{This review is for the 93-minute "restored version}Watching "The Lost World" is like going back in time, alright. Not necessarily to Jurassic days, but to an era of pure adventure informed by sportsmanship and self-denial.What else is there to say when a romance between the two protagonists is blocked by a case of qualms over the feelings of someone else: "I can't steal my happiness from another woman" is the sort of line that feels more out of place today than Brontosaurs or Pterodactyls.What "The Lost World" is famous for is those dinosaurs, which show up here 30 minutes in and are a constant presence to the end. The technical wizardry of Willis H. O'Brien to this end is the picture's main attraction and legacy, yet even before that you get pulled in by a larkish backstory and an engaging cast, headed by Wallace Beery as the irascible explorer Professor Challenger.Challenger starts out with a chip on his shoulder: He has just discovered a hidden plateau in South America populated by dinosaurs, but no one believes him and he is denounced in the press. When reporter Edward Malone (Lloyd Hughes) appears uninvited in his apartment, Challenger's initial reaction is to throttle him. But Malone calms him down. It turns out he wants in on Challenger's return expedition, as his girlfriend won't marry him until he manages to "look death in the face without flinching."The film works as a kind of Tintin story, with director Harry Hoyt presenting broad comic relief, a cast of particular supporting characters, a cute monkey, and a fetching female, Paula (Bessie White), whose father disappeared back in that plateau. I was so charmed by the story I almost forgot about the dinosaurs, until suddenly there's a Pterodactyl flying overhead.1925 was very early days for stop-motion action, though O'Brien had done this for a decade. The excellence of the monsters' detail, and the lively way they engage with one another and their environment, sells the action wonderfully. Sure, it's primitive, but like other reviewers here note, the action is more authentic than many films of a much later age.But just as "Lost World" pioneers special effects, it pioneers something less positive: How special effects overtake a movie to the point of insensibility.Hoyt surrenders his focus on the actors and the story, slender as they are, to give most of the attention to the dinosaurs. This works to the extent O'Brien keeps things interesting, with a series of dino- battles and, later, a volcanic eruption. But as the characters retreat more into the background, seen pointing and exclaiming and little else, something important is lost. What was a story devolves into spectacle.Only twice does the dinosaur action connect with the rest of the story. The first time, when a pesty Allosaurus with a Tony Montana complex shows up at the explorers' campsite, is the highlight of the movie, its eyes lighting up eeriely as it pokes its head through the surrounding trees. The second time, involving a brontosaurus taking out the site of a famous nursery rhyme, is thrilling to watch but, from a story perspective, completely nonsensical and anticlimactic."The Lost World" offers fantastic moments and much promise, but deserves praise mostly for giving O'Brien his first big stage. He delivers in such a way time loses meaning in two directions, both by recreating prehistoric life and sustaining century-old cinematic thrills.

Any film buff with half a brain who has seen this film will appreciate its place as one of the most important special effects films of all time. It baffles me the rating stands at a mere 7.1 on this site. While not a masterpiece in every sense of the word (the dinosaurs are far more compelling than the humans), this 1925 gem was single-handedly responsible for pioneering stop-motion animation and inspired countless filmmakers to pursue their dreams well after the film's release. Factoring in the film's outdated stereotypes and racism into one's opinion of how it holds up today is pathetic and pointless! It's hard to say how things would have been different and what rate visual effects would have evolved had this not been made. Willis O'Brien refined the methods he used on TLW for "King Kong" a mere 8 years later, a classic which owes its special effects, story, and legacy to "The Lost World". The craftsmanship and wonder that TLW displays is beyond comparison; no "lost world" movie since has given such an epic display of prehistoric life. Remarkable. See the restored edition if possible!

Due to Jeff Goldblum's smugness and a very poor script, The Lost World is one of Stephen Spielberg's weakest movies, featuring action sequences that last too long, too many characters to mention, and an underused Arliss Howard. Luckily someone in 1925 made a great film also called The Lost World, so you should probably watch that one instead.In what I think is the British Natural History museum, a professor has announced that he's found a hard to access plateaux that still holds a full eco-system of dinosaurs. Fed up with everyone pointing and laughing at him, the professor states that he's heading back there to rescue someone he had to leave behind. He recruits the daughter of the missing man, a cynical scientist, a big game hunter, a guy in blacked up make up called, worryingly, Zambo, and very reluctantly, a journalist (after the two of them have a good old punch up). They also have some other guy and a monkey tag along too.They get to the plateaux pretty quickly, and just in time to see a Pteradactyl flying around, so they know they're at the right place. There's also some kind of monkey man up there who doesn't like the look of these strangers and tries to crush them with a rock (the make up for this guy is top class, considering the age of this film). Eventually, they do get up there, only for a Brontosaurus to come along and ruin their only route out.What follows thereafter is a brilliant parade of stop motion dinosaurs chowing down on each other and trying to eat the cast, while the cast are stalked by monkey man and try and figure out how to escape. For example, an Allosaur attacks a Tricerotops and gets gored for his trouble, only for another Allosaur to come along, attack the Tricerotops, then grab a Pteradactyl out of the sky and eat that too! That's good stuff right there man. There's also a post-volcanic eruption scene full of dinosaurs that must have been some spectacle back in the day.It's a very short film (just over an hour, although now I see that I've watched an edited version) and worth a look for those interested in the old dinosaur movies, or to see what a special effects extravaganza from the twenties looks like. I liked it immensely. You might too. The stop motion stuff isn't too far from what Brett Piper does these days to be honest. Also, the professor reminded me of Brian Blessed.Or you can go watch the Hunger Games or whatever. I don't care.

I really enjoyed this movie, I'm not going to lie. I really enjoyed the terrible, albeit costly and lavishly done special effects and the cheesy, all too predictable romantic yarn thrown in there. I have a lot of experience watching movies of all ages and types, and I don't make the mistake of comparing silent movies to talkies, since the dramatic form of the motion picture simply works better with sound. Therefore, judging this movie on its own merits and within the confines of silent cinema, it's a really solid adventure flick, good for the whole family. It definitely is dated and would seem really silly to most people coming in to it expecting an action film. Still, if you can put up with it, then have fun!