| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Lost World: Jurassic Park, The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Lost World" was obviously going to be looked at incredibly harshly after the success of "Jurassic Park". Although the film itself isn't as successful creatively as the original, it's still not a bad picture and has some entertaining moments. While this sequel proved that there's still territory with the series to discover, the third film will have to certainly go in a different direction to be engaging.
Dr. Ian Malcolm(Jeff Goldblum) is the main cast member that returns, this time along with a daughter (Vanessa Lee Chester) and a palentologist girlfriend(Julianne Moore). They bring along a photographer(Vince Vaughn) and an equipment specialist. On the other hand, another team is also heading towards the island to capture dinos to be used in a theme park in San Diego.
The problems start in the very begining, which takes way too long to get started. Characters are slightly less defined than the original film, including a stereotypical "bad guy" in Arliss Howard's leader of the second team. The daughter of the Goldblum character is somewhat irritating; the kids in the first film were scared but well-written - about another character, this girl says "she doesn't even have Sega!". The few good lines have obviously been reserved for Goldblum, such as the gem at the begining, "oooh, ahhh...that's always how it starts. And then there's the running...and the screaming."
Once the movie really gets going, it's really more of a matter of filler between action scenes, some of which are remarkably entertaining - some of which that seem like a repeat, aren't. The scene that's always going to be in everyone's memory is a scene where characters are "holding on by a thread" - I won't ruin it.
The film definitely has some problems, but I still think it provides an entertaining couple hours. Where the first film was "classic entertainment", this film is just "basic entertainment".
The DVD
VIDEO: The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that Universal has produced is striking. Being only a couple of years old, the film offers a crystal clear image with no signs at all of print flaws such as marks or scratches. Only the slightest trace of pixelation shows up, but this is very brief and hardly noticable.
Sharpness is excellent throughout; detail and clarity are very good too, even in the darkest sequences. Colors are similarly as enjoyable as they were in the first film - the deep greens of the jungle looking beautiful and very well-saturated. Locations and cinematography both look stunning and well-rendered on this DVD. Black level is solid and flesh tones are accurate and natural. Like the first film, this is a great presentation.
SOUND: The best summary for the sound in "Lost World" is this: take all of the elements that made "Jurassic Park" such an exciting soundtrack, and turn them up to "11". Louder, more agressive, more powerful. You can practically feel the roars of the various dinosaurs as they fill the room.
Surrounds, as one might expect, get very impressive use here, and are even more active here than they were in the first film. In fact, as the film goes further all of the speakers work together to create a sonic assault that was extremely thrilling. Even slight background sounds are captured very well and very clearly, making for a natural-sounding environment. Bass is very, very powerful at times, and really tops off the exciting sound that the film offers. Certainly, this is one of those films where I feel the need to warn that if you have neighbors, you may want to watch the volume when you play "Lost World".
The John Williams score sounds dynamic and impressively clear, filling the room with ease. All speakers really work together remarkably well to build a complete surround environment here. Dialogue remains natural and easily understood, even in the most busy sequences. Praise here goes to the brilliant Gary Rydstrom and the rest of his sound crew who have crafted a great experience. Other films that Gary Rydstrom has worked on? Oh, "Titanic", "Saving Private Ryan", "The Haunting" and "A Bug's Life", among others. His name on a film's credits is a guarantee of fantastic audio.
MENUS:: The menus are generally the same style on "The Lost World", only slightly different pictures that have more to do with this film.
EXTRAS:
Making "The Lost World": A nearly one hour look at the making of the film, this documentary is an impressive look at the technology that was improved between the two films and how this was used to make more remarkable, more agressive dinosaurs. There is a bit of interview footage towards the begining that gets that whole basic information element out of the way, then we are re-introduced to many of the effects crew who we met on the documentary for the first film.
Technical information is nicely mixed in with footage and talk about what it is like to be on a Spielberg set shooting a film; how the director works, etc. Definitely an entertaining and informative documentary that provides a detailed look at the making of "The Lost World".
Galleries: Galleries for conceptual art/illustrations, models, dinos("The World Of...") and storyboards. Also included are a production photo gallery, a gallery of pictures of the posters and toys for the film and also, a gallery of pics of ILM crew members at work.
Trailers: Trailers for "Jurassic Park", "Lost World" and again, the very basic teaser for "Jurassic 3". All in Dolby 2.0
Also: Production notes, cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts: "Lost World" is not the phenomenal picture that "Jurassic Park" was; still, I find it to be an enjoyable film and DVD, and recommend Universal's new edition.
