Les aventuriers du monde perdu

The DVD of the miniseries brings it into better focus, minus commercial interruptions, and it is definitely one of the better adaptations of this old warhorse. But beware the DVD copy! It claims the movie runs 200 minutes. It doesn't (160 mins.). It claims to be an "exclusive widescreen version" (1:78 to 1). It isn't. It's full screen. The second disc claims 125 minutes of material. Actually it's less than 120 with a 90 minute documentary and a 20 minute "behind the scenes feature. Nevertheless, what you DO get is quite enjoyable. One wonders why they had to promise so much more.

A real tale of adventure. Pure Boys Own stuff, marauding dinosaurs, restless natives, all the things an excitement seeker requires, plus a lovely romantic side story or two.

The cast are excellent, just check out their reactions to the dinosaurs (that are are wonderful mixture of CGI and animatronics). The scenery (New Zealand) is beautiful and so colourful you can almost feel it and taste it.

This sort of thing is not everybody's cup of tea, but for those of us with a little imagination and the spirit of adventure it is sure to hit the mark.

Wonderful!

Basically the Walking with Dinosaurs effects team working with BBC Drama.

I may have been full of the Christmas spirit(s) but this seemed to be the best BBC drama I've seen for a while and as far as I know quite faithful to the book. Characters more engaging than the animals (unheard of movies like this) and here's hoping Hoskins as Prof Challenger returns soon.

A very well made TV adaptation of Conan Doyle's 1912 classic. The plot (of the movie as well as the book) has Professor Challenger (Bob Hoskins) leading an expedition to an isolated region of the Amazon, where it is believed prehistoric creatures have survived. Conan Doyle had based his book on the travels to the isolated Roraima region (the border zone between Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana where flat top mountains named tepuis predominate) by explorer Everard Im Thurn. This miniseries was shot in New Zealand (standing in for the Amazon), and the movie deviates from the book in only a minor questions: having a female character in the expedition (played by the fine Irish actress Elaine Cassidy), and, more controversially, a different ending. But the movie is very well made and very exciting.

i just finished watching this two-parter on channel 2, Australian TV, and WOW! that was exhilarating from start to finish. the characters are introduced and fleshed out in their own time throughout part one (rather than rushing thru introductions like a lot of movies) and i really came to care for every single one of them, from the derided & laughed at Professor Challenger who first proposed the expedition (Bob Hoskins) to the arrogant world-wise hunter Lord Roxton (Tom Ward), and the ever-so-cute white-girl-growing-up-in-a-jungle-world Agnes (Elaine Cassidy).

it was interesting to see how each of the characters imposed their own set of values on each situation they encountered; from the theatre where all the other scientists poo-pooed Professor Challenger's theories and proposed expedition, to the flesh-hungry ape-men who surprised me with their compassion and ingenuity when the (t-rex?) stormed the village.

two hours and forty minutes was enough time to tell the tale, but left me wanting for much more due to the superior story-telling skill of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

i intend on buying the DVD as soon as i can, and i fully recommend this story to anyone with a passion for prehistoric adventure overlaid with modern (well, early 20th century modern) values.