![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/7370lost.png\")
<\/p>\nIrwin Allen started a franchise with his 1965 TV show: there has even been a second TV series with Parker Posey as Dr. Smith. This very, very expensive 1978 space opera must be the result of millions of hours of digital labor, as the whole thing is a digital effect just as CGI wiped out conventional optical effects. It\u2019s \u2018Star Wars\u2019 but for the whole family, get it? \u00a0The old formula comes back with a massive production and a stellar cast: William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Gary Oldman, Matt LeBlanc and Jared Harris. It\u2019s a 2-hour audiovisual barrage, and slightly less violent than the average space extravaganza.<\/p>\n
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Lost in Space
4K Ultra HD
Arrow Video
1998 \/ Color \/ 2:39 widescreen \/ 130 min. \/ Street Date September 2, 2025 \/ Available from \/ 49.99
Starring: William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson, Gary Oldman, Matt LeBlanc, Jared Harris, Dick Tufeld, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, June Lockhart, Edward Fox, Angela Cartwright.
Cinematography: Peter Levy
Production Designer: Norman Garwood
Art Directors: Keith Pain, Steven Lawrence, David Lee, Nick Palmer
Costume Design: Vin Burnham
Film Editor: Ray Lovejoy
Composer: Bruce Broughton
Special Makeup Effects and Animatronics: Terry Jones
Visual Effects supervisors: Angus Bickerton, Lauren Ritchie (probably many more)
Written by Akiva Goldsman from the television series of Irwin Allen
Executive producers Michael De Luca, Mace Neufeld, Robert Rehme, Richard Saperstein
Produced by Carla Fry, Akiva Goldsman, Stephen Hopkins, Mark W. Koch
Directed by Stephen Hopkins<\/p>\n
We\u2019re told that the prolific writer-director Ib Melchior had actually written up the idea of \u2018Swiss Family Robinson in Space\u2019 for Irwin Allen. He wasn\u2019t credited on the original show, but received a courtesy credit on this reboot, which seems fair to us.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n New Line Cinema didn\u2019t go cheap on 1998\u2019s Lost in Space, which clearly paid a lot to assemble its stellar cast. Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham and Matt LeBlanc were clearly in it for the payday, as succeeding in \u2018something the kids like\u2019 was a good path toward career stability. William Hurt had been very picky with his projects. He had chalked up some \u00a0good films<\/a> yet his last major success had been a full ten years back, in \u00a0The Accidental Tourist<\/a>. When filming Wim Wenders\u2019 Sci-fi masterpiece \u00a0Until the End of the World<\/a> the actor had railed against what he thought was a stupid story, with a stupid character. \u00a0(or he may have just been irked by an extended schedule that messed up his work calendar.) \u00a0But Hurt clearly applied himself to the \u2018Ward Cleaver in Orbit\u2019 requirements of Lost in Space. He and Mimi Rogers show full commitment, selling the film\u2019s just-plain-awful dialogue without reservation.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nobody\u2019s slumming in Stephen Hopkins\u2019 picture, least of all top star Gary Oldman. The accomplished actor had recently finished serving villain duty in both Air Force One and Luc Besson\u2019s The Fifth Element, another space adventure with elaborate visual effects. Director Hopkins does well handling a gigantic production with an enormous number of complex effects. It\u2019s a special talent, directing all that traffic. Hopkins certainly has career survival skills \u2014 we at MGM\/UA were appalled by his lazy action thriller for two generations of the Bridges family, Blown Away, but his earlier The Ghost and the Darkness has sustained an okay reputation.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Lost in Space is jammed with plot complications, In 2058 a united Earth wants to relocate somewhere that hasn\u2019t been ecologically ruined. The Robinson Family is picked to fly the Jupiter 2 spaceship across the galaxy to homestead the distant planet Alpha Prime. There they will assemble a \u2018Hypergate\u2019 portal to allow Earth pioneers to relocate to Alpha Prime in one instantaneous move. Paterfamilias John Robinson (William Hurt) concentrates on his research, and his wife Maureen (Mimi Rogers) thinks he neglects the kids. Grown-up Judy (Heather Graham) is a qualified space scientist and teenage Penny (Lacey Chabert) an impish rule-breaker. Spunky genius Will Robinson (Jack Johnson) pranks his teachers but also probes scientific ideas that would impress his father, if John Robinson ever paid attention.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nasty terrorists are trying to stop the mission. Space fighter pilot Don West (Matt Le Blanc of TV\u2019s Friends) saves the Earth Orbit\u2019s Hypergate from a terror attack. He then learns that he will be the piloting the Jupiter 2, as terrorists have assassinated the chosen pilot. The launch goes without a hitch, but when the Robinsons go into hypersleep, an on-board defensive robot self-activates and attempts to destroy the ship. It has been reprogrammed by the mercenary saboteur Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman). But the wily Smith has also been double-crossed by his terrorist employer (Edward Fox). Waking up as an involuntary stowaway, Smith must help the Robinsons save the Jupiter 2, just to save his own skin. He becomes an untrustworthy, potentially treacherous fellow traveler.