The Lost Continent (1968) [Blu-ray]

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of The Lost Continent released by Shout! Factory in 2020*****IMPORTANT***** - There is another movie with the same title. 'The Lost Continent' is also a 1951 science fiction film that was filmed in black & white and distributed by Lippert Pictures.ABOUT THIS MOVIE: This is a science fiction/fantasy film released by Hammer Productions in 1968 and released in the U.S. by 20th Century Fox. It is set aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean that is traveling to Caracas but gets trapped in seaweed in the area known as the Sargasso Sea. Released today, this movie would most likely receive a 'PG-13' rating. There is some blood and there is quite a bit of violence. There is no nudity.BLU-RAY: The picture is a new 2K scan of the original film elements from the theatrical release that was in 20th Century Fox's vault. The main feature is the extended cut of this movie. The extended scenes are from a Standard definition print, as that was all that was available. The picture is beautiful. Often, the original elements of movies that fail in the box office are in good shape due to lack of usage. This is likely the case here. The picture looks great and is one of the best I've seen of the Hammer Horror movies being released gradually in Blu-Ray format. The picture is as sharp as probably the day it was filmed and the colors look excellent. The theatrical cut is also provided. The extended cut is 97 minutes long. The movie is shown in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.EXTRA'S: The extra's are impressive. They are...-The theatrical cut of this movie is provided as well as the extended cut. It's run time is 87 minutes.-Audio Commentary with film historian Richard Klemensen - Klemensen is prepared for the commentary but prepares a written speech and reads it which is not very exciting. He does not really watch the movie with the viewer. In other words, he doesn't comment much on the scenes as they are playing. He reads his script and lets us know everybody involved with the production's biography. You will end up learning anything you want to know about the movie and it's actors and production team, which is the point. It's just not terribly interesting when commentaries are done in this fashion.-Documentary: "Uncharted Territory" - Kim Newman on 'The Lost Continent' - Newman talks about Dennis Wheatley and his novels as well as the production, actors, etc. Newman is his usual 'way too enthusiastic' self and goes off on all kinds of tangents in this 21 minute solo discussion.-Documentary: "The Men Who Made Hammer: Michael Carreras" - Richard Klemensen narrates the story of Michael Carreras' life. He talks about his role from beginning to end and focuses on his strained relationship with his father, who owned about half of the company. This documentary is 22 minutes.-World of Hammer episode "Lands Before Time"-Interview: Special Effects Artist John Richardson - Richardson acknowledges that this movie was not successful. He obviously talks about the various special effects used. He says that the water was only two inches deep. This interview is 3mn40sec long.-Interview: Actor Norman Eshley - He played a lesser role as a Spanish Conquistador who gets captured in the movie. He recalls getting knocked out during filming. He says the production was enjoyable but his Spanish accent was non-existent.-Interview: Music Arranger/Composer Howard Blake - As expected, Blake discusses the film score in this 6 1/2 minute interview.-Interview: A Conversation with Dana Gillespie - She says she left school at the age of 15 to be a performer. Gillespie acknowledges that she was only getting parts that required a buxom woman. She says she starved herself for three weeks before she came in for audition for 'The Lost Continent' at the age of 17. She discusses her scenes which were comical while shooting and she enjoyed acting for Hammer Productions. She says that she was the junior British water ski champion for 4 years and that helped her get the part. This interview is 17mn36sec in length.-TV Spots-Theatrical Trailer-SubtitlesPLOT SYNOPSIS: THE SETTING FOR THE MOVIE: The Sargasso Sea WHERE IS THE SARGASSO SEA AND WHAT IS SO MYSTERIOUS ABOUT IT?:-The Sargasso Sea is located in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean. It's western boundary is Bermuda. It has no actual boundaries like other named seas.-It is the area of the Atlantic Ocean that is bound by four ocean currents, the Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Current, Canary Current and North Atlantic Equatorial Current. The four currents create a clockwise circular current around the area of the Sargasso Sea.