Lost in Space (1998) (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Sep 25, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Stephen Hopkins

Release Date(s)

1998 (September 2, 2025)

Studio(s)

New Line Cinema (Arrow Video)

• Film/Program Grade: D+
• Video Grade: A
• Audio Grade: A
• Extras Grade: A-

arrowvideo.com

Review

Before the summer 1998 season exploded with tentpole films like Deep Impact, Armageddon, and Godzilla, Stephen Hopkins’ and Akiva Goldsman’s big screen adaptation of Lost in Space hit theaters in April, eking out a very minor profit but receiving mostly negative reviews. In the years since, New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros.’ repeated push for the film on home video, including its impressive New Line Platinum Series DVD release, helped give the film a much appreciated second life. Some have even considered Lost in Space to be a forerunner to the J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboots, as well as The Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe films, citing similarities in the handling and execution of the material.

In the distant future of 2058, the world is becoming uninhabitable. Spurred on to save humanity, Professor John Robinson (William Hurt) and his family are to be sent via the spaceship Jupiter II to oversee the construction of a hypergate near Alpha Prime, a planet capable of sustaining human life. While John’s wife Maureen (Mimi Rogers) attempts to navigate their chaotic home life, as well as their children Will (Jack Johnson), Penny (Lacey Chabert), and Judy (Heather Graham), she encourages John to take more interest in them. Judy is meanwhile concerned with supervising Jupiter II’s final touches, while Penny becomes rebellious, and Will secretly experiments with time travel. Flying their ship is the ego-centric Don West (Matt LeBlanc), who also has his eyes set on Judy. Unbeknownst to them all, their family physician, Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman), has been paid by seditionists to sabotage the mission. Due to his actions, he’s accidentally trapped on board after re-programming one of the ship’s Robots to destroy the its navigational and guidance systems, sending the family off course. Forced to use the ship’s hyperdrive system, they’re transported into unknown territory, and must find their way back.

In many ways, Lost in Space is a very faithful adaptation of the original show, as far as characters, character motivations, and narrative are concerned. Many things have been updated to fit a more modern aesthetic, while also giving the film more of an action edge, but the true enemy of Lost in Space is its script. The dialogue is absolutely atrocious for the most part, filled with obviousness, sexism, and surface level dynamics at every turn. Some of this can be chalked up to the style of 1998 filmmaking since many of the films released at the time are guilty of many of the same things, but when you find yourself actively rooting against characters because of the words that are coming out of their mouth, then you’ve got a real problem on your hands.

The cast seems to be game, though Gary Oldman tends to outshine them all, even if his dialogue is mostly comprised of clichéd bag guy murmurings and self-aggrandizing. Matt LeBlanc cannot stop making sexual passes at Heather Graham, and Mimi Rogers is given little else to do besides being a mother. In fact, all of the women are often sidelined, left behind in the ship during some of the film’s latter story beats, which is chiefly due to a subplot involving all three of them having been cut from the film. On the other hand, everything that comes out of Lacey Chabert’s mouth is like nails on a chalkboard. To be fair, blame can’t be laid entirely at her feet since her character is so poorly-written in the first place that it makes the angstiest of movie teenagers blush. She received her share of some of the film’s major criticisms at the time, but thankfully, she managed to escape the wrath of her critics and have a career.

Lost in Space also pays homage to the original TV show by including some of the show’s stars in cameo appearances, including June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, and Angela Cartwright. Even Dick Tufeld returns to reprise his role as the voice of Robot. Reportedly, Jonathan Harris turned down the opportunity to appear, seeing it as nothing more than a “bit part,” and Guy Williams had unfortunately passed away nine years prior. One of the film’s biggest missed opportunities, which should have happened, was not including Bill Mumy as the older version of Will Robinson later in the film. It was a role that Mumy actually pursued, but was turned down by the producers, and therefore, he declined to participate. If that had taken place, I might’ve bumped my grade of the film up a notch or two as it would have made complete sense to feature him in that part, and made that version of the character (eventually played by Jared Harris) a little more interesting.

