the people that time forgot

Although writers like Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs deserve most of the credit for popularizing the fantasy genre, Frank Frazetta was the man who actually moved the merchandise. Frazetta's artwork graced the covers of countless paperbacks, turning these literary creations into irresistible eye candy; misty mountain landscapes populated by impossibly curvaceous women, fierce warriors and otherworldly monsters. For an entire generation, Frazetta's art defined characters like Conan, Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. And filmmakers were only too happy to capitalize on his work.

But capturing Frazetta's style on celluloid proved to be a much trickier proposition. While Conan the Barbarian (1982) gets the most attention, Kevin Connor's The People That Time Forgot (1977) got there first with stunning volcanic location footage and imaginative sets that mimic the artist's layouts to a tee (watch for an quick glimpse of Frazetta's famous "Death Dealer" on a wall hanging). Simply put, the film comes as close as budget and technology would allow to putting Frazetta's art in motion.

The fact that it's a movie for kids, sporting cardboard pterodactyls and hand-puppet dinosaurs, might be a tad disappointing. But there was a brief and glorious time during the '70s in which films like The People That Time Forgot - along with the first film in the series, The Land That Time Forgot - were considered perfectly acceptable family entertainment, rubber monsters and all. And by those standards, Conner's film is oodles of fun.

On a rescue mission to a lost continent protected by an impenetrable ice wall, a four-person expedition (led by Patrick Wayne, son of John) winds up crash landing their amphibious aircraft after being attacked by a curious pterodactyl. But they soon discover that prehistoric monsters aren't their biggest problem; a ruthless army of natives has targeted them for sacrifice to their volcano god. It will take the help a beautiful cavegirl (Dana Gillespie) and the very man they came to rescue (Doug McClure) to get them out of the fire and back to civilization.

By this point, director Kevin Connor was an old hand at this sort of thing. He'd already helmed the first Time Forgot film and followed it up with the similar At The Earth's Core, making each feel like a chapter in an ongoing adventure tale. And while People has the same look, the outdoor photography adds a dose of realism that the others lacked. As cartoony as some of the miniatures and monsters appear, they blend perfectly into the fantasy landscape Connor is creating.

For adults recapturing their youth (which will be most of the folks watching), People has a better than average cast of characters, particularly Sarah Douglas who doesn't seem the least bit embarrassed of her surroundings (she'd move straight from this to the iconic role of Ursa in Superman II) and Gillespie's runway-ready cavegirl, whose cleavage almost qualifies as the 9th wonder. But what Kino's new presentation really brings to light is the production design by Maurice Carter that uses every trick, both practical and painted, to bring Frazetta's world to life.

The Blu-ray looks almost too good to be true, with so much color and clarity there's no since even comparing it to the old MGM DVD. And there are extras too! Stars Sarah Douglas and Dana Gillespie sit down for separate 20-minute interviews about their experience shooting the film while director Kevin Connor adds an audio commentary moderated by Brian Tenchard-Smith. As the mostly British cast and crew might say, lovely!