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If you’ve ever seen the 1990 post-apocalyptic Hardware, you probably recognized the sheer genius of its writer and director Richard Stanley. Additionally, if you’ve ever seen his follow-up, the supernatural horror film Dust Devil, then you are well aware that his unique vision is definitely not for the mainstream. Which made the announcement from New Line Cinema way back in 1996 that he would be helming their remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau all the more interesting. Here was a (back then) B-movie and horror movie company breaking out into the big leagues with a major production of a classic novel about a god-like figure making humans out of animals through vivisection and placing the content in the hands of a true science fiction visionary.

We all thought it was too good to be true. And it was. After less than a week of filming – after the script was written, the storyboard completed, the locations picked, the creature makeup molded, and the cast assembled – New Line Cinema axed Stanley and shut down the production for three weeks. They packed his bags, hired someone to escort him to the plane, and started looking for other directors. Except Stanley, being the genius that he is, never boarded the plane. He couldn’t leave The Island of Dr. Moreau behind and for good reason; he wanted to watch the whole thing burn.

David Gregory’s Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau is a documentary that – told by those who survived the brutal filming – recounts that unexpected journey that became John Frankenheimer’s poor remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau. It is a feature-length film that recalls the high Stanley felt while working on a revision of the material – a solid four month endeavor – to the lows as he realized he was in over his head with Kilmer’s bad attitude and no support from New Line Cinema.

While neither Marlon Brando or Val Kilmer provide insight into their legendary onset tantrums and diva-like attitudes, the documentary features enough eyewitness testimonies from Fairuza Balk, Temuera Derek Morrison, and Marco Hofschneider (whose part got significantly reduced thanks to Brando’s love of Nelson de la Rosa as the miniature version of himself) to make your agree that a hell of a lot of wrong went down during the rain forest shoot just outside Cairns in North Queensland, Australia.

And that’s only the beginning. From hurricanes to witchcraft and Stanley’s own sneaking back onto the set in a dog costume, Gregory’s documentary hilarious and frightening as hell. Most of the actors – including Rob Morrow (who dropped out as quickly as he could once he got there) – have struggled to find decent work since appearing in the movie and, while they don’t comment on it, the one connection they all have is this movie. Thewlis, who stepped in when Bruce Willis and Rob Morrow dropped, refuses to talk about the film.

Combined with two other discs of supplemental material, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau is a fascinating documentary that solidly stands beside Jodorowsky's Dune and Lost in La Mancha. Definitely check it out.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: David Gregory
Cast: Richard Stanley, Kier-La Janisse, Michael Gingold
Genre: Documentary
Tagline: Lost Soul
Memorable Movie Quote: "This is gonnabe a huge proejct and this is gonna propel Richard Stanley into the stardom that he deserves."
Distributor: Severin Films
Official Site: http://severin-films.com/lost-soul-doomed-journey-richard-stanleys-island-dr-moreau-theatrical-screenings/
Release Date: No theatrical release
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: July 28, 2015
Synopsis: Behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous 1996 remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - July 28, 2015
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: LPCM 2.0
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Three-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD, 1 CD)
Region Encoding: A

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

Man, is this puppy loaded with supplemental material. Spread out over three discs, (one blu, one dvd, and one CD) you get the movie, a hefty amount of interview outtakes with the primary contributors, Graham Humphrey’s art concept gallery, a return to where the movie was filmed with two of its crew members, a recently discovered 1921 version of Moreau, and on the final disc, Richard Stanley provides a hypnotizing reading of the original movie. Damn good stuff to dive into here.

• Richard Stanley Outtake (48 min)
• Marco Hofschneider Outtake (17 min)
• Jim Sbardellati Outtake (6 min)
• Graham "Grace" Walker Outtake (2 min)
• Graham Humphreys Outtake (1 min)
• Hugh & Ollie Outtake (1 min)
• Graham Humphreys Concept Gallery with Commentary by Richard Stanley (15 min)
• Archive Moreau Interview with John Frankenheimer (6 min)
• Barbara Steele Recalls Moreau Audio Interview (5 min)
• The Beast of Morbido Featurette (10 min)
• The Hunt for the Compound (6 min)
• Boar Man Diary
• Trailer
• Insel der Verschollenen (Island of the Lost) (61 min)
• H.G. Wells on Film Featurette with Expert Sylvia Hardy (19 min)
• Richard Stanley on H.G. Wells (16 min)
• Richard Stanley Reads The Island of Dr. Moreau

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[tab title="Trailer"]

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