Growing up as a fan of the original TV series, 1998’s Lost In Space was a film I was lucky enough to have caught theatrically the same weekend it knocked James Cameron’s Titanic out of the number 1 spot after 15 weeks. The film had the fledgling genre house turned major player New Line Cinema looking for a bankable franchise — they would soon start shooting in 1998 with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. While some may think our current IP obsessed cinematic landscape is something new, keep in mind this was the same year Warner resurrected their own late 60’s syndicated TV property with their adaptation of The Avengers (Not that one), starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes. Arrow recently released the severely underrated (IMO) sci-fi reimagining on 4K UHD, which itself was a retelling of The Swiss Family Robinson and I couldn’t have been happier to revisit this slick slice of nineties nostalgia.
For those who have missed this either in its original or latest Netflix adaption, Lost in Space is the story of the Robinson family, a nuclear familial unit with a husband (William Hurt), wife (Mimi Rogers), son and two daughters (Heather Graham and Lacey Chabert) who are on a mission to colonize space, when they are thrown off course thanks to a saboteur – Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman) and become, you guessed it – Lost in Space. The 90’s update of course has the depletion of the ozone layer to blame for their mission’s urgency, with humanity only having two decades left on earth. This was something highlighted by how sweaty everyone was in the film, a fact I didn’t notice until watching it on this 4K UHD. The only things I think this film had going against it was its heavy use of 90s CGI, and its decision to go from a more whimsical and family friendly vibe into a more bleak, yet intriguing time travel plot.
Because time travel is never easy.
The film could best be described as the TV show through the lens of a trip-hop video. The contrast is maxed out and the dated CGI looks like something out of a Dreamcast game, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The film also leans into that with its soundtrack as well, with the likes of The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim and Death in Vegas, so it all kind of worked for me now as a curated snapshot of the time. Keep in mind this use of CGI was rather bleeding edge at the time given it was only four years after Jurassic Park. I still have to admit, having just visited the original show during the pandemic, I found this update a rather fun and intriguing take, with my only quip being the film’s biggest struggle for me narrative-wise was convincing the audience that Dr. Smith, while devilishly fun here thanks to Oldman, should still be breathing after nearly killing everyone in the first act of the film.
Arrow in my opinion really nailed this transfer. They’ve left the grain completely intact which given the higher contrast of some of the brighter scenes delivers a very filmic look. This definitely adds a patina to the CGI, which encapsulates and filters it through the celluloid offering up a very organic look. For me it was like watching that print unspool on opening night so many years ago. Even with the grain, there was an impressive clarity on screen, which had me noticing the sweat pouring off of everyone in almost every scene. That along with the craftsmanship of the sets and costumes really stood out to me this time around given the digital presentation.
Since the original disc came from the hey-day of DVD and was packed to the gills and even had some super secret hidden extras, Arrow smartly ported that over and supplemented it with a few interviews with key players. Director Stephen Hopkins, director of photography Peter Levy, producer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and art director Keith Pain are all newly interviewed by Arrow and share their perspective now looking back on the project decades later. Akiva Goldsman was probably my favorite of the bunch since he felt the most transparent and candid with his experience working on the project, from being a fan of the property to the pitfalls of producing it. He walks the line really well letting us in on some of the behind the scenes drama, while not throwing anyone under the bus or getting too sordid.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films approved by director Stephen Hopkins
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio and lossless stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archive audio commentary with director Stephen Hopkins and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
- Archive audio commentary with visual effects supervisors Angus Bickerton and Lauren Ritchie, director of photography Peter Levy, editor Ray Lovejoy, and producer Carla Fry
- A Space Odyssey, a newly filmed interview with director Stephen Hopkins
- Lights in the Sky, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Peter Levy
- A Journey Through Time, a newly filmed interview with producer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
- Art of Space, a newly filmed interview with supervising art director Keith Pain
- Crafting Reality, a newly filmed interview with Kenny Wilson, former mould shop supervisor at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
- Sound of Space, a newly filmed interview with sound mixer Simon Kaye and re-recording mixer Robin O’Donohue
- Lost But Not Forgotten in Space, a new video essay by film critic Matt Donato
- Deleted scenes
- Building the Special Effects, an archival featurette with visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton and animatics supervisor Mac Wilson
- The Future of Space Travel, an archival featurette exploring the film’s vision of the future
- TV Years, a Q&A with the original cast of the TV series
- Bloopers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Pye Parr
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by critic Neil Sinyard, articles from American
Lost in Space is pure 90s nostalgia that’s dated, but still charming and a lot of fun. Watching it now, it really makes you wonder what would have happened next for the Robinson family had this film found its audience when it was released. But I guess we’ll never know. That being said we still have this original film flawlessly presented here, no DNR, no retouching, just the original film as screened – a perfect time capsule of its time, even WITH its wonky CGI. Revisiting this was a real treat and I am glad these older blockbusters are getting the Arrow treatment, introducing these once multiplex fillers to a whole new generation of cinephiles to hopefully be reassessed and given their due.
