With a history as romantic and incredible as the story it relates, we're very fortunate to be able to experience the silent fantasy epic "The Lost World". It's the film that inspired "King Kong", and ultimately "Jurassic Park". Why have you not heard more about this movie before? Well, here unravels a fascinating story.

The advent of sound in movies in 1927 killed off silent cinema within four years flat. Although released in 1925, "The Lost World" was by 1929 regarded obsolete as a sound remake was planned, which eventually became "King Kong". The incredible decision was made that all prints of "The Lost World" were to be destroyed. Miraculously some reels survived, and a 35mm print was found in Prague. Through painstaking restoration, this movie is now back with us and available on DVD soon.

The plot borrows from the Arthur Conan Doyle book of the same name. In it, a Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) puts together a research team to authenticate his claims to have seen prehistoric monsters in the Brazilian jungle. The sceptical group is soon screaming for their lives upon arrival in a forgotten land, where dinosaurs roam and ape-men rule.

Script continuity is at times quite poor, but back then no-one knew if the technical effects could be made to look realistic enough. The script was duly written so that no effects would be needed, but FX genius Willis O'Brien produced such convincing movie dinosaurs that portions of the script were removed for his work to take centre stage.

While not as exciting as "King Kong", this is still a movie way ahead of its time. The effects often impress, the cinematic scale of it is ambitious, and many of you will recognise direct parallels with Spielberg's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park".

Read a review of the DVD.

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