-The sea is relatively calm as a result of the currents encircling the area. It's kind of like being in the eye of a hurricane.-There is a lot of seaweed trapped in the sea. This seaweed is called 'sargassum'. Also, today, there is unfortunately a lot of garbage trapped in that area. For the environmentalists out there, there has been an international effort to clean up this garbage.-Even though stories of fiction depict ships stuck in the seaweed for all of eternity, this has not actually happened. What is true is that many ships in centuries gone by have gotten stuck because of little to no wind. Thus, the setting for 'The Lost Continent' is the Sargasso Sea. THE PLOT: The movie opens with Captain Lansen reading burial rites. His companions on his ship are a strange looking group that includes people dressed as pirates and Spanish Conquistadors. A body is dropped into the ocean and the Captain's mind flashes back in time...Lansen is the captain of a poorly maintained ship named the Corita. He is smuggling a chemical called 'Phosphor B', a substance which explodes on contact with water, and he orders his ship 'full speed ahead' when approached by customs agents. He is transporting a group of secretive passengers as well. They include Dr. Webster and his daughter, Unity, a con-man, Harry Tyler, Eva Peters, travelling with stolen bearer bonds, and Ricaldi, a man trying to retrieve the stolen bonds.While at sea, first mate Hemmings, warns the Captain of an approaching hurricane. Captain Lansen tells him to ask the passengers if they want to go back. The passengers all wish to continue sailing to Caracas. Ricaldi sneaks into Eva's room and retrieves the bonds but the two come to an understanding. Eva will give herself to Ricaldi and they will somehow split the money.The boat springs a leak in the cargo hold and the crew finds out about the approaching hurricane and dangerous cargo. of the Phosphor B. Part of the crew mutinies and takes a lifeboat and supplies and leaves after a fight in which several people are killed and injured. After getting the water pump working and moving the Phosphor B to a safer place, the Captain decides to abandon ship because of the hurricane that is about to hit.On the lifeboat, Captain Lansen informs everyone that they only have food and water for 4 days. Dr. Webster gets eaten by a shark after a fight with the drunk Harry Tyler. During the evening, they drift into a mass of unusual looking seaweed. Lansen touches it and the seaweed slices into his hand before he disposes of it. The cook wakes up, goes mad, jumps into the killer seaweed and is eaten. The next morning while adrift in the Sargasso Sea, the lifeboat runs into the Corita with Pat the bartender still aboard.On board, Unity tells Harry not to worry about her father's death. She hated him anyway. She begins to seduce Harry. The remaining crew get the ship running and they head out. Ava agrees to give Ricaldi 50% of the bonds plus sleep with him. The chief engineer tells the Captain that they are stuck in the seaweed and the propeller is jammed with the dangerous seaweed. Unity gets into a fight with Harry after she offers him a drink. Next, Unity heads out onto the deck and tries seducing Ricaldi. Ricaldi obviously scores high on the virility scale cuz he is ready to go again. The two start going at it and a giant octopus rises out of the ocean and attacks Unity. Ricaldi grabs an axe and slices off it's tentacle but he ends up being snared and eaten. Lansen grabs Unity and brings her inside.In the morning, they all notice that there are many ships, some of them very old, stuck in the seaweed all around them. There also appears to be a land mass. That evening, a young woman, Sarah, comes to the ship and warns them that she is being pursued by people who want to kill them. A group of Spanish Conquistadors attack but are held off by the people on the Corita.On a Spanish galleon, a young boy called El Supremo, a descendant of Cortez' right hand man, at the instigation of the Inquisitor, orders the leader of the failed attack to be executed. Eva tells Lansen that the money she stole is to pay a bribe to get her son back.After 3 days, Sarah decides to head back to her ship. Harry, who is falling for Sarah, and several of the crew decide to chase after her. Everyone gets lost but they bump into each other. They head to the island to wait out the fog. Harry and Sarah make out in a cave but are interrupted when several creatures attack. Pat the bartender is killed. The Conquistadors show up and capture Sarah, Harry and the engineer. El Supremo orders the group to turn over all of their ships supplies. Captain Lansen and crew show up and rescue the group. El Supremo chooses to go with the Captain but the Inquisitor stabs