The Forgotten World (2001)

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Movie
German title The forgotten world
Original title The Lost World
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2001
length 145 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Stuart Orme
script Tony Mulholland ,
Adrian Hodges
production Christopher Hall
music Robert Lane
camera David Odd
cut David Yardley
occupation

The Forgotten World is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 2001 . The film is a production of the British broadcaster BBC and was shot on the west coast of New Zealand . It was broadcast as a two-part series in two 75-minute episodes. Most of the dinosaurs from the BBC documentary Dinosaurs - In the Empire of the Giants were reused for the film .

action

During an expedition to unexplored regions of the Amazon rainforest, the zoologist Prof. George Challenger kills a strange animal that appears to be a long-extinct Pterosaurus . Unfortunately, however, the prey is lost in a wild river. Back in London , Challenger tried to convince people of his discovery during a lecture at the Natural History Museum . His rivals, especially the lecturer Prof. Leo Summerlee, don't believe a word he has and declare him a crazy busybody. To prove otherwise, Challenger proposes a new expedition to the Amazon, which is ultimately approved. The big game hunter Lord John Roxton and the young journalist Edward Malone join as members. Summerlee also finally agrees to come, but only to expose Challenger as a liar.

During the crossing to South America, Challenger shows Summerlee and the others a map that comes from the Portuguese explorer Padre Medoz, who disappeared in the unexplored region where Challenger killed the strange animal. He also speaks of a remote high plateau on which he suspects other prehistoric forms of life that have survived there for millions of years. When they arrived in Brazil, they met the missionary Theo Kerr and his pretty niece Agnes. Although the devout Kerr rejects any form of evolution , he and Agnes continue to accompany the expedition on their journey into the deep rainforest of the Amazon.

After a long, arduous hike through the jungle, the expedition members finally actually see the said plateau. In a cave they find a passage that apparently leads to the summit, but then discover that this path has been buried and have to turn back. To find another way, they build a kind of transition over a deep gorge using ropes. When everyone except Kerr is over there, the latter cuts the bridge in his madness because he does not want to enter this "plateau of the devil". Then he leaves the others alone, so that they are now stuck on the plateau. As they explore the plateau, Challenger's theory comes true and they actually discover living dinosaurs like an Iguanodon and a Hypsilophodon , with whom Malone becomes kind of friends. They also find a group of pteranodons , however, they attack the humans and injure Summerlee.

During the night, the group around the campfire is surprisingly attacked by a carnivorous allosaurus , which they are able to drive away with fire. The next day, Malone climbed a large tree and was startled by a distant human-like creature , who immediately ran away. He also discovers a large lake in the middle of the plateau, which he named after his lover Gladys . While Roxton, Summerlee and Challenger rest on the lake shore, Malone and Agnes move away from the group and are discovered on the shore by an allosaurus that attacks them. On the run into the forest from the huge predator, they almost fall into a deadly trap in which their pursuer falls and dies. They are surprised to find that this trap could only have been built by human hands. (This ends the first episode.)

When they return, they find Roxton alone, bleeding, and learn that Challenger and Summerlee have been kidnapped into the woods by aggressive ape-men . Then they meet a group of indigenous people on the river who also want to hunt the ape-men and join forces with them. Summerlee and Challenger have meanwhile been taken to the Ape Men’s camp and are shocked to discover that they are cannibals and are executing and eating another human prisoner. Horrified, they realize that they too should end up as food. But just as the ape people want to kill Summerlee too, Roxton, Malone, Agnes and the Indians reach the camp, free them and kill many of the ape people. At Challenger's request, however, they spare a few of the beings, as they are a unique race according to him , and take them as prisoners to the indigenous village.

In the village, the expedition members enjoy the hospitality of the natives and can initially pursue other activities such as exploring the dinosaurs. The remaining ape people have meanwhile been locked in a large cage on the edge of the village and suddenly begin with loud screams and howls that the people cannot define exactly at first. Then suddenly two large allosaurs appear in the village, which were attracted by the noise. There is a dramatic battle between the humans and the dinosaurs, with several Indians, including the chief, being killed. The allosaurs can finally be eliminated with Roxton's elephant rifle. But after this catastrophe, the son of the dead chief seeks revenge on the white stranger.

Summerlee, who was in the nearby cave system during the events, managed to blow up the exit. When the expedition members want to flee from the angry Indios, Roxton is suddenly attacked by one of the ape-men and seriously wounded with a knife. The others flee and leave Roxton behind at their own request. Finally, through the tunnel, they descend from the plateau. There they meet the mad Theo Kerr, who threatens the group in his fanatical madness with a weapon. In the subsequent fight for the weapon, a shot is released that hits Kerr himself, so that he dies in the arms of his niece Agnes. The rest of the expedition, including Agnes, are now returning to London.

There Challenger presents a living Pterosaurus to the public, which he took as an egg from the plateau and hatched. But the animal can escape to freedom by accident. The expedition members then realize that by making the truth known they would result in the exploitation of the plateau and its unique creatures, so they then cover up the whole thing and present the escaped pterosaur as an Amazonian vulture in order to keep the truth a secret. Malone, who lost his former lover Gladys to another man, now begins a relationship with Agnes.

The last two scenes show the pterosaur flying along the English coast and Lord Roxton, who has apparently recovered, stayed on the plateau and married the chief's daughter.

Differences from the book

  • In the book is the plateau in Venezuela . In the film it's in Brazil .
  • In the book, Challenger starts the expedition alone at first. The other members Summerlee, Roxton and Malone join later.
  • The scene with the lake does not exist in the book.
  • In the book, Malone has no other mistress than Gladys.
  • In the book, the natives lure the allosaurs into their village to hunt and eat them. In the film, the animals are called by the captured ape-men.
  • The Indians Gomez and Zambo do not appear in the film. They are replaced by the missionary Theo Kerr and his niece Agnes.
  • In the book, the predatory dinosaur that attacked the group around the campfire was a Megalosaurus . In the movie it's an allosaurus . In addition, the attack was unexpected in the film, while in the book the animal was noticed in good time and driven away with fire.
  • The native Indians speak a Portuguese indodialect, but they are not descendants of the former Portuguese explorers.
  • In the book, Lord Roxton manages to escape from the plateau with the others. In the film, on the other hand, he is wounded by an ape-man and remains on the plateau.
  • The diamonds found in the book don't appear in the film.

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