The Land That Time Forgot [DVD] [1975]

!!!WARNING. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!World War I.The survivors of a torpedoed British Merchant ship launch a daring raid on a German U-Boat, taking over command following a vicious hand-to-hand fight. Following various attempts at revolution and counter revolution on board the cramped boat, the German and British survivors form an uneasy truce when they discover the lost world of Caprona, a place of prehistoric beasts, tribes of primitive humans and also a place where evolution has been thrown out of the window as creatures from different time periods live side by side. There is also the very real threat of a volcano close to eruption. Can the fragile truce between the men hold out long enough for them to escape from the land that time forgot?Much is made of the poor quality special effects in this film. In fact, many critical reviews use this as a reason to lambast the film as a whole. This is entirely unfair as 'The Land That Time Forgot', an adaptation of an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, is a lot more than just a Boys Own adventure.Okay, the dinosaurs on display may look like they have come out of a cereal packet, but I find the rather primitive models just add to the charm of the film. This is especially the case with the two Tyrannosaur's who resemble Waldorf and Statler from the Muppet Show as they wobble and gurn in front of the astounded humans.However, whilst the dinosaur puppets could be considered a failure, the world of Caprona is designed and imagined very successfully. The various human tribes are also well realised.Of the actors, John Mcenery, despite being dubbed by German actor Anton Diffring, is very likeable as measured Captain Von Schoenvorts, while a pre-Doctor Who Anthony Ainley also does well as the treacherous Dietz. Doug Mclure is well, Doug Mclure, perfectly adequate as the rugged leading man Bowen Tyler, though Susan Penhaligon is rather bland as the sole female survivor. The rest of the cast is made up by a whos-who of 70's British character actors.The interesting script by British fantasy author Michael Moorcock throws many fascinating concepts into the mix, but in the end it's Bowen Tyler's fists that do the talking, as the survivors desperately try to leave Caprona before the volcano spews its deadly contents onto the fragile earth.The success of The Land That Time Forgot led to a sequel, The People That Time Forgot, and a brief but lucrative foray into the fantasy genre by Amicus films. I love every minute of the film, wobbly dinosaurs and all, as it was a childhood favourite of mine, and I feel it holds up extremely well nearly forty years after it was made.As for the dvd, it has a decent picture and sound quality, the main extra being a rather grainy 'making of' featurette. 5 out of 5.

this movie is another old time Jurassic park job. we see plastic dinosaurs and rubber lizards doing their business.but despite all this the film is a joy to watch. a scientifically thought provoking film about evolution of life all shown on this long lost volcanic island. many ideas can be drawn from this film. such as English and german officers forgetting their war differences in the wake of such a discovery of a natural marvel.a film with aspects of 1million years b.c and Jurassic park lost world that shows the comparisons between stone age and modern men. a scientifically topical film I recommend to topically minded viewers.

This film is ok and probably I'm too old for it. I never got to watch this particular Doug McClure film as a kid and so wanted to fill the gap. I never worry about the special effects in older films since I know the story is fiction anyway. With this film I think it was a 'breaking the rules of science/chemistry' that was a bit of a let down for me - again too old for it. Still, its a good film for young children with just the right pitch of action and adventure and of course a submarine.

As Indicated in previous reviews This is a region A locked Disc. if your player is not for region A you will just get a blank screen However if you are fortunate This is not a bad release picture and sound quality are very good you olso get The Theactrial trailer for the movie and an interesting commentary from The Director Himself Not bad for a movie That is some 30 odd years old. Having The region two DVD release of This movie only thing I found which would have been helpful if They had included The updated interview from it's star Susan Penhaligon That is on The DVD release But at The end of The day This is no big loss. Good to see it on blu ray But I have only gave it four stars because of The region A locked.

Okay, it`s the The Land that time forgot, from 1975, so, you probably won`t be expecting a Spielberg-esque extravaganza (even if the fantastic DVD cover suggests otherwise). Still, TLTTF is nice, nostalgic (for those of a certain age), entertaining monster movie from a pre-CGI age. My main gripe is with the sound quailty on this particular DVD; the music soundtrack sounds terrible. I don`t remember the strings and brass sounding so wobbly and "jittery" and the voice parts occasionally sound like the actors are delivering their lines in a phonebox. The picture quality itself isn`t that great either, but I`m putting that down to the age of the movie (although, I am sure I have seen better quality versions of this movie on other DVD versions).This particular DVD comes with two bonus feature interviews; one with actress, Susan Penhaligon, and director, Kevin Connor, and that`s about it.Okay, rubbery hand puppet monsters aside, TLTTF offers cheesy, 70s entertaining, Saturday afternoon fun (maybe not for very young children); it`s just a pity the DVD quality is a bit of a let down.

The land that time forgot is surely the jurassic park of the 70's. A Movie with action and suspense which will take your breath away. Of-course the effects are not saying much and the dinos look fake but still are great considering the fact that we are talking about a movie which was made 33 years ago. I Remember watching this movie in a theater in the 70's and i will never forget the final scene with the submarine to go down through the flaming waters. A Movie MUST OWN.

I loved this film when I was a lot, lot younger. I know the special effects aren’t that special anymore but I really enjoyed the film all over again. Excellent film for a Sunday afternoon.

A typical film from this genre.However the casting is brilliant. The story is as far fetched as you could imagine, Dr Who fans will enjoy it. What else can I say.