him. A battle ensues and the crew of the Corita use Phosphor B to blow up the galleon. The ensuing blaze burns up all of the seaweed in the sea, thus freeing the Corita. The movie ends with the Captain finishing his prayer for El Supremo while the survivors of the Corita and Spanish galleon look on as the boy is buried at sea. WHAT WERE THOSE BALLOON THINGIES THAT THEY WERE WEARING?: Those balloons were supposed to help identify people in the fog and/or to be used as some sort of life preserver and/or be filled with some gas that made the person wearing them lighter. You can take your pick. I'm going with 'made the person lighter'.PRODUCTION:-This movie was originally directed by Leslie Norman. He left and Michael Carreras took over.-Ultimately this film was not successful and lost a lot of money. Records show that it lost about 1 million dollars in it's theatrical release. It was the most expensive movie Hammer Productions ever made.-Some of the images in this movie were taken from 'One Million Years B.C. (1966)', filmed in the Canary Islands.-You see Doctor Webster reading 'Uncharted Seas', the novel this movie is based on. WHO IS DENNIS WHEATLEY? Dennis Wheatley was a prolific novelist from the U.K., who wrote mainly thrillers and stories of the occult from the 1930's to the 1960's. In his day, he was one of the best selling author's in the world. He became an expert in the occult and his best known novels are on that subject. He wrote a total of 11 novels that were based on this subject matter. As popular as Wheatley was in his day, he was not tremendously popular in the U.S. WHAT OTHER MOVIES WERE BASED ON WHEATLEY'S BOOKS? Hammer Films made two other movies based on his books. They are 'To the Devil... a Daughter', and 'The Devil Rides Out'. 'To the Devil... A Daughter' was extremely disappointing to Wheatley. The movie does not follow the novel and is merely based on it. Upon seeing this movie, Wheatley vowed never to allow Hammer to film one of his novels again. Wheatley died soon after that movies production. Wheatley loved 'The Devil Rides Out'. Screewriter, Richard Matheson, says that Wheatley wrote to him to thank him for his screenplay of that movie. GONE WITH SEA: Suzanna Leigh, who plays Unity, is the goddaughter of Vivien Leigh of 'Gone With the Wind' fame. She is escaping Africa with her unethical father in this movie. She also starred in 'Lust for a Vampire' for Hammer Productions. Leigh passed away in 2017.COMMENTS/THOUGHTS: THE STRANGE WORLD OF 'THE LOST CONTINENT': This movie is well known for it's bizarre story. There are massive gaps in logic. Even taking into account the need for movies to deliberately use illogical plot points just to keep the plot moving, this movie's screenplay is bizarre. The following are examples... TITANIC LOGIC: Something about ships taking on water that makes people lose their minds. As the water is running into the hold, the Captain starts off by grabbing the lowest cannisters but then inexplicably goes up. He should obviously have been grabbing all the lower ones first... lest they get wet and explode. Then... ABANDON SHIP!?!: The captain decides to abandon ship in the middle of a hurricane! All he had to do was keep the Phospor B from getting damaged. He already sealed the hold. Why would he go out in a skimpy lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. It's not as if he didn't know they were in the middle of nowhere. There was very little chance that they would ever be found. The were literally in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. In his own words, they were 1000 miles from the nearest land and far from the nearest shipping routes. They had only enough food and water for 4 days. If they were going to do this, then... WHAT WAS ALL THE FIGHTING ABOUT?: If they were just going to abandon ship, why didn't everyone leave with the crew? Why did they fight them? I'd take my chances with the ship over a small lifeboat in a hurricane! Once on the lifeboat, the captain gives the doctor an order but... I GUESS HE HAD SOMETHING BETTER TO DO: While in the lifeboat, the doctor is asked by the Captain to look after the cook, who was injured during the mutiny. The doctor balks, saying it's not his responsibility. So much for the Hippocratic oath. Of course the doctor was unethical but, like really, he had something better to be doing? He's stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing to do. He should have been thankful that he actually had something to put his mind to rather than dwelling on dying in the middle of nowhere. DIDN'T ANYBODY NOTICE?: The next day, the lifeboat ends up running back into the Corita with Pat the bartender on board. Didn't anybody notice he wasn't on the lifeboat? MAYBE HE HADN'T GOTTEN