The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film)
| The Island of Dr. Moreau | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | John Frankenheimer |
| Produced by | Edward R. Pressman |
| Screenplay by |
Richard Stanley Ron Hutchinson |
| Based on |
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gary Chang |
| Cinematography | William A. Fraker |
| Edited by | Paul Rubell |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Box office | $49,627,779 |
The Island of Dr. Moreau is a 1996 American science fiction horror film, the third major film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, about a scientist who attempts to convert animals into people. The film stars Marlon Brando, David Thewlis, Val Kilmer, Ron Perlman, and Fairuza Balk, and was directed by John Frankenheimer, who was brought in half a week after shooting started. The screenplay is credited to the original director Richard Stanley and Ron Hutchinson.
The production was notoriously difficult, and the film was a box office bomb that received mostly negative reviews.
In 2010, United Nations negotiator Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) survives a plane crash in the Java Sea and is eventually rescued by a passing boat. Aboard, a man called Montgomery (Val Kilmer) tends to him, and after telling him the boat has no radio, he promises Douglas the captain will take him to Timor after dropping him off. However, when they arrive at Montgomery's destination referred to as "Moreau's Island", he instead advises Douglas to stay with him, ostensibly so he can use the radio on the island.
Montgomery unloads a shipment of rabbits at a pen, and one runs away while he slaughters another for Douglas' meal. They then head on to the Main House where Douglas is warned not to wander. There, he meets a daughter of Dr. Moreau's called Aissa (Fairuza Balk), but Montgomery turns him away from her and leads him to his room. On the way, they discuss how Moreau vanished after becoming obsessed with his animal research. Montgomery locks Douglas in his room, but he manages to escape that night. He then comes across a laboratory where he witnesses the birth of a mutant baby, belonging to and delivered by human-animal hybrids. He is noticed, escapes, and runs into Aissa who leads him to the village of the mutants. On the way, they find the partially eaten corpse of a rabbit, not far from a leopard hybrid called Lo-Mai (Mark Dacascos). At the village, they find the Sayer of the Law (Ron Perlman) whose Law preaches "being human" in terms of restraint and discipline. Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando), referred to as "The Father" by the mutants, appears. He controls the villagers by using a remote control that causes pain through an implant under the creatures' skin. Moreau forces the village to hand over Douglas only to peacefully take him to the House to discuss the situation.
...
Wikipedia