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The Island of Dr. Moreau

Play trailer Poster for The Island of Dr. Moreau PG 1977 1h 38m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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54% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After his ship sinks, Andrew Braddock (Michael York) washes ashore on a tropical island owned by Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster). While waiting for a ship to return him to civilization, Braddock becomes disturbed by the strange creatures roaming the island, and at the same time falls for the lovely Maria (Barbara Carrera), who lives with Moreau. Soon Braddock discovers that the creatures are the results of Moreau's sinister experiments, and plots to escape before he himself becomes a victim.
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The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau

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Critics Consensus

The Island of Dr. Moreau takes a reasonably entertaining pass at adapting its classic source material, although key scenes are let down by struggles with special effects.

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Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety Lancaster, despite his ungodly ideas, is given some resonance as a man who thinks his demented work is for the betterment of the human race. York gives one of his best performances, and Barbara Carrera's enigmatic beauty is evocatively treated. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review David Pirie Time Out Only Michael York's metamorphosis into a beast has any impact, and the film predictably fails to follow through even on that. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times The performers display a kind of disciplined intelligence that keeps them from bursting through the style of the film into comic limbo. May 9, 2005 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Less an exercise in stark horror and moody ambience -- the defining traits of the classic 1932 adaptation Island of Lost Souls, starring Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau -- and more a straightforward adventure yarn with a sci-fi bent. Rated: 3/4 Oct 11, 2021 Full Review Ruth Batchelor Los Angeles Free Press It scared the hell out of me and I loved it. Oct 22, 2019 Full Review Fernando Trueba El Pais (Spain) This adaptation features moments that are truly unsettling, which is one of the few achievements of this type of cinema. Burt Lancaster is convincing in his role of the complex Dr. Moreau. [Full Review in Spanish] Jul 26, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John W It is the best version of Island of Dr Moreau. It wasn't bad and its an ok film, not bad but a lot better than the rest. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/14/24 Full Review Mike P (spoilers) Cheap rendering of the old HG Wells classic; which was really just another version of the old "Haunted Amusement Park" trope; that is when travellers come upon some seemingly enchanted paradise type place; just to later learn there's a dark secret and their lives are in danger. In this case a group of explorers, headed by a Mr. Braddock, is shipwrecked on a mysterious island off the African continent; run by a mysterious Dr. Moreau; a mad scientist who's turning all the human inhabitants there into raving animals. You see...Moreau is studying the missing link...and how easy it is to merge animals and man into a strange hybrid...from whence they came...And there's some cool imagery and ideas here...but it's eventually undone by its mostly cheap and chintzy production values and it's sloppy direction. Not recommended. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/07/24 Full Review Blu B Okay so this is MUCH better than the 96' version but that's still not saying much. This is at least passable and not broken or bizarre by any stretch. The cinematography is pretty decent with some good action at the end and acouple nice shots here and there. The costume design is also not bad and kind of is like the Planet of the Apes type design. It looks much better than the 96' design despite being just ok. The camerawork is a bit basic also. Everything else is just ok overall. For 75% of the runtime it kind of meanders and is a slow burn. It feels like stuff just happens to Edward as he explores the island and interacts with Moreau. It makes sense enough and has some thought provoking commentary but it doesn't do it in a natural flowing fashion. It starts to lose focus a bit also when it focuses on the creatures in the cave and Edward at the same time. The other issue is outside of Moreau none of the characters are that devloped. We don't learn much about Edward until the final 15 minutes. This needed more devloped creatures and humans like Planet of the Apes. Finally it feels like at the end the ramped up frantic pacing comes out of nowhere and this goes from 0 to 100 instantly in the final 20 minutes. It feels like it is overcomepensating for going too slow. Also, Lancaster is sophiticated but he's never really menacing and he needed to have more of a darker towering prescence but he's not half bad. World's better than Brando. York for 90% of the time is just ok but at the end when he is changing into the creature is pretty good actually and really emotional. I wish his whole performance was like that. Anyway, unless your abig fan of any actors in this I can't really recommend this to anyone. Or if you wanna see a more stable version of the 96' disaster. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/13/23 Full Review A.L.Jude P The best out of the Dr.Moreau saga with a human touch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review robert p This is the second The Island of Dr. Moreau but I liked the first one with Charles Laughton. Even the third one stank. This is not the original movie! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review delysid d Those who Break the Law, must go back to the House of Pain! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/28/17 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - The Possibilities Are Endless The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - The Possibilities Are Endless 3:14 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Tiger vs. Tigerman The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Tiger vs. Tigerman 0:45 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - No More Law The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - No More Law 1:32 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Opening the Cages The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Opening the Cages 2:37 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - What Were They? The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - What Were They? 1:38 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Escaping the Island The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Escaping the Island 2:13 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Let Him Up The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - Let Him Up 0:51 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - What Are You Doing to Me? The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - What Are You Doing to Me? 1:16 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - His Is the House of Pain The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - His Is the House of Pain 1:44 The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - I Remember It All! The Island of Dr. Moreau: Official Clip - I Remember It All! 1:55 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis After his ship sinks, Andrew Braddock (Michael York) washes ashore on a tropical island owned by Dr. Moreau (Burt Lancaster). While waiting for a ship to return him to civilization, Braddock becomes disturbed by the strange creatures roaming the island, and at the same time falls for the lovely Maria (Barbara Carrera), who lives with Moreau. Soon Braddock discovers that the creatures are the results of Moreau's sinister experiments, and plots to escape before he himself becomes a victim.
Director
Don Taylor
Producer
Skip Steloff
Screenwriter
Al Ramrus, John Herman Shaner, Richard Alan Simmons
Production Co
American Internat'l Pics
Rating
PG
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 38m
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