The Watchdog Barks
WELCOME TO the landmark 75th issue of VIDEO WATCH­DOG—The Perfectionist’s Guide to Fantastic Video. We’re celebrating this mile­
stone issue with a feature article to match: Stephen R. Bissette’s definitive look at Willis O’Brien’s silent classic THE LOST WORLD (1925), the film that introduced stop-motion animation, and seemingly live dinosaurs, to the feature film format. Steve not only brings his considerable knowledge as a film historian to this assignment, but some paleontology chops as well: he has devoted years of his life to the scientific study of dinosaurs, which he put to memorable use in the four completed issues of his unfinished magnum opus, TYRANT. In the past few years, more than 30 minutes of foot­ age (unseen and believed to be lost since 1929) has been restored to THE LOST WORLD, and the heart of Steve’s information-packed article is a meticulous comparison of the recent George Eastman House 35mm restoration (not yet avail­ able on video) and David Shepard’s more re­ cent digital restoration, which was released last April on VHS and DVD by Image Entertainment. Our LOST WORLD coverage also includes an interview with Shepard by Tom Weaver about the restoration, and Steve’s interview with Ken Winokur of The Alloy Orchestra, who provided a stirring original score for Image’s home video release. For decades, fantasy film buffs have been
volubly pining for the discovery of any ragged remnant from MGM’s supposedly “ lost” Tod Browning/Lon Chaney film LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927), a picture which surviving audience members seem to unanimously recall as disappointing. For some reason, despite its stronger critical reputation and historic signifi­ cance, David Shepard’s restoration of more than half-an-hour to THE LOST WORLD (including never-before-seen animation footage and an additional 13m reel of animation outtakes) doesn’t seem to have raised a whole lot of eye­ brows among genre fans. Perhaps the earlier Eastman House restoration (which dropped a
crucial animation sequence present in the cut versions!) deprived it of the element of surprise; it certainly can’t help that
Amazon.com’s posted review of the disc (dated May 2000!) avers that “it does not contain the recently restored foot­ age,” clearly referencing the Slingshot/Lumi- vision DVD of the incomplete version that is still in circulation (and packaged with the same poster art). Image may have also unwittingly set up some consumers for disappointment by mentioning nowhere on their packaging that THE LOST WORLD is a silent movie (!), though the progressive, percussive score by The Alloy Orchestra brings a bracingly contemporary pulse to the picture. (A more traditional score is also provided.) Anyway, we hope that Steve’s article— and his infectious excitement—will help to excite more well-deserved interest in this miraculous disc, which encapsulates (for me, at least) what great home video is all about. Some other interesting restoration notes in
this issue: Check Richard Harland Smith’s re­ view of F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATÜ (another Image release) in our DVD section; it’s another instance of a fairly important dress-up of a major classic (also by Mr. Shepard) going fairly unno­ ticed, which is especially inexplicable given the preposterous enthusiasm so many have shown for Universal’s stodgy and rather aimless SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. And our Letterbox offers VW Informant Michael Barrett’s fascinat­ ing addendum to Richard’s coverage of Joseph Losey’s EVA/EVA in VW #73. Before letting you get on with your reading,
I want to quickly assuage any fears out there that we’ve seen the end of “Tapes From the Attic” and “Other Regions.” “Tapes From the Attic” would have returned this issue, but our LOST WORLD coverage ran long; we have re­ views in hand, and we are hoping to revive the column next issue. As for “Other Regions,” it has been assimilated in this issue into “Watch­ dog News,” with Nathaniel Thompson’s report on Medusa Video’s new Italian DVD of Dario Argento’s Nonhosonno. OK? OK. Just think: Only two more years to go till VW
# 100!
Tim Lucas 3
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