Sci-Fi & Fantasy

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Released by Universal in 1916, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was the first great special effects spectacular of early cinema. Based on the Jules Verne novel, the story concerns a team of scientists investigating a series of naval disturbances who find the culprit is the Nautilus, a submarine piloted by Captain Nemo, a hate-driven renegade seaman. Over a year-and-a-half in production, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a colorful recreation of Verne's science fiction classic.

Metropolis

Fritz Lang's Expressionistic masterwork continues to exert its influence today, from Chaplin's Modern Times to Dr. Strangelove, and into the late 1990s with Dark City. In the stratified society of the future (Y2K no less), the son of a capitalist discovers the atrocious conditions of the factory slaves, falling in love with the charismatic Maria in the bargain, who preaches nonviolence to the workers. But even the benevolent leadership of Maria is a challenge to the privileged class, so they have the mad-scientist Rotwang concoct a robot double to take her place and incite the workers to riot. The story is melodrama, but it's the powerful imagery that is so memorable. One of the most arresting images has legions of cowed workers filing listlessly into the great maw of the all-consuming machine-god Moloch. Unfortunately, the print used for this DVD is unfocused, scratchy, and five minutes short, altogether unworthy of a visionary masterpiece. It may be too much to hope for the complete film to be restored (only two hours of the original three-hour film are extant), but a clean transfer from a fine-grain negative ought to be possible. And why, when there are other possible future Metropolises to be had, should we downtrodden masses accept this junk? If anyone wonders what became of Moloch, now they can stop guessing; he's alive and well and making debased DVD versions such as this one. --Jim Gay

Peter Pan

J.M. Barrie's play about the boy who refused to grow up has become a stage classic and a revival standard, but in the movies Disney's animated musical version remains the most famous incarnation. Nearly forgotten is the original 1924 live-action version, a lavish silent fantasy that captures the fairy tale magic of flying children, wicked pirates, and a wondrous storybook land where kids never grow up. Tomboyish Betty Bronson, with an innocent smile and a mischievous spontaneity, is the eternally adolescent boy while towering Ernest Torrence (the burly comic actor best known as Buster Keaton's gruff father in Steamboat Bill Jr.) plays a gleefully flamboyant Captain Hook. This faithful adaptation flies from the Darling nursery to the thick tangle of the Lost Boys' forest, where elaborate, cartoonishly exaggerated animal costumes wander the trails and a floating ball of fairy light reveals herself as a lovely, petite girl in a gossamer gown and glowing hair. A curious thread of American patriotism peaks in the pirate ship climax when the Lost Boys replace the Jolly Roger with the stars and stripes and fly the ship into the stars. Long thought lost, a beautiful 35mm print was recovered years ago and serves as the basis for this restoration. Anna May Wong costars as Princess Tiger Lily, and a fine new score by Philip C. Carli accompanies the film.

The DVD also features a 30-minute interview with costar Esther Ralston, an essay by film historian Frederick C. Szebin, and a treasure-trove of archival stills and promotion materials in a photo gallery. --Sean Axmaker

The Lost World

Every larger-than-life creature feature, from King Kong to Godzilla to Jurassic Park, owes a debt to the original Lost World, the granddaddy of giant monster movies. Based on an adventure fantasy by Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the story of a maverick scientist (Wallace Beery, under a bushy beard) who finds a land that time forgot on a plateau deep within the South American jungles and comes back to London with a captured brontosaur to prove it. His expedition includes Bessie Love, the daughter of an explorer who disappeared on the previous expedition, and big-game hunter Lewis Stone. The ostensible stars of the picture are all upstaged by Willis O'Brien's dinosaurs, simple models brought to life with primitive stop-motion animation. Hardly realistic by any measure, these pioneering special effects are still a sight to behold, especially the lumbering brontosaur (which receives the most care from O'Brien, both foraging in his jungle and rampaging through the streets of London).

The Lost World was truncated for rerelease in the 1930s and the original negative was subsequently lost. David Shepard meticulously "rebuilt" the film using material from eight different surviving prints from all over the world, cleaning and restoring along the way. The result, which is 50 percent longer than previously extant prints, is still not complete but closer than any version since its 1925 debut. The difference is not merely in restored scenes but in a rediscovered sense of grace in scenes filled out to their original detail and pace. The film moves and breathes once again like a silent film.

The disc features the choice of an original, modern score by the Alloy Orchestra and a classic orchestral score compiled and conducted by Robert Israel (both enjoyable and effective), 13 minutes of O'Brien's animation outtakes (including a couple of isolated frames that capture O'Brien manipulating his models), and rudimentary commentary by Arthur Conan Doyle historian Roy Pilot. --Sean Axmaker

The Lost World

Seven decades before Michael Crichton borrowed the title of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic adventure tale, The Lost World was the movie sensation of 1925. (The film is not to be confused with Steven Spielberg's sequel to Jurassic Park.) Just as Spielberg's dinosaur thrillers would advance the technology of computer-generated spectacle, Doyle's classic story provided a perfect opportunity to exploit the illusions made possible by stop-motion animation. Eight years before he stunned audiences with the amazing special effects of King Kong, pioneering stop-motion animator Willis O'Brien created the dinosaur stars of this classic silent-film fantasy. Following Doyle's plot, the film plays like a dress rehearsal for King Kong and establishes a now-familiar scenario: Wallace Beery plays a visionary scientist who returns to the remote South African plateau where he'd earlier discovered a jungle haven of prehistoric creatures. Determined to introduce this discovery to the world, he returns to London with a captive brontosaurus, which later escapes and goes on a destructive rampage through the city. Though somewhat quaint by modern standards, this silent classic remains a milestone of fantasy filmmaking, and Lumivision's splendid collector's edition DVD presents the film in near-pristine condition. Accompanied by a newly composed musical score, the film is supplemented by a series of still photographs to illustrate the legendary missing scenes from the original (and long-lost) 10-reel version. To further showcase the animation work of O'Brien (who would later inspire and mentor Ray Harryhausen), the disc also includes several excerpts from his pioneering films from the early 1920s. Included too is a still-frame library and an informative onscreen essay by film historian Scott MacQueen. If you're a silent-movie buff or a fan of imaginative movies, consider this an essential addition to your DVD library. --Jeff Shannon