a script must * not * be like novel writing. My hat goes off to those who are able to write with the visualization necessary for writing for the screen (in this case Marion Fairfax).
written: 12/21/2001
revised: 7/26/2003