ANY IN AWHILE: Ricaldi takes the bonds from Eva saying that his fee is 10% of the 2 million. That's a lot of money in 1967 (pounds or dollars). Eva offers 20% but Ricaldi declines saying that it's not worth the risk of someone coming looking for him afterward. Eva offers herself to Ricaldi as a bonus... that changes everything! Ricaldi not only agrees but he gives her back the bonds and tells her to keep them safe! Eva was a good looking woman for her age but she was 55 years old and he was a much younger man. He was just looking for a piece. I'm not sure if any person is worth risking your life over just to get 'some'. It's not as if he was looking for a long term relationship with her. He just wanted a piece. Talk about desperate. GETTING REAL: Let's get real here for just a moment. If Ricaldi was going to take 20% and risk his life or even split the money, why not just take everything? Those bonds were bearer bonds and untraceable. He could have lived lavishly anywhere in the world without anybody ever finding out. Anyway, after thinking about it, Ricaldi makes up his mind and returns to Eva to bargain for percentages and to discuss... COLLECTING HIS BONUS: Uhh... Ricaldi... that bonus was thrown in after you were offered 20%. Ricaldi demands 50% plus the bonus. Eva, pretends to be distressed about it, but let's face it, it's not like she tries real hard to reject his advances and remind him the bonus was when the deal was 20%. COMMITTING HURRI CURRI: I'm not sure what was up with the Hurri Curri, the cook. Soon as he regains consciousness after a severe concussion, he just gets up, goes mad and jumps off the lifeboat and into the killer seaweed. I don't know why this scene was deemed necessary. It was already established that the seaweed was deadly. SEAWEED MUST BE ALLERGIC TO SNOW SHOES: Why didn't the seaweed attack whenever they walked on it? They wore some sort of large 'snow shoe' type of thing but that's all the protection they had. The seaweed had no issues rising up and coming through the windows in the ship. They could have just freed the ship if it wasn't going to attack. None of this makes any sense... NOW 'THAT' MAKES PERFECT SENSE!!!: Captain Larsen comes out on deck to find Ricaldi being dragged to his death by a giant octopus. He sees Unity, lying on the ground unconscious with a severed tentacle still wrapped around her. So does he rescue Ricaldi? Nope... he says F*%# That!!! I'm going for the babe. This movie isn't completely illogical after all. FOUND IN TRANSLATION: The Spanish not only spoke the English language, they didn't even have Spanish accents. OTHER COMMENTS:-I'm not sure what the whole point of the lifeboat scene was if they were just going to end up back on the ship shortly thereafter. This is a strange turn of events.-Suzanna Leigh, who plays Unity, looked much better 'not' done up. In the lifeboat with hair wet she looks much hotter. Just sayin'...-Hurri Curri's name has to be a deliberate joke. His (accidental suicide?) death doesn't really work in a moody movie like this.-I couldn't quite figure out what was up with Sarah? Why did she leave her ship? Where was her ship? She says her friends must be worried that she was dead or captured.-I'm not sure why El Supremo wanted to leave with the Captain, being the King and all, but OK.CONCLUSIONS: This movie might be the most unusual film ever made by Hammer Studio's. The first time I watched it I lost track of what was going on and became confused. I paid a lot more attention the second time around and then I understood it better. It has a surreal feel to it.Despite all of the negativity I have written for this review, I actually like this movie. I love movies that focus on journeys and I love movies that bring together a group of people in an isolated area. This movie fills the bill on both counts. Despite it's massive flaws, I find the movie to be both interesting and entertaining. Best of all, it's very different. Different is always good even if the movie isn't.This release is excellent. There are a lot of extra's that gives it added value. The picture is quite good and you get two cuts of the movie. It's pretty much a 'must have' if you are a fan of Hammer Horror.RECOMMENDATIONS/RATINGS:Recommended for obviously fans of Hammer Horror.Recommended for fans of strange fantasy films.Plot: 7/10 - A very strange story that I'm giving an extra point or two for being so unusual.Picture: 8/10 or 4 stars - Some imperfections but the picture is mostly clean and looks excellent.SFX: 4/10 or 2 stars. The effects are a weak point of this movie.Extra's: 10/10 or 5 stars - Lots of extra's here.Bonus Category - Doing Something Different: 10/10 or 5 starsOverall: 8.5/10 or 4 1/2 stars which I'm bumping up to 5 stars.