On the plus side, Lost in Space certainly looks like nice. Most of the 1998 computer-generated effects don’t hold up entirely, but they’re certainly more forgivable in space environments. The film was heavily designed, and while not all of it necessarily works, it gives it plenty of visual personality. The interiors of Jupiter II, as well as the planet containing the ever-expanding time bubble, offer some much-needed charm, even if the script doesn’t.

In truth, Lost in Space is just not a very good film. In fact, it’s mostly quite awful, but one can see the appeal to the younger generations that saw it at the time, or have seen it over the years, and developed a fondness for it. I’m definitely not going to attempt to dissuade them or tell them that they’re wrong, but for me, the film mostly succeeds in its visuals and not much else.

Lost in Space was shot on 35mm film (Kodak Vision 500T 5279 and Eastman EXR 200T 5293) with Panavision Panaflex Millennium cameras and Panavision Primo, C-Series, and E-Series anamorphic lenses. The results were finished photochemically and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Arrow Video debuts the film on Ultra HD with a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, approved by director Stephen Hopkins, QC’d by Pixelogic, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. A light layer of photochemical grain is on display, with bitrates sitting in the 80 to 100Mbps range, frequently rising above that, and dropping during some of the softer, effects-heavy sequences. Detail has been increased tremendously in nearly all sections of the frame, though some of the darker areas can only been squeezed for detail so much. The HDR grades admirably boost the film’s palette, which can be limited once aboard Jupiter II, but more than makes up for it outside the ship in varying environments. The computer-generated effects have a softness to them that’s unavoidable, but outside of that, this presentation is appears clean and crisp with excellent stability. It’s definitely the best the film have ever looked on home video.

Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM with optional subtitles in English SDH. The 5.1 option is a very immersive track with frequent panning and explosive low end, with plenty of ambient moments throughout in the various environments. The stereo option tightens things up a bit, but is still effective in its own right. Both tracks offer clear dialogue and plenty of boost for Bruce Boughton’s score. A Dolby Atmos remix would have given the film’s soundtrack some extra height, but the 5.1 track is suitable and powerful enough on its own.

The Arrow Video 4K Ultra HD release of Lost in Space sits in a standard black Amaray case with a double-sided insert, featuring the main theatrical artwork on one side and new artwork by Pye Parr on the other (as well as the slipcover). Also included is a 44-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information, a set of American Cinematographer articles from 1998 by Ron Magid, the essay The Family Robinsons: Lost in Space by Neil Sinyard, an excerpt from the film’s original productions notes, presentation information, production credits, and special thanks. The following extras are included on the disc:

• Audio Commentaries:
  • Stephen Hopkins and Akiva Goldsman
  • Angus Bickerton, Lauren Ritchie, Peter Levy, Ray Lovejoy, and Carla Fry
• A Space Odyssey: Stephen Hopkins on Lost in Space (HD – 20:58)
• Lights in the Sky: Peter Levy on Lost in Space (HD – 17:27)
• A Journey Through Time: Akiva Goldsman on Lost in Space (HD – 17:56)
• Art of Space (HD – 32:17)
• Sound in Space (HD – 9:20)
• Crafting Reality: An Interview with Kenny Wilson, Former Mould Shop Supervisor at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (HD – 6:54)
• Lost But Not Forgotten in Space? (HD – 18:32)
• Deleted Scenes (SD – 8 in all – 11:47)
• Building the Special Effects (SD – 15:55)
• The Future of Space Travel (SD – 9:47)
• TV Years: Q&A With the Original Cast (SD – 7:34)
• Bloopers (SD – 2:44)
• Theatrical Trailer (SD – 1:34)
• Image Galleries:
  • Stills (HD – 467 in all)
  • Lobby Cards (HD – 12 in all)
  • Stills from William Todd-Jones (HD – 9 in all)

Both commentaries date back to the DVD and LaserDisc releases of the film in 1998. The first features director Stephen Hopkins and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. The second is introduced by Hopkins and features visual effects supervisors Angus Bickerton and Lauren Ritchie, director of photography Peter Levy, editor Ray Lovejoy, and producer Carla Fry. All of the participants have been recorded separately and stitched together later, which makes for a much better commentary as there are very few gaps of silence and unnecessary tangents. They pack a lot of information about the creation of the film into both tracks, making them very valuable.

