The Lost World: 19 Years Ago

[TownerFan 4,983]

Another score that might have inspired JW for The Lost World is Bernard Herrmann's White Witch Doctor (at least the Prelude):

 

 

[Jay 37,281]

[Romão 2,274]

Am I the only one that always thought the percussion driven beggining of the Lost World Theme was an homage to the Overture from Lawrence of Arabia?

 

 

[Incanus 5,713]

1 minute ago, Romão said:

Am I that always thought the percussion driven beggining of the Lost World Theme was an homage to the Overture from Lawrence of Arabia?

 

 

Yes! I have thought so too.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Definitely, always felt it was a completely intentional nod to Jarre.

[Thor 7,463]

Yeah, same here. I think the Jarre reference was even mentioned at the time of release.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So is The Lost World the best score Williams wrote for a bad movie?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

I first saw it when I was 7 and was disappointed that there wasn't a scene where the T-Rex saved the characters from the raptors like in the first movie.

[TownerFan 4,983]

4 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

So is The Lost World the best score Williams wrote for a bad movie?

 

No, Monsignor is still at the top in my book.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I like that score, but nowhere near TLW.

 

Must be an Italian bias!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I've never minded Kelly killing the raptor. That whole scene is terrific and I love when Malcolm says, "The school cut you from the team?" Every line by Goldblum in that film is gold.

[Thor 7,463]

11 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

So is The Lost World the best score Williams wrote for a bad movie?

 

No, because your premise is false. TLW is a great movie.

 

The best score he wrote for a bad movie is unquestionably STORY OF A WOMAN. But other contenders include MONSIGNOR (as previously mentioned), FAR & AWAY, THE FURY, EARTHQUAKE, FITZWILLY, A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN, PENELOPE or DIAMOND HEAD -- all films with serious issues, but with smokin' great Williams scores. I don't count titles like 1941, JOHN GOLDFARB, HEARTBEEPS etc. where both the music and film are kinda bad (albeit charming on occasion).

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Thor, you do realize that you are the only one who thinks that. No one over the age of 10 has ever called The Lost World a GREAT movie.

 

 

[Wojo 2,453]

4 minutes ago, Thor said:

The best score he wrote for a bad movie is unquestionably STORY OF A WOMAN. But other contenders include MONSIGNOR (as previously mentioned), FAR & AWAY, THE FURY, EARTHQUAKE, FITZWILLY, A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN, PENELOPE or DIAMOND HEAD -- all films with serious issues, but with smokin' great Williams scores.

 

There are four Star Wars movies you left out. Possibly five. 

[Thor 7,463]

4 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Thor, you do realize that you are the only one who thinks that. No one over the age of 10 has ever called The Lost World a GREAT movie.

 

 

 

I know plenty who like that movie, including my film journalist colleagues. I liked it back then, I probably like it even more today. Yes, it is most definitely great, and one of Spielberg's most underrated works.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It is a great movie.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Liking it is one thing. It being an actually good film is another.

[Thor 7,463]

Just now, Muad'Dib said:

Liking it is one thing. It being an actually good film is another.

 

I like it because I think it's good. Even great.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

1 minute ago, Thor said:

I like it because I think it's good. Even great.

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

As far as films about dinosaurs and a bunch of guys with guns in the forest go, it's great.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

2 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

 

Words cannot describe! The mind cannot concieve!

[Wojo 2,453]

It's sound logic, really. Do we like things that hurt? That cause pain or discomfort? If so, there must be some level of risk/reward or pain/pleasure or "this fucking sucks but goddammit I love it" threshold to overcome. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier syndrome!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Also a great film.

[TownerFan 4,983]

There are worse movies than TLW in Williams' filmography of course. And there are equally brilliant scores as TLW which he wrote for so-called "bad movies". But it's kind of inevitable in such a long career than now covers 60+ years of writing for film. Let's just enjoy the music and enough with ranking

[Disco Stu 15,495]

2 minutes ago, Selina Kyle said:

Also a great film.

 

Fuck yeah!

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And decades later she nearly drove me down in her old persons mobile.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I thought weapons were forbidden on this island.

[Quintus 5,399]

59 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

 

Ah, Ghostbusters. Great movie. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I prefer Ghostbusters II.

 

One thing people criticize heavily about TLW is the characters. Basically, there are no redeeming qualities or sympathetic characters except maybe Roland, who is the one that comes closest to having a decent arc. The good guys (minus Malcolm, who's just there for personal reasons) let the dinosaurs loose and doom everyone, who are mostly just "innocent" blue collar guys working for InGen. Nick sort of gets redeemed by being the one to send the distress call.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

They are just boring characters with no arc whatsoever!

[Pieter Boelen 740]

And to think Roland is on the side of the "BAD" guys!

Still a cool dude though.