<\/p>\n As in other fantasy space missions, amazing technology finds a solution for every problem. The Jupiter 2 is falling into the sun, and the only way out is to put the ship into Hyper Mode. That lets it pass through the sun but deposits the Robinsons way out in the cosmos, who-knows-where. A combined effort keeps the damaged ship \u2018afloat,\u2019 but the nefarious Smith keeps trying to take control. The ship seems to have slipped somewhat into the future, as they encounter a derelict ship that has been trying to rescue them for years. They must deal deal with a monstrous alien infestation, a species of spider than can live in the vacuum of space.<\/p>\n The Family also adopts a \u2018cute\u2019 space creature called a Blarp or Blawp, a hairless monkey with the enormous eyes of a Merrie Melodies cartoon character. The Blarp is along for the ride \u2014 it doesn\u2019t figure in the storyline or really do anything. The CGI animation is not bad for 1998, though.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Robinsons eventually crash on an icy planet, where they investigate a force-field dome. Inside is a \u2018power core\u2019 that can re-energize the stricken Jupiter 2. Young Will\u2019s ideas about time travel are proven, for they encounter \u2018future\u2019 versions of both Will and Dr. Smith. The adult Will (Jared Harris) wants to use the core to time\/space travel back to Earth. Dr. Smith has become an alien monster, as he has melded with that nefarious species of space spider.<\/p>\n More detailed complications could continue for four pages, but we\u2019re being merciful here.<\/p>\n Retained from the TV show is the ship\u2019s massive robot, its booming voice provided by the original talent Dick Tufeld: \u00a0\u201cDanger Will Robinson\u201d. \u00a0Young Will can participate in various monster battles via \u2018hologram control\u2019 of the robot. As if operating a drone, he shoots the nasty spider monsters by remote control. Will also \u2018tinkers together\u2019 needed inventions, while fixing stuff for his older sister Penny. But his father (sigh) just doesn\u2019t take him seriously. \u2018Gee, if dad only listened to my time travel theories, everything would be peachy.\u2019<\/p>\n The Robinsons work out their family conflicts in the gaps between constant catastrophes: wife vs husband and father vs kids. John and Don squabble over who is in command. The trickster Dr. Smith plots against all of them.<\/p>\n There\u2019s of course a budding romance \u2018twixt Judy and Don, which has appeal because Graham and LeBlanc do their best to make it cute and frisky. It might go somewhere if not for the awful dialogue, which makes LeBlanc\u2019s Don behave as a persistent horn dog. Every line is a lame smart remark, laced with a hollow clich\u00e9 or a bad sex pun: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just hang on to your joystick?\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Lost in Space is first and foremost a mass bombardment of CGI eye candy. It begins with an elaborate space battle and never lets up. The noise, threats, agitation, explosions and mishegoss occurs over and over again, repeatedly, without end. You know, it\u2019s that word \u2026 redundant! This must have cost a pretty penny indeed, as so much of the show is augmented by CGI or entirely animated with computer graphics.<\/p>\n There is a genuine information overload in the onslaught of new designs and fancy animated technology. A kid of 12 will let this sort of thing wash over him, soak it up and take it for granted, as if drama is best served as an unending video game. It\u2019s difficult to appreciate any spectacle, when a new MAJOR ATTENTION ISSUE arrives every ten seconds. Viewers seeking a story and characters to appreciate won\u2019t find much \u2026 but we reluctantly agree that not everything has to have \u2018something to say.\u2019 Lost in Space certainly delivers the aforementioned eye candy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But that screenplay \u2026 yikes. The soundtrack layers on tons of \u2018radio exposition\u2019 dialogue: everybody dumps out information to people who already know said information, because it\u2019s really being said for the benefit of the audience. It\u2019s practically a radio show \u2014 narrating itself to keep distracted viewers on the same page. We\u2019ll bet that Lost in Space would be much more engaging without the constant, idiotic info-jabber. A lot of exciting things are happening. If the radio talk were cut down, we\u2019d pay more attention to the visuals and participate more closely in the thrills. End of unwelcome opinionizing.