Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his stories about the famed 221B Baker Street detective, but the truth is he was the father of dinosaur fiction. His novel, written in 1912, spurred a natural interest in the prehistoric creatures that walked the earth thousands of years ago. A&E's film may not be a close adaptation, but it's a memorable one.

Professor George Challenger (Bob Hoskins) has just returned from an expedition in the Amazon, where he claims he shot a flying dinosaur thought to have been extinct for some three million years. He brings back as evidence the bones of the creature, and attempts to raise support to make a deeper expedition into the jungle in search of the lost world told of in the eccentric writings of theologian, where dinosaurs still exist on a plateau long lost to civilization. Accompanying him will be fellow scientist and skeptic Leo Summerlee (James Fox), renowned hunter and explorer Lord Roxton (Tom Ward), and Edward Malone (Matthew Rhys), a journalist. Their travels bring them to the village of Reverend Kerr (Peter Falk) and his niece Agnes (Elaine Cassidy), who would like to accompany them, as she speaks the Indian dialects and knows the terrain. Reluctantly they agree and the group journeys into the jungle in search of the fated cave entrance to the plateau, in search of these giant flying dinosaurs.

After their guides are frightened away by a ritualistic sign marking the lands as haunted by the devil, they are left to travel under their own power. But they find the cave entrance has been blocked over the years by a landslide. The plateau looms above, a sheer face of jagged rock. Risking their lives to cross on a fallen limb, they are left stranded in this terrifying but fascinating world where dinosaurs co-exist beside human and monkey inhabitants. But the world is not all beauty, and there lies something evil in the jungle that wants them dead. Can they escape this unknown predator, or will they be forever stranded in the lost world?

I have never read Doyle's novel, but am familiar with his style of storytelling, and from what I can see this has his name written all over it. It really is a beautiful piece of filmmaking with much more depth and prowess than Spielberg's films. The characters are well-developed and even the addition, Agnes, who did not appear in the novel, blends in well. She is the ideal heroine without becoming clichd, macho-girl, or the damsel in distress. The animation on the dinosaurs is breathtaking, the countryside gorgeous, and the characters truly interesting. You come to admire and like them all, despite individual flaws.

There can be no dinosaur epic without violence. Language is limited to mostly British slang and mild profanity, and there is virtually no sensuality (except for a native woman's bare back). But violence and thematic elements are very strong. The characters are chased and threatened numerous times by carnivores, who once attack a native village and maul people. One is torn apart (not seen, although we witness the bloody head of the creature grasping raw flesh). The creatures are shot at, bludgeoned, and impaled. I wasn't too put off by this element... what shocked me was a scene involving ape-men who bludgeon a native in the head with a rock and then eat him. They handle the scene as tastefully as possible, but it's still overly intense with some bloody results. Later, they spread filth on their faces to avoid being eaten. 

Violence aside, there is one other thing that bears mentioning. That was the addition of Reverend Karr, the only religious man in the film. He's portrayed as being a doubting fanatic willing to go to any lengths to prevent science from being fully explored. He is unable to even remain in the presence of anyone who doubts the scriptures. While Challenger himself does make a pro-God reference at the end, religion get something of a berating. Since they handle both evolution and creation, yet seem to favor neither, I would have appreciated a little more of a religious leaning, particularly on the part of Agnes.