"Lost World" was obviously going to be looked at incredibly harshly after the success of "Jurassic Park". Although the film itself isn't as successful creatively as the original, it's still not a bad picture and has some entertaining moments. While this sequel proved that there's still territory with the series to discover, the third film will have to certainly go in a different direction to be engaging.
Dr. Ian Malcolm(Jeff Goldblum) is the main cast member that returns, this time along with a daughter (Vanessa Lee Chester) and a palentologist girlfriend(Julianne Moore). They bring along a photographer(Vince Vaughn) and an equipment specialist. On the other hand, another team is also heading towards the island to capture dinos to be used in a theme park in San Diego.
The problems start in the very begining, which takes way too long to get started. Characters are slightly less defined than the original film, including a stereotypical "bad guy" in Arliss Howard's leader of the second team. The daughter of the Goldblum character is somewhat irritating; the kids in the first film were scared but well-written - about another character, this girl says "she doesn't even have Sega!". The few good lines have obviously been reserved for Goldblum, such as the gem at the begining, "oooh, ahhh...that's always how it starts. And then there's the running...and the screaming."
Once the movie really gets going, it's really more of a matter of filler between action scenes, some of which are remarkably entertaining - some of which that seem like a repeat, aren't. The scene that's always going to be in everyone's memory is a scene where characters are "holding on by a thread" - I won't ruin it.
The film definitely has some problems, but I still think it provides an entertaining couple hours. Where the first film was "classic entertainment", this film is just "basic entertainment".
The DVD
VIDEO: The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that Universal has produced is striking. Being only a couple of years old, the film offers a crystal clear image with no signs at all of print flaws such as marks or scratches. Only the slightest trace of pixelation shows up, but this is very brief and hardly noticable.
Sharpness is excellent throughout; detail and clarity are very good too, even in the darkest sequences. Colors are similarly as enjoyable as they were in the first film - the deep greens of the jungle looking beautiful and very well-saturated. Locations and cinematography both look stunning and well-rendered on this DVD. Black level is solid and flesh tones are accurate and natural. Like the first film, this is a great presentation.
SOUND: The best summary for the sound in "Lost World" is this: take all of the elements that made "Jurassic Park" such an exciting soundtrack, and turn them up to "11". Louder, more agressive, more powerful. You can practically feel the roars of the various dinosaurs as they fill the room.
Surrounds, as one might expect, get very impressive use here, and are even more active here than they were in the first film. In fact, as the film goes further all of the speakers work together to create a sonic assault that was extremely thrilling. Even slight background sounds are captured very well and very clearly, making for a natural-sounding environment. Bass is very, very powerful at times, and really tops off the exciting sound that the film offers. Certainly, this is one of those films where I feel the need to warn that if you have neighbors, you may want to watch the volume when you play "Lost World".
The John Williams score sounds dynamic and impressively clear, filling the room with ease. All speakers really work together remarkably well to build a complete surround environment here. Dialogue remains natural and easily understood, even in the most busy sequences. Praise here goes to the brilliant Gary Rydstrom and the rest of his sound crew who have crafted a great experience. Other films that Gary Rydstrom has worked on? Oh, "Titanic", "Saving Private Ryan", "The Haunting" and "A Bug's Life", among others. His name on a film's credits is a guarantee of fantastic audio.
MENUS:: The menus are generally the same style on "The Lost World", only slightly different pictures that have more to do with this film.
EXTRAS:
Making "The Lost World": A nearly one hour look at the making of the film, this documentary is an impressive look at the technology that was improved between the two films and how this was used to make more remarkable, more agressive dinosaurs. There is a bit of interview footage towards the begining that gets that whole basic information element out of the way, then we are re-introduced to many of the effects crew who we met on the documentary for the first film.
Technical information is nicely mixed in with footage and talk about what it is like to be on a Spielberg set shooting a film; how the director works, etc. Definitely an entertaining and informative documentary that provides a detailed look at the making of "The Lost World".
Galleries: Galleries for conceptual art/illustrations, models, dinos("The World Of...") and storyboards. Also included are a production photo gallery, a gallery of pictures of the posters and toys for the film and also, a gallery of pics of ILM crew members at work.
Trailers: Trailers for "Jurassic Park", "Lost World" and again, the very basic teaser for "Jurassic 3". All in Dolby 2.0
Also: Production notes, cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts: "Lost World" is not the phenomenal picture that "Jurassic Park" was; still, I find it to be an enjoyable film and DVD, and recommend Universal's new edition.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||