Next is a set of newly-produced interviews. In A Space Odyssey, Stephen Hopkins discusses his exposure to Lost in Space and Star Trek as a young man, the struggle to design the film, mixing sets with digital additions, working with computer-generated effects, prepping and casting the film, problems arising during filming, scoring the film, and ultimately children being fans of the film. In Lights in the Sky, cinematographer Peter Levy talks about his working relationship with Stephen Hopkins, his lenses and lighting choices for the film, shooting without right angles, working with visual effects, difficulties on the set, working with the cast, and divorcing himself from the film’s financial prospects. In A Journey Through Time, producer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman talks about becoming a screenwriter, becoming involved with the script, having been a fan of the original TV series when he was young, working in science fiction, becoming a producer, his experiences on the project retrospectively, the advantages and disadvantages to seeing films before the effects are finished, testing the film, the cast, and seeing the finished film today with fresh eyes.

In Art of Space, supervising art director Keith Pain discusses being hired for the film, his exposure to the original series, various sets and props designed for the film, seeing the finished shots with the visual effects added, working with Peter Levy, his thoughts on the cast and crew, working with Stephen Hopkins, and his feelings on the film today. In Sound in Space, sound mixer Simon Kaye and re-recording mixer Robin O’Donohue talk about being hired for their respective jobs on the film, working with the cast and crew, problems on the set with the special effects, their working relationship with Dolby, and working with Stephen Hopkins. In Crafting Reality, former mould shop supervisor for Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Kenny Wilson, discusses the difficulties in prepping the film, making the initial moulds in the US, creating the Blarp puppet, doing lifecasts of the actors, and improvements in lifecasting over time. Lost But Not Forgotten in Space? is a new video essay by film critic Matt Donato who covers the history of the Lost in Space franchise, but more importantly, the overall appeal of the film over time.

Most of the Deleted Scenes (of which there are eight total) are more like scene extensions, although a subplot involving another, larger Blarp alien was cut out of the film entirely. Building the Special Effects is a vintage featurette with visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, animatics supervisor Mac Wilson, and computer graphics supervisor Lee Danskin who go over the visual effects for the film using animatics and other footage. The Future of Space Travel is also a vintage featurette that examines ideas for the future, as seen in the film, exploring the film’s vision of the future, featuring Jeff Hohensee of The Tree People, and Charlene Anderson, Andrew Bormanis, and Dr. Louis Friedman of The Planetary Society. TV Years is a 1998 Q&A with members of the original TV show’s cast who make cameo appearances in the film, including June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, and Marta Kristen. Last is a set of Bloopers, a Theatrical Trailer, and three Image Galleries. Stills comprise 467 images of production stills, behind-the-scenes stills, production artwork, props, posters, and other promotional artwork. Lobby Cards contains 12 images of lobby cards. Stills from William Todd-Jones contains 9 images from the puppeteer of The Robot and Spider Smith (Shadow), showing off various pieces of Robot.

There are several things that haven’t carried over. Previous DVD and Blu-ray releases, including worldwide releases, feature music videos for Lost in Space by Apollo 440 and Busy Child (Lost in Space Version) by Crystal Method, EPK interviews with the cast and crew, and another making of featurette. Also not carted over from the US and Japanese LaserDisc releases are additional trailers and a total of twenty-two TV spots. The original New Line Platinum Series DVD release from 1998 also included several DVD-ROM games, while the Shout! Studios Blu-ray release from 2024 included the documentary “We’re Lost, Aren’t We?” So while this isn’t necessarily a comprehensive set of extras, this release makes up for it in quality. It’s an excellent release of a film that’s problematic, but beloved to certain audiences. For them, this release of Lost in Space on 4K Ultra HD comes highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

(You can follow Tim on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd. And be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel here.)