9. Island Of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls is the first film adaptation of the novel The Island of Dr. Moreau written by none other than H.G. Wells and first published in 1896. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, Criterion released the most complete version of the film that we know of. With the original negatives lost, this release is comprised of various iterations of the film from previous distribution as it was banned in twelve countries chopped by the censors for depictions of violence and for it's star Charles Laughton, comparing himself to God. A special feature with legendary FX artist Rick Baker, director John Landis and genre expert Bob Burns discuss how revelatory the special effects were for the it's time considering they did not have foam rubber to work with and predominately used cotton latex or cotton collodion with hair. No easy feat, apparently.
When you hear Lugosi moan the words, 'are we not men?', your immediate retort is probably 'we are Devo'. The people over at Criterion thought the same thing and included an interview with Devo members Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh as they discuss the importance the film had to the creation of the band and their inclusion of Lugosi's plea into their song 'Jock Homo'. It may seem odd that Criterion would include this but it is a charming edition to the release. Better still, is the inclusion of the 10 minute short film In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution which are the experimental music videos for the songs Secret Agent Man and Jock Homo.