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The Land That Time Forgot

Play trailer Poster for The Land That Time Forgot PG 1975 1h 31m Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
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43% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) is among a small group of survivors taken in by a German submarine after the vessel has sunk their ship. When a struggle ensues between the German officers and their captives, the U-boat, which is running out of fuel, ends up coming across an uncharted island. Unfortunately for the passengers and crew, dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures roam the land, and everyone must fight to survive the perils of the lost island.
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The Land That Time Forgot

Critics Reviews

View All (14) Critics Reviews
Jay Cocks TIME Magazine Instant second childhood is guaranteed in less than 90 minutes. Sep 6, 2009 Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out It starts off promisingly with some stylised and ridiculous heroics involving a German sub, but once the island has been occupied and a few excellent monsters vanquished, the plot settles down to some very ordinary machinations. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review New York Times Just as the much grander Jaws became less scary the moment its mechanical shark appeared, the early virtues of Land collapse once the island is reached and the traffic jam in artificial monsters develops. Rated: 2/4 May 9, 2005 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins The outdated, gimmicky dinosaur segments are the real treat, using rubbery puppets enlarged by camera tricks (appearing like toys during close-ups) to create excitement. Rated: 5/10 Aug 30, 2020 Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending A drab little splat of a movie, a swashbuckling adventure about a mysterious island full of dinosaurs in which the adventure is inert. Rated: 2/5 Jul 4, 2018 Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing A higher budget and a longer running time would have made this even better, but even as it stands, it's a satisfying film in the Saturday-matinee mold. Rated: 3/4 May 28, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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CodyZamboni Z The first hour is a WW1 submarine drama, Once they get to the title island, the entertainment factor rose. The impressive matte paintings, the campy dinos, are fun. But what sinks the movie is the unecessary, annoying caveman sub plot, They should've just focused on the sub crew battling dinos and escaping from volcano disaster. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/11/24 Full Review Michael C The original film adaptation of "The Land That Time Forgot" is a good movie. That's it. Just good. That in and of itself is fine of course. The special effects are mediocre at best, but they are fine for a movie of this kind (and budget). Almost reminded me of the original Toho Studios Godzilla movies. The late Doug McClure is all well and good as the main hero of the story Bowen Tyler. One of the movie's liabilities is it is very slow moving at times. There were parts of the movie which just seemed to drag on for too long. Another liability is the fight sequences between the main characters and the primitive humans who live on the hidden island of Caprona. There were too many quick cuts and the camera did not focus enough of aspects of the fights, the scene just kept jumping from clip to clip to clip. With that being said, "The Land That Time Forgot" is not a bad movie. It is good and entertaining, but I think it could have been better. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/06/24 Full Review alan g Should be,"the movie that time forgot". Insipid plot, horrible acting, special effects that are not special. Good thing everyone dies so no sequel. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/22/24 Full Review Liam D I also watched this through Netflix's MST3K and some of the riffing was actually very funny so once again a great track elevated a pretty mediocre movie Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/22 Full Review Audience Member They need to get to the dinosaurs earlier, it's why we're here. For the first 20–30 mins, it was a continual back and forth over who controlled the submarine: the Germans or the British (with the aid of a swashbuckling, American (Doug McClure)). The descent into this land from which time is no longer counting was actually pretty cool, marked with the quick introduction of the plesiosaur. My hopes were pretty high at this point, thinking to myself, "We finally made it. Let the wild rumpus start!" And while overall I did enjoy the low-budget dinosaurs, the story and acting falls apart, leaving me checking the remainder of the run-time on several occasions. A notable exception to the dinosaurs are the pterodactyls, which were indefensible in their low-quality; neither their mouths nor wings moved, as if an invisible hand was carrying them through the air. It felt like a movie that came out closer to 1955 than 1975, but the little charm it had quickly wore off. The ending also left me scratching my head, as I couldn't understand why everyone in the submarine was like… dying? Considering that the 2009 remake of the film has a (Not Rated/9) on RT, maybe TLTTF should remain as a novel. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I think this was pretty much meant to be a silly B-movie from the get go Being that it's based on the best selling book by Edgar Rice Burroughs mostly known for writing ‘Tarzan' Taking place during World War 1 a group of sailors are shipwrecked and come across an exotic island Little did they expect to find was Neanderthal cavemen along with still living, breathing dinosaurs! So these American troops and German soldiers from an enemy submarine decide to put aside their differences to survive in this strange new land It's filled with many discoveries as well as dangers They even befriend one of the cavemen showing them the layout of the land and finding an abundant supply of oil Turns out the source of life on this island also determines the cycle of evolution, nothing can ever go back only move forward These creature effects remind me so much of the Ray Harryhausen days of old; they're not the most convincing effects but you can't help but laugh at the silliness of it all Ending is kinda a downer and there's so many things you can make fun of here for enjoyments sake Doug McClure was infamously known for starring in many creature features such as this with beautiful leading ladies so I can understand why this has gained a cult following over the years Just disposable entertainment but not the worst Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Land That Time Forgot

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Movie Info

Synopsis Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) is among a small group of survivors taken in by a German submarine after the vessel has sunk their ship. When a struggle ensues between the German officers and their captives, the U-boat, which is running out of fuel, ends up coming across an uncharted island. Unfortunately for the passengers and crew, dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures roam the land, and everyone must fight to survive the perils of the lost island.
Director
Kevin Connor
Producer
John Dark, Milton Subotsky
Screenwriter
Michael Moorcock, James Cawthorn
Production Co
Amicus Productions, Lion International
Rating
PG
Genre
Fantasy
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 31m
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