'The Island of Dr. Moreau' Being Remade Again

[Walts Ghost]

Writers Hired For Another ‘Island of Dr. Moreau’ Remake

Briefly: Two writers have been hired to make a third film adaptation of H.G. Wells‘ 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. Warner Bros. tapped Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy, producers on the Netflix show Hemlock Grove, to adapt the novel in a modern, socially conscious sci-fi film.

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The novel was first made into a movie in 1977, starring Burt Lancaster, and again in 1996, staring Marlon Brando. Both told the tale of a crazy scientist who creates humanoid creatures from animals. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is among the producing partners.

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[Buscemi]

I read Hemlock Grove was awful.

Anyway, this could be a good project for David Cronenberg (in the event that he ever wanted to return to horror).

[The Great Owl]

The "modern, socially conscious" description seems like the mother of all red flags.

I'll be interested to find out what the final result shapes up to be, though.

[esteban²]

Leonardo DiCaprio is involved. Might be the main part? I kinda hope so.

[blonde_devil]

if they just stick to the book, it would be a decent movie. but Hollywood being Hollywood, you know they won't. they will probably keep remaking this until they make it right - it may be the second movie with the "Dr Moreau" title but this movie has been made a few more times than that(Island of Lost Souls, etc).

[ditcin]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

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The novel was first made into a film in 1932 and entitled, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS.
-Scott

[EricJ]

So, who gets to play the Panther Woman this time, even though she wasn't in the book?

(I remember seeing one filmed stage production that tried playing the story as a "repressed racial" allegory, where the hybrids were black actors without makeup, and ended with the Panther Woman escaping to the mainland now as a completely human liberated black woman with specist issues...
Y'know, I wouldn't put it past the "socially conscious" series, but think they're going for the Hemlock Grove ripoff instead.)

[Fortion]

seems fine to me lets see what happens

[klauswhereareyou]

5th, 6th.....20th times a charm maybe???

[Scourge]

I'll always love the John Frankenheimer version.

Modern, socially conscious? **** that.

[Buscemi]

The best thing about the Frankenheimer version: it inspired Dr. Mephisto on South Park.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

The best thing about the Frankenheimer version: it inspired Dr. Mephisto on South Park.

And Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by aoife

I'll always love the John Frankenheimer version.

Modern, socially conscious? **** that.

I liked that one too as well as the 1977 version...

[Scourge]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

The best thing about the Frankenheimer version: it inspired Dr. Mephisto on South Park.

Wrong. The best thing about it was Gary Chang's score. Just beautiful!

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by EricJ

And Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies.

I had to think about that for a minute... and then

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I had to think about that for a minute... and then

No joke--The scene where Dr. Evil commissions his own midget clone was supposed to be a then-current movie parody of Marlon Brando replicating his own pet midget-Moreau in the '98 movie.
And what the heck was up with THAT, is just one of the questions I've never been able to answer about the nutty Frankenheimer version.

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I liked that one too as well as the 1977 version.

The only "social conscience" in Wells' book was the Victorian protest against animal vivisection at the time--
Although card-carrying socialist Wells also decided to throw in the little metaphor about how religion is "created" to be thrust upon man to raise him out of his social "animal" state, but animals will be animals...

The 1977 version touched upon a little book-theme at the end, as

[Show spoiler]Michael York tries to restore Moreau's influence by hoisting his corpse up on a rope and saying "See, he rises again!"

, and the '98 version tried for a little metaphor, but...just got too nutty.

[olivasauce]

Can't say I loved or even liked the version of this I saw (Brando and Kilmer) however I do think it was a very interesting movie and would be down for a proper remake or the story.

[Buscemi]

The little person was Marlon Brando's idea. Brando had taken a liking to him while off the set and managed to use his clout to give him a role.

[charlieray1]

Originally Posted by ditcin

The novel was first made into a film in 1932 and entitled, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS.

Absolutely. And not only was it the first version, it's the best by a long shot. The 70's version was enjoyable if nothing special, the Brando one was a disaster. But the original was a dark, creepy masterpiece. H.G. Wells hated it and was glad when it was banned in England, but it has held up beautifully. Charles Laughton is wonderful, as is Bela Lugosi in a small role.

It's available on blu from Criterion.

[The Great Owl]

The 1932 film, Island of Lost Souls, differs in many ways from the H.G. Wells novel, but it captures the spirit of the novel better than anything since, in the same way that the Universal adaptations of Dracula and Frankenstein from that era somehow capture the spirit of those respective novels better than any films have done since then.

I have a soft spot for the 1977 adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau, though. It's a good old rugged adventure movie, Barbara Carrera is smoking hot, and Burt Lancaster lends a unique menace to the title role.