And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau!
Original image located here. Accessed 8th March 2019
A few weeks ago, i watched The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? which chronicled a Superman movie that never got made. This time however we have a documentary on a movie that did get made - even if the finished product was nothing like what was originally envisioned. Seems that the potential of what of could've been is a remarkably effective selling point (Firefly anyone?)
I first saw The Island of Dr. Moreau went i was in high school. At the time I didn't think much of it but in the years since, I have learned about the horrors that went into the shoot that have grown to become the stuff of legend. When one considers instances of Richard Stanley (the original director /driving force) being sacked four days in, the replacement director showing little enthusiasm, Stanley sneaking back onto the set as an extra, actors behaving like children, sets being at the mercy of Mother Nature, extras having way too much time on their hand, a mutinous crew, and a three week shoot stretched out to six months, one would think they have a making of documentary to end all making of documentaries.
Based on what I already know, there is indeed some new information being presented here. Richard Stanley has a lot to say and he certainly come across as being a smart, if oddball, person. His original ideas are interesting, the conceptual artwork is impressive, and the journey to getting the film green-lit is engaging. But when the production starts and countless problems rear their head, then the flow of the narrative heads towards disastrous. There is no shortage of bad things said about Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer (who is, unsurprising, absent here) and there is certainly some horror stories related by the cast and crew. Not to mention a lot of frustration and lamentations on the loss of Richard Stanley on a project that, under his gaze, held a lot of potential.
But ultimately, the triumph of this documentary is that we have a making-of documentary that is more fascinating and engaging than it's parent movie XD