All Rise...

Judge Patrick Naugle owns a wardrobe that time forgot.

The Charge

Welcome to the next level of evolution.

The Case

The Land That Time Forgot opens with Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure, At the Earth's Core) telling the audience about his story of fantastic proportions. Set during the World War I, the survivors of British merchant ship find themselves aboard a German U-boat and setting sail into the unknown…into The Land That Time Forgot. After seizing the U-boat and finding themselves dangerously low on reserves, Bowen and his crew enter the sub-continent of Caprona, a fantastical island filled with Neanderthal men and real live dinosaurs. Will Bowen and his ragtag crew escape a land that is as dangerous as it is fascinating?

It seems that movies like The Land That Time Forgot were a dime a dozen during the 1970s. From H.G. Wells to Edgar Rice Burroughs, sci-fi fantasy movies—often made on the cheap—seemingly popped up every week. At The Earth's Core, The People That Time Forgot, and many others were released during this time period, and almost all of them looked hokey and silly during their theatrical release, to say nothing of how they hold up in 2015.

Add to that collection director Kevin Conner's The Land That Time Forgot, featuring the durable Doug McClure, who was like a poor man's Charlton Heston. I'm not sure why filmmakers felt McClure was the perfect candidate for material like this, but he seemed to pop up in at least half a dozen sci-fi/monster movies like The Land That Time Forgot. Looking like a well fed George Segal, McClure was a sturdy but bland hero that served as our guide through some truly fantastical situations. Susan Penhaligon (A Fine Romance) is on hand as the sexy love interest who gets to spend most of the film looking pretty (hey, nobody said filmmakers in the 1970s knew what to do with women in science fiction films). The rest of the cast seems to be available for the sole purpose of meeting a terrible end at the hand of cavemen and dinosaurs.

Although the budget for The Land That Time Forgot was one of the largest in Amicus' (the film studio who financed the movie) history, the film still retains a rather cheesy, cornball look. The special effects, almost all practical, are clearly just models and puppets (especially the U-boat submarine, which is clearly just a small prop). Pterodactyls flying in the sky look like stiff plastic props while a weird crocodile creature is obviously just a rubber effect. There are even cavemen decked out in yak hair and terrible face paint. No matter how much money was available to the filmmakers, it's clear that effects still had a long way to go when it came to bringing movies like The Land That Time Forgot to the screen. Jurassic Park this ain't.

That being said, I have a sort of soft spot for movies like The Land That Time Forgot. These are films that clearly wanted to be more than what they were, or even could be. They're like children that try so hard and fail, but it's adorable to watch them along the way. The effects work is chintzy, the actors are all dead serious in the roles, and the movie as a whole is a hoot because it makes so little sense. What makes a movie like this so bad is also what makes it so good—it's the perfect kind of B-movie. If you love cinematic dinosaurs that have clearly distinguishable seams and zippers, The Land That Time Forgot is for you.

The Land That Time Forgot is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1980p high definition. For a film of this age—40 years old—and the budget, it sports a very nice looking transfer. There's a thin layer of film grain that gives the movie a warm feel (even with the minor imperfections in the transfer). Colors are generally bright and black levels solid. This is hardly a great looking image, but Kino Lorber has done a nice job for a movie that probably didn't require a high def release. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono in English. This is a very front heavy mix that doesn't feature any surround sounds or directional effects. The music, dialogue, and effects are all clearly recorded and easily heart. No alternate subtitles or soundtracks are available on this disc.

Extra features include a commentary track with director Kevin Connor and moderator Brian Trenchard-Smith (director of Leprechaun 3), a 12 minute vintage behind-the-scenes featurette, and a theatrical trailer for the film.

The Verdict

Good for all the wrong reasons.

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