Search - The Island of Dr. Moreau on DVD

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Actor(s): Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk, Ron Perlman
Director(s): John Frankenheimer
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Movie Details

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children
Movie Release: 1996
DVD Release: 08/20/1997
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan
Audio Tracks: English, French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins
Studio: New Line Home Video
Total Copies: 2
Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Creature Film, Sci-Fi Horror

DVD Synopsis

On a remote tropical island, Dr. Moreau has appointed himself ruler over a menagerie of genetic mutants fashioned in his gene-splicing chamber of horrors. The products of his misguided attempt to create a more "pure" human species, the man-beasts worship Moreau as their god and "father" and live by his code of law -- a code rigidly enforced by radio-operated implants in their bodies capable of inflicting pain and death. Into this surreal nightmare arrives UN negotiator Edward Douglas (David Thewlis), the sole survivor of an airplane crash. Douglas is brought ashore on Moreau's island -- against his better judgment -- by the doctor's insane, drug-addled assistant, Montgomery (Val Kilmer), and eventually becomes a prisoner. Horrified by the doctor's monstrous experiments and afraid for his own life, Douglas seeks the aid of Moreau's lovely daughter, Aissa (Fairuza Balk), in escaping the island, but is foiled at every turn by Montgomery and his armed man-beast lackeys. Eventually, the creatures discover the existence of their electronic implants and remove them, providing the opportunity for an armed rebellion -- but eventual regression into their original animal state causes their revolt to collapse into anarchy. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Actors

Marlon Brando - Dr. Moreau
Val Kilmer - Montgomery
David Thewlis - Douglas
Fairuza Balk - Aissa
Ron Perlman - Sayer Of The Law

Editorial Review of DVD

John Frankenheimer directs Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau, which comes to DVD with a pair of transfers. The widescreen transfer preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is preferable to the standard full-frame image. An English soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1, and a French soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. There are neither subtitles nor closed captions on this release. Supplemental materials include trailers, interviews with the cast and crew, and biographies of the cast and crew. Although the film was a turkey in theaters, New Line has done a fairly decent job with the DVD. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

Matthew C. (CoopXL) from KENOSHA, WI wrote on 9/2/2009...

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

The production of "Moreau" was riddled with problems; the original director was fired, the new director and many of the actors didn't get along, many involved simply behaved unprofessionally, etc... Unfortunately, it all shows in the final product.

The island and all of Dr. Moreau's work tumbles into chaos, but so does the movie. One gets the feeling that no one was in charge while making the movie. Brando is one of the greats, and normally I've no complaints about Kilmer, but they both phone it in here. There is a scene where Kilmer does an impersonation of Brando that seems pretty disrespectful. John Fankenheimer was an accomplished director, but he never pulled it together here.

Having said all that, David Thewlis and Ron Perlman give fine performances and the script is okay. And the story (not the script, per se) is thought-provoking.

The creature effects by Stan Winston are outstanding, even by today's CGI standards. This alone almost makes the movie watchable.