The Land That Time Forgot
1974
Director: Kevin Connor
Stars: Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Okay, this film is not horror with a capital H, but it is a monster flick. All right, a dinosaur movie. Not all horror movies have to be like Martyrs (the original, not the woeful remake) and sometimes I just want to groove with some dinos, like this fine example from the way-back year of 1974. Sure these flicks are kind of cheesy, but that’s half the fun. So good on Australian company, Umbrella Entertainment, for bringing this out on Blu-ray and making it region-free so everyone can enjoy it. So grab the biggest gun you can find, for god’s sake don’t forget the bug spray, and let’s take a stroll through The Land That Time Forgot.
Based on the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, it is set in World War I. A British ship is sunk by a German U-boat, but this doesn’t stop the plucky Brits who still end up commandeering the sub. They then come across a lost island somewhere in the South Atlantic, which is good since they are almost out of fuel. What’s bad is that the island is full of angry cavemen and even angrier dinosaurs. But back to the good news, if the Germans and English can put their differences aside and work together, there is raw crude oil that can be refined into fuel so they can make good their escape. But again: angry, hungry dinosaurs.
The Land That Time Forgot is an old-school adventure film with so much cheese that Wisconsin would be envious of it. Chief among the dairy goodness is the dinosaurs that are not rendered in CGI or in the tried-and-true technique of stop motion animation. No, here they are puppets. Yes, hand puppets. So if you are looking for realism in your dino flicks, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want just silly action/adventure fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this movie will do that for you. And hey, who doesn’t like fun?
On to the extras on this new Blu-ray from Umbrella. And we’re done. Yes, this dinosaur movie is as bare bones as they come. Maybe they thought that was appropriate for a dino movie, but I must say I was a bit disappointed. Come on, something extra could have been included and would have been nice, but nope, not even the trailer. Oh well…
The Land That Time Forgot is a silly movie that can be a lot of fun if you’re in the right frame of mind, got some friends over so that you can MST3K-like riff on it, or you just like finely-aged 70s cheese. I do have a taste for the finer things in life like that, so I can recommend this for any other dino cheese connoisseurs out there.
