Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau

The documentary is about a film that could not be made. Richard Stanley prepared a project adapted from H. G. Wells's novel and convinced the studio. Shooting began in Australia. The weather was bad, the set was built and destroyed, the actors arrived late. Marlon Brando suffered a personal loss and joined the set late; Val Kilmer changed his contract and changed his part. Stanley was dismissed after three days. Then he disappeared, and after a while came back to the set dressed as an extra. John Frankenheimer, who replaced him, finished the film. David Gregory directs. The documentary dates from 2014. Its main witness is Richard Stanley himself; the crew, the actors and the producers also speak. The method is many voiced; the same event is told differently by several people and the documentary does not say which is right. What Brando did on set is the most cited part, and the accounts of it support each other. The real matter it builds is who holds creative control; the narrative takes up the studio system directly. The finished film was released in 1996 and failed; the documentary does not defend it. Its limit is partiality; Stanley's account is placed at the centre and the other side gets less room. Who it is for: anyone curious about how films get made and about projects that end in disaster. Who it is not for: it asks for context from anyone unfamiliar with the subject, and the narrative comes close to gossip.