The Lost World is a 2001 adaptation of the novel by
Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle,
DL was a British physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, directed by Stuart Orme and adapted by Adrian Hodges. It was produced by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
and broadcast on BBC1 in the UK and
A&EA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
in the United States. It consisted of two 75-minute episodes which were first aired in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
on the 25th and 26th of December, 2001, and in the USA on October 6 and 7, 2002.
Bob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor, known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, and for his performances in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Hook , and Super Mario Bros. .-Early life:Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England,...
played Professor Challenger and was supported by
James FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. He is also a paternal half-brother of Daniel Chatto and a brother-in-law of Lady Sarah Chatto...
,
Peter FalkPeter Michael Falk is an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles, and has been nominated for an Academy Award twice, and won the Emmy Award on five occasions and the Golden Globe award...
,
Matthew RhysMatthew Rhys Evans and known professionally as Matthew Rhys, is a Welsh actor, best-known as Kevin Walker, Sally Field's gay lawyer son, Calista Flockhart's and Rachel Griffiths's brother on the U.S...
,
Tom WardTom Ward is a Welsh actor, probably best known for his current role as Dr. Harry Cunningham in the long-running forensic drama series, Silent Witness.-Biography:...
and
Elaine CassidyElaine Cassidy is an Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills on Harper's Island.-Early life:Elaine Cassidy was born in Kilcoole, County Wicklow...
.
While on a journey through the remote regions of the Amazon rainforest, an animal shot by Challenger's (Hoskins) team turns out to be a prehistoric
pterosaurPterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period...
.
The Lost World is a 2001 adaptation of the novel by
Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle,
DL was a British physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, directed by Stuart Orme and adapted by Adrian Hodges. It was produced by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
and broadcast on BBC1 in the UK and
A&EA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
in the United States. It consisted of two 75-minute episodes which were first aired in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
on the 25th and 26th of December, 2001, and in the USA on October 6 and 7, 2002.
Bob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor, known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, and for his performances in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Hook , and Super Mario Bros. .-Early life:Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England,...
played Professor Challenger and was supported by
James FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. He is also a paternal half-brother of Daniel Chatto and a brother-in-law of Lady Sarah Chatto...
,
Peter FalkPeter Michael Falk is an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles, and has been nominated for an Academy Award twice, and won the Emmy Award on five occasions and the Golden Globe award...
,
Matthew RhysMatthew Rhys Evans and known professionally as Matthew Rhys, is a Welsh actor, best-known as Kevin Walker, Sally Field's gay lawyer son, Calista Flockhart's and Rachel Griffiths's brother on the U.S...
,
Tom WardTom Ward is a Welsh actor, probably best known for his current role as Dr. Harry Cunningham in the long-running forensic drama series, Silent Witness.-Biography:...
and
Elaine CassidyElaine Cassidy is an Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills on Harper's Island.-Early life:Elaine Cassidy was born in Kilcoole, County Wicklow...
.
Plot
While on a journey through the remote regions of the Amazon rainforest, an animal shot by Challenger's (Hoskins) team turns out to be a prehistoric
pterosaurPterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period...
. During a lecture at the
London Museum of Natural HistoryThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, he argues that it is genuine and that he shot it several months ago. The lecturer, Professor Summerlee (Fox) dismisses it as nothing more than a clever hoax, as do several others. Eventually ambitious John Roxton (Ward), a noted hunter and womanizer, and Daily Gazette columnist Edward Malone (Rhys) announce they will volunteer for the expedition.
On the boat, Challenger shows a sarcastic Summerlee and his expedition members a map, drawn up by a Portuguese man called Padre Mendoz who ended up in the remote, uncharted area of
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
which Challenger claims prehistoric creatures thrive. Most notably, there is a
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
, which would supposedly isolate the inhabitants from the evolutionary mainstream for millions of years. Upon arrival, Roxton begins flirting with Agnes (Cassidy), the niece of Reverend Theo Kerr, a priest who disregards the idea of evolution.
They eventually find the plateau. They cross over a log bridge, which the Reverend suddenly pushes into a deep crevice in an abrupt mood swing, thus leaving them stranded. In the jungle, Edward makes 'friends' with a
hypsilophodontHypsilophodonts were small ornithopod dinosaurs, regarded as fast, herbivorous bipeds on the order of 1-2 meters long . They are known from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, from rocks of Middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous age...
, and the stunned group spot an
IguanodonIguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
, and then a group of pterosaurs who attack and injure Summerlee.
They retreat to the forest where Edward is scared out of a tree by an ape that, in his words "looked almost human". In the middle of the night, while they are gathered around the campfire whispering about "Who will miss them if they die" they are attacked by a large carnosaur, which is later identified by Summerlee as an
allosaurAllosauroidea is a superfamily or clade of theropod dinosaurs which contains four families — the Sinraptoridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, and Neovenatoridae...
.They then search for and find a large lake in the centre of the plateau which Malone had discovered while up the tree,and he names it "Gladys" while Roxton and the professors rest by the beach. Edward and Agnes walk off along the beach until the Allosaur from last night emerges from the forest and drinks from the lake, but soon notices them as they run into the forest. In the cliffhanger ending of the first episode, the carnivore pursues them through the borders of the forest until they all fall into a pit, where the Allosaur is killed after being impaled on two wooden spikes.