This is an obscure movie from Hammer Studios and while not their best, it does have it's moments. I admire the fact that the good folks as Shout Factory, under the name Scream Factory, doing their best to add additional footage cut from the film. The only problem is that the footage is too grainy that it doesn't look too good. Luckily the original theatrical version is included as a bonus feature, so I say stick with that version of the film. If you're looking for a movie to riff on with friends that is pure b-movie insanity, then The Lost Continent is for you.

The Lost Continent is Great 70's SciFi Fantasy Movie! KInda cheesy towards the end, but the Explosive story holds true! Last saw it at a theater in 1972. I've been searching for a copy of this movie for well over 20 years!

I saw this movie in a theatre when I was too young to understand it. I remembered certain images from it and searched for it several years before finding its title and buying a copy. Nice to see it again after all these years, through adult eyes. It's not a fantastic film, but it held my attention and I'd recommend it to viewers who are old enough to enjoy horror/adventure films from the pre-CGI era, and who are willing to forgive its sometimes hokey special effects.

Yeahh!!Baby!!..This movie is weird and scarey..and man if you get the right people to do an updated remake..man "O" man.. it would be killer..( the environment is what makes the movie great) alright let's see..how can we do this without giving up to much.. Lost ship..Tough Guy Capt. with an hidden agenda..Rich folk drinking having a good time (what else do you expect them to do? o'ye AHH drink and have more fun)a lost community of (religous) misfits.. a hottie babe lost in the deadly marshlands..can somebody please help her out? I can..no I cann..(CANNS!!) hey wait.. what about me? Hey! quit shoving!! OUT of my way Neive!! I can assist the fair maiden..(calm down, ya buncha tools) CREEPY SCAREY environment( is why I 5 Star it, simply cool) lost out somewhere in the uncharted vastness of the ocean is the Mush Land Ship Cemetary( welcome to the "Lost Continent").. is where our ship full of people find themselves a tar pit..Quick sand like..SHIP sink hole..marshy like swamp land..were the plants & creatures prey..on helpless victims..that dare visit the accursed land.. Effects could have been(b with no +) better..still oldy classic loved it as a Kid, and still do now.. (thanks amazon.com )cool well thought out movie concept..

I love, love, love this movie! My dad took me and my brother to see it when I was eight years old, so I have that nostalgia memory. Even so, I feel the film has aged well. It is just so crazy and all over the place! It is certainly the "lost Hammer gem."Nevertheless, I am having a LOT of trouble playing the blu-ray on my PS4. The film keeps stopping and then skips a bit. I can get through the movie, but this is not how it's supposed to be. Naturally, I waited until after my return window closed so I'm stuck with my barely usable copy. Not the movie's fault.

At the time this movie didn't do well in the US, but very slowly it built a cult following. Still not that large of a following, but some of us remember this quirky film as a freaky campy good time. Great cast makes what could have been a dumpster fire into a fun time. Just try not to take it seriously and you will enjoy yourself. Strap on your sea shoes and your shoulder ballons and take a walk into the Sargasso Sea for an unforgettable time. Just watch out for The Inquisitor and his cult lead by El Supremo.

Welcome aboard a leaky tramp freighter full of water activated explosives that is heading into a hurricane. The crew is mutinous and the group of passengers are a pretty shady lot. They become stranded in the Sargasso Sea where they must fight off Conquistadors, flesh eating seaweed, and giant scorpions and crabs. Hammer Films at it's best! This would have been playing at the local Drive In.

This is not I suspect one of Hammer's more celebrated films but it deserves to be. Like Devil Rides Out and To the Devil a Daughter this is based on a story by Dennis Wheatley but is quite different in tone. There's a fantastic music score by the Peddlers for a start. And a very unusual plot takes in a ship voyaging through uncharted waters with a motley selection of passengers before the film veers into monster movie territory - the creatures here reminded me of the Macra in 1960s Doctor Who! - and reaches a bonkers climax with what resembles the Spanish Inquisition. I wasn't expecting that but I loved it all so definitely recommended. Great print on blu ray too.

I bought this a while ago before I had my Multi multi region HD type player (which is a wonderful creation - we don't need regions in 2024 do we??). Anyway the BLURAY quality is sadly a bit disapointing. The film was never full of vibrant colour, but here some scenes almost seem sepia tone, and many scenes are in semi darkness . The sound and subtitles are perfect. Do watch the extras - Dana gilespie - wonderful, and a very strange Norman Eshley - both fascinating and done in 2020 for this SHOUT issue. The plot is one of those bonkers wonderful fantasy films that were prevelant in the 60's (Think Doug (Troy) McLURE). A diverse set of passengers and crew are abooard a past it's sell by date ship on route to Carracas, all for various reasons. The ship hits trouble and lands on a plateau in the Saragossa sea and there meet the most curious set of humans including said Dana Gilespie with massive baloons (oh See the film). Trouble follows until a pitch battle sorts things out (Honestly not a spoiler) Hildegarde Kneff steals the glamour stakes though Leigh tries her hardest. Dana is just fun. Eric Porter sweats and does his best. It wasn't as much fun as I thought I remebered, but remains a good harmless family film with perhaps a 12 cert type warning. (THE BLURAY IS NOT RATED!)

An excellent forgotten gem. Thanks for the Blu Ray release!