<\/p>\n Lost in Space has plenty of good acting, with Hurt, Rogers and Oldman straining mightily to keep the show on its feet. They earned every dime they were paid. We can see where New Line\u2019s money went \u2014 into sophisticated design work and hundreds of complicated, fully CGI animated shots. There are so many \u2018miracle\u2019 visuals that we soon stop seeing them as special. The finale sets up an immediate sequel \u2014 another Hypergate jump may take them closer to Alpha Prime. Two more movies were planned but never filmed, perhaps to form an extended \u2018Robinson Crusoe Odyssey.\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Arrow Video\u2019s 4K Ultra HD of Lost in Space is a picture-perfect presentation of this elaborate special effects spectacular. The 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative was commissioned by Arrow Films and approved by director Stephen Hopkins.<\/p>\n The visuals are exceedingly dense, with angle after storyboarded angle captured and finessed by 50 expert hands. Twenty years earlier, only studio department heads received screen credit for visual effects. By 1998 we were seeing marathon end credit scrolls with hundreds of credits. I can still remember what most everyone who contributed to Close Encounters actually did on the show. The number of new categories of jobs on a full-on CGI picture is staggering. Much of the work is done by farms of pixel-pushers \u2014 Highly Skilled digital artists. Many creative contributors never meet their colleagues in person.<\/p>\n Be careful when ordering to choose the right format. The Blu-ray and 4K UHD versions are separate releases.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Arrow\u2019s disc producer Raphael Messina lined up older extras for Lost in Space and created a series of new interview extras. Matt Donato contributes a video essay as well. An exhaustive list is below.<\/p>\n The insert booklet has some American Cinematographer article excerpts that show what took the fun out of special effects. Photo-real images got better and better mostly because computer programmers were able to refine their techniques. But audiences still respond best to solid storytelling and compelling characters. Lost in Space looks consistently great, but it all feels very familiar. It goes into the category of \u2018glad I saw it\u2019 and \u2018in no rush to see it again.\u2019<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean that kids won\u2019t love it. We hear the word \u2018shit\u2019 two or three times, which gets the film a PG rating to avoid the dreaded \u2018G.\u2019 The grotesque Smith-Spider monster will freak out some kids, but probably not disturb those that have had any access to commercial television.<\/p>\n Reviewed by Glenn Erickson<\/p>\n Lost in Space Visit CineSavant\u2019s Main Column Page<\/a>![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6250CSlogoleft0120.png\")
<\/a>We were intrigued by the opening pilot episode of Irwin Allen\u2019s Lost in Space. Not having a color TV, we didn\u2019t realize that the first season wasn\u2019t in color. It looked halfway interesting, and semi-serious. When I saw another episode a year later at a friend\u2019s house the show was in color, but by then it had morphed into a semi-comic vehicle for Jonathan Harris\u2019s Doctor Smith character, and was even dumber than Allen\u2019s TV version of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. At 14 years, I\u2019d aged out of the whole concept.<\/p>\n
all simmering in a sauce of \u2018family issues.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5550arrowvid917.jpg\")
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4K Ultra HD rates:
Movie: Noisy, Busy, Bright and Flashy
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio and lossless stereo audio
Supplements:
New Interview featurettes:
\u2022 \u00a0A Space Odyssey with director Stephen Hopkins
\u2022 \u00a0Lights in the Sky with director of photography Peter Levy
\u2022 \u00a0A Journey Through Time with producer \/ screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
\u2022 \u00a0Art of Space with supervising art director Keith Pain
\u2022 \u00a0Crafting Reality with Kenny Wilson, od Jim Henson\u2019s Creature Shop
\u2022 \u00a0Sound of Space with sound artists Simon Kaye and Robin O\u2019Donohue
New video essay Lost But Not Forgotten in Space by Matt Donato
\u2018Archival\u2019 extras:
Audio commentary with Stephen Hopkins and Akiva Goldsman
Audio commentary with visual effects supervisors Angus Bickerton and Lauren Ritchie, director of photography Peter Levy, editor Ray Lovejoy, and producer Carla Fry
Featurette Building the Special Effects with effects supervisors Angus Bickerton and Mac Wilson
Featurette The Future of Space Travel on the film\u2019s vision of the future
Featurette TV Years a Q&A with the original cast of the TV series
Bloopers
Deleted scenes
Illustrated 42-page insert pamphlet with an essay by critic Neil Sinyard and articles from American Cinematographer.
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: One 4K Ultra HD in Keep case
Reviewed: August 31, 2025
(7370lost)![\"CINESAVANT\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6250twologo0120small.jpg\")
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Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: cinesavant@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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