[Quintus 5,399]

I mean, who tried to watch the Jurassic Park movies for the characterisation anyway? I'll tell you who: idiots. 

[Thor 7,463]

The characters are mostly fine, but that's not my main draw to the film. For me, it is ALL about atmosphere and action setpieces (much like the first film -- only darker this time). I'm not even into dinosaurs; it's all about the film language on display.

[Jay 37,281]

1 hour ago, Selina Kyle said:

I prefer Ghostbusters II.

 

Even though they don't smoke in it? 

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

I always thought the Greenpeace-like group being a bunch on unprofessional morons was an intentional criticism from Spielberg and co.

[crumbs 14,299]

There's an element of 'both sides are as stupid as each other.'

 

Ultimately the Gatherers cause everyone to be trapped there and die en masse by destroying the Hunters camp, while their dinotarianism helping the baby Rex ends up destroying their own camp.

 

OTOH, maybe that's giving Koepp too much credit; it's just as likely he's a mediocre screenwriter who didn't think about these things. Don't forget he wrote an Indiana Jones film where the protagonist is a passive, bumbling observer for most of the plot; ain't no clever symbolism there.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

People are also trashing Koepp for the script, but I think it's awesome. So many classic lines, especially in the trailer scene.

 

"Well, I've gotten used to being apart, but that doesn't mean that's how I want to, uhh, live!"

 

"I love you. I just don't...need you right now."

"I'll tell you what you need, uhh, a good...antipsychotic."
"I'll be back in five or six days!"
"No, you'll be back in five or six pieces!"

 

Or

 

"Oh, yeah. "Ooh! Aah!" That's how it always starts. And then later, there's running and then...screaming."

 

"What? This? What did you think you were gonna document? What did you think you were gonna see?"
"Animals. Maybe...big iguanas."
" *sigh* Fruitcakes."

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

I've always liked 

 

Remember that chap about twenty years ago? I forget his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. When they asked him, they said why did you go up there to die? He said I didn't, I went up there to live.

 

Reading it back seems kinda lame, but Postlethwaite just makes it so good.

 

I'd dare say Koeep is good at writing cool catchphrases or what you'd call the "trailer quotes", but he seems quite inconsistent. Of course, most of the time Hollywood scripwriters get handed a storyline and have to stick with it, even if it sucks. 

[crumbs 14,299]

I'll admit he was clearly hamstrung on Indy IV to some extent, having the unenviable job of combining 15 years of story notes from Spielberg and Lucas into a single, logical script.

 

I don't think any writer stood a chance with that laundry list.

[Datameister 2,037]

It could have been worse, John...a lot worse.

 

As for TLW, at first, I was fairly disappointed by the film and massively disappointed by the score, for many of the reasons already discussed. My opinion of the film has become slightly more charitable with nostalgia, while my opinion of the score has experienced a 180 degree shift. There's some really fantastic stuff in there.

[artguy360 1,843]

I'm in the same boat as many others in being initially disappointed by TLW score. I remember being unimpressed by the new theme (although I always liked it's energy) and how little in stood in the film. It was many, many years later that I grew to love the score. I think it took me really exploring JW's whole body of work and growing to understand his style of action music and the features that made TLW unique like the percussion and dark music. Now it is one of my favorite JW scores that is always, ALWAYS fun to listen to.

[crumbs 14,299]

So amazingly, 23 years after the film's release, photographic evidence has finally surfaced of a long-rumoured deleted scene involving the buck T-Rex smashing through the child's bedroom during the San Diego sequence. Turns out it was even more involved than speculated, with Spielberg's own daughter involved in the sequence:

 

Wasn't sure where else to post this but thought it was a cool tidbit of movie trivia that might interest people.

 

Presumably this was cut early in post because there's no indication Williams scored it.

[12-Mile Reef 123]

Wow, I've never even heard of this sequence, thanks for sharing!

[Thor 7,463]

Me neither. Interesting trivia! Sasha is a pop star these days, or at least aspiring to be. She fares better than her adopted sister Mikaela George, who went into porn, of all things.

[crumbs 14,299]

Another BTS photo of this scene:

 

And turns out this was actually posted by Sasha on her Instagram like two years ago, I just never knew about it.

 

 

 

[bruce marshall 1,314]

On 12/4/2016 at 10:19 AM, #SnowyVernalSpringsEternal said:

Thor, you do realize that you are the only one who thinks that. No one over the age of 10 has ever called The Lost World a GREAT movie.

 

 

It's a great DINOSAURS movie.

Good enough for me😁

[bruce marshall 1,314]

I was hoping for the ' deleted' scene of the raptors  killing the captain and escaping

😉☺

 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

I would really like to see all those deleted scenes from The Lost World.

[Evanus 216]

Shame they never released more on the blu-ray releases.