After making their escape, they find out that Challenger and Summerlee have been kidnapped by the ape-men. The apes take them to an enclosed sacrificial chamber, where they are placed on a thick sheet of rock which is covered with blood. The sun shines through a crack and the beasts place Summerlee's head in a groove on the plate of rock, about to smash his head with a large stone when Roxton and the group start shooting all the ape-men. Challenger tries to save the creatures, calling them "The missing link between animal and human" upon leaving the animals territory, the group also rescue an Indian chief's son. The tribe recognizes Challenger as Padre Mendoz - the Portuguese man that returned from the plateau and drew up a map of the area. They are also told of how a man, whom they thought was the Devil, came to visit them and then left, sealing off the cave that was their only route out of the plateau. The two groups cooperate very well together, with Challenger sitting by the chief's side, and Roxton marrying the patriarch's daughter. However, the presence of the ape-men disturb the tribes people but, with Professor Challenger's protection, they remain safe from harm and are kept in a wooden cage/construction on the border of the village.
However, two Allosaurs attack the village after weeks of harmony. After causing much death and destruction, the first Allosaur is killed by Roxton and his Elephant gun but the second, larger Allosaur kills the chief. In an act of kindness, Agnes and Malone set the ape-men loose and they flee back into the jungle. One psychotic ape gets its hands on a knife and keeps an eye on Roxton. Edward Malone eventually kills the larger dinosaur, but is a little late to save the chief and several of the Indians. He is critically injured, and dies in the arms of his son, who blames the white intruders. During the attack, Summerlee blows up the debris blocking their only escape route, and after the chief's son assumes command, the outsiders flee while Roxton stays behind to stall them. The ape with the knife stabs Roxton in the torso, injuring him while the son of the chief shoots the mad ape while it stands atop a rocky mound, growling. Outside, the Reverend comes to block the remaining group's way, intending to kill all of them and seal off the cave again, insisting that the plateau is "Not part of God's kingdom", and calling it "the work of the devil". While struggling with Summerlee, he accidentally shoots himself in the chest and dies.
The explorers go back to London, where the juvenile pterosaur that Challenger brings back escapes. Afterwards, Malone and Summerlee urge Challenger to end the whole affair so that the plateau and its inhabitants can exist in peace; the pterosaur is dismissed as an Amazonian vulture, while the articles Edward sent back are passed off as extracts of a novel he is writing. Edward confesses he loves Agnes, who tells him the same, and they kiss in the great hall of the museum where the crew have been exposed as frauds. In the final scene, Roxton is shown alive and well, and still happily married to Muree.
Bestiary
- Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago, in the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard" and is derived from the Greek αλλος/allos and σαυρος/sauros...
- Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus , meaning "arm lizard", from the Greek brachion/βραχιων meaning "arm" and sauros/σαυρος meaning "lizard", was a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period and possibly the Early Cretaceous Period. It was named thus because its forelimbs were longer than its...
- Diplodocus
Diplodocus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones located in...
- Entelodont
Entelodonts, sometimes nicknamed Hell Pigs or Terminator Pigs is an extinct family of pig-like omnivores endemic to forests and North America, Europe, and Asia and from the middle Eocene to early Miocene epochs , existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:Entelodontidae was named by Richard Lydekker and...
- Hypsilophodon
Hypsilophodon is an ornithopod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of Europe. It was a small bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet...
- Iguanodon
Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
- Pithecanthropus
- Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous of North America , was one of the largest pterosaur genera, with a wingspan of up to...
Differences from Doyle's novel
- In the book, the plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
is in VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
. In the 2001 adaptation, it was in Brazil.
- The prehistoric lake scene from the book is absent.
- In the book, Edward Malone doesn't meet another love interest besides Gladys.
- In the book, the Indians
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
deliberately call the AllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago, in the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard" and is derived from the Greek αλλος/allos and σαυρος/sauros...
to the villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in...
, where they kill them and eat them for dinner. In the film, the ape men call the dinosaurs to the human settlement.
- The characters Gomez and Zambo - indeed, any of the Indians - are not mentioned. They are replaced by Reverend Theo Kerr, and his niece Agnes.
- Following the attack on the campfire by the Megalosaurus
Megalosaurus is a genus of large meat-eating theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period of Europe...
in the book, neither Summerlee nor Challenger are immediately able to identify even the family of carnivore that attacked them, whereas Summerlee immediately dubs the animal an allosaur upon being asked by Lord Roxton. Also, the campfire attack is fairly different from the book. In the novel, the group spot the Megalosaurus, and before it has a chance to attack, Roxton scares it off with fire. In the film, the group are completely taken by surprise and the allosaur almost gains the upper hand, before being scared away with fire.
- The ape men are present in both the novel and film, but the other humanoid tribe, rather than a prehistoric species, consists of the surviving members of a Portuguese
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
expedition.
- In the book, Edward Malone says he will join Roxton on the next expedition to the plateau. In the film, he tentatively offers to Professor Challenger, who says he'll be in touch.
- Lord John Roxton escapes the plateau in the book. In the BBC adaptation, he is stabbed by an Ape Man, and is assumed to have died until, at the end of the second episode, we see him still happily married to Muree, the former patriarch's daughter.
- The diamonds found in the blue clay in the book do not feature in the mini-series.