Land That Time Forgot

Doug McClure stars as American adventurer Bowen Tyler in this British production. McClure and director Kevin Connor would make two other similar films based on Burroughs novels, "At the Earth's Core," from the more ambitious Pelucidar series and a sequel to this film "The People That Time Forgot." Along for the ride are the beautiful and brainy biologist in distress, Lisa Clayton (Susan Penhaligon), U-Boat Captain Von Schoenvorts (John McEnery) and his cunning second in command Deitz (Anthony Ainley), along with a savy Brit named Bradley (Keith Barron) who manages to be put off by being eaten by the dinosaurs longer than most of his mates. Of course not only do these people have to watch out for dinosaurs and cavemen, they have to watch out for each other. "The Land That Time Forgot" is a film that teaches its young British audience that even during World War I when the Germans were not Nazis you still could not trust them.

The story is basic adventure, with Tyler and company facing one peril after another. The script is decent, given the going ons; Michael Morcock worked on the script along with James Cawthorn, so there is an inherent assumption that all of the good stuff belongs to the noted fantasy writer. There is an attempt to get into some of ERB's reasoning for the existence of "Caprona," as the lost continent is called, but it only muddles the film until the action gets going again. The cast takes the situation seriously, which is a prerequisite in any film like this, but while the action is above average the special effects are tacky. The dinosaurs are laughable and the miniatures are not much better. Still, you get an indication of how much fun the action-adventures elements are (for this particular genre and this particular time) when the film still gets 4 stars despite the hokey dinosaurs.

It is also very educational for a child. I love it when von Schoenhertz and the English girl (who is very pretty by the way) who is a botanist are discussing the bacteria they found on Caprona. It succinctly presents the difference in perspectives between "German metaphysics" as she says, and "British empiricism" as von Schoenhertz says. Then they get into an argument over conduct of the Great War. She accuses the Germans of brutality, but von Schoenhertz presents his very Germanic, Neitzschean rebuttal by going off on how she is naive and "life is founded upon killing and destruction" and "the sea is teeming with living things that prey upon one another to survive." That's very philosphical stuff for such a movie, and a great way to get kids interested in these things. It's cool too because Dietz represents the brutal German the English girl accuses von Schoenhertz of being, when in fact von Schonehertz is actually more the reflective, scientific German in the vein of Schopenhauer, Freud and Jung and he is in many ways more civilized than anyone else in the film. He is the elder, wise father figure. The British are portryaed as pragamatic, rational and generally compassionate -- the diplomats. But who Burroughs really exalts above all others is Mr. Tyler, the American. He is the brash, young (as America itself is comparitively) man who exudes the physical, masculine side of life -- he is the virile Alpha male who acts and leads, the hero. Despite his basically boorish character, the English girl cannot help but to be very attracted to him even though she has much more in common with von Schoenhertz, the Thinker.

It's an interesting position that Rice Borroughs takes, namely that in his day and age, the value of the alpha male hero and his "animal magnetism" exceeds that of the more introverted, reflective man of von Shcoenhertz. This is understandable given the feeling in Britain at the time that the manliness of the nation was ebbing away and they had better recapture that masculine spirit or fade away. It's also interesting that Burroughs sees the American Tyler and hence America itself as a possible saviour of the Anglo-Saxon "civilization" or "race" or more specifically the old and tired mother of Great Britain which in its perceived malaise was losing ground to and being threatened by the more brutal, energetic and meticulous Germans. It's all very metaphorical. Given what happened in the Great War and then some 25 years later in WWII, he seems to have been very prophetic.

In any event, there is a huge subtext to this seemingly simple film, and a rich thematic exposition. It presents archetypeal themes and perspectives, and this is why I believe the film (and the book) holds up so well and is even a testament to history DESPITE the lame special effects, which, when compared to such heady stuff as the themes presented, are inconsequential to the value of the film.

God Save the Queen! Sorry, my Anglophilia carried me away there:-)

The action sequences are spectacular (Particularly the various ship versus ship battles and the volcanic eruption). The prehistoric sets and the sets of the submarine are also very well made and convincing. However, the dinosaur effects aren't just convincing enough. This is especially with the recent C.G.I effects used in dinosaur films today. However it is clear that this is because of the low budget and not because the cast and crew had no talent.

But everything considered, I found this to be a fun, enjoyable movie I will watch whenever it is broadcasted on television. But, even despite the low cost, I would think before I purchase it. Unless, that is, it was a Special Edition DVD version (Hint Hint).