Planet of the Dinosaurs (1979)

At least it's not "Jurassic Park"

I was relatively enthusiastic about seeing this movie, since I really vdidn't know what to expect from it. Given the plot, I didn't expect many people to die. Well, it's true that not many people died, but more people died than I was expecting.

One weird thing is that people turn their back on some kind of Brachiosaur and within about two minutes they see a half-eaten Brachiosaur. I'm not sure if its supposed to be the same one, but if it is that's really stupid.

There's conflict between two central chracters, but surprisingly, they both live through the whole thing, and there's an "epilouge" scene where there's no tension between them. However, IT IS NEVER EXPLAINED WHY THERE'S NO TENSION BETWEEN THEM. There's no scene at any point in the movie explaning what happened.

In an amazing feat of inconsistancy, high-technology ray guns can't harm very small dinosaurs, but spears have no trouble peircing them.

Did I mention that this movie features a T-Rex (or possibly an Allosaurus) with a lower IQ than most inanimate objects?

Overall, it wasn't really a waste of time, but it was kind of on the edge of being disappointing. It's still not as bad as RAPTOR or the original JURASSIC PARK August 13, 2006

Good B-grade fun, but what's with the "official" description?

My sister and I have long had a soft place in our hearts for this late-70's sci-fi effort. The back of the DVD hypes it as a bold space adventure with spectacular effects and a gripping plot. I don't know what movie they were watching when they wrote that, but it wasn't Planet of Dinosaurs. It tries so hard to be deep and profound, following its sad little band of stranded astronauts as they try to survive on a prehistoric world, that you have to feel sorry for it. Nice dino FX (for the time) aside, this is a B-grade work all the way, with terrible acting, lousy lines, pointless characters who mostly exist to provide the local wildlife with ample fodder, and hilariously lame music. If, like us, you enjoy laughing at a good bad movie, this is a great pick. If only MST3K had taken a crack at this one... August 7, 2006

One man's trash ...

A cast of unknowns in dodgy spandex jumpsuits fight off a medley of prehistoric beasties on a planet that looks surprisingly like Earth. Yes, the acting, dialogue, costumes and music are straight out of a bad 70s porno, BUT this forgotten nugget offers cool stop-motion dino action aplenty, and it's fairly fast-paced, as well. This isn't one of those movies where you hardly ever see the monster (and when you do, it's a total letdown). The critters here get quite a lot of screen time, and they're pretty well-animated to boot. Pity the filmmakers only spent about $1.50 on the rest of the movie, but hey, you've gotta give 'em an A for effort. This movie took me back to the TV shows and movies I loved as a kid growing up in the 70s, when production values were lower but the fun quotient was higher. Good stuff. If you're into vintage stop-motion monster flicks, you should switch your brain off and check this out. March 13, 2006

Worthwhile Grade Z Dinosaur Adventure

Remember the first 40 minutes of the original "Planet of the Apes" in which the surviving team of a spacecraft explore the desert-like environment of the mysterious planet wherein they crash? (It was the best part of the movie, except for the very end). Okay, imagine that scenario for an entire 84 minute flick, albeit WITHOUT notable actors, great soundtrack and first-rate filmmaking; not to mention replace the apes with dinosaurs. If you can picture that, and it sounds like your cup of java, you might want to pick up "Planet of the Dinosaurs."

This flim is so amateurishly done on most levels that the average person would likely view it as a 2-Star flick. I grant it 3-Stars, however, for five notable reasons:

-- The picture was filmed at Vasquez Rocks, Northeast of Los Angeles (I visited this park in July of 2003). If you're not in the know, this location is where many of the original Star Trek episodes where filmed, such as "Arena" wherein Captain Kirk fights the Lizardman.
-- The stop-motion dinosaur animation is very good for the time period and, I hear, won some kind of an award when the film was released in the late '70s. It's pretty much on a par with "One Million Years B.C."
-- There are four (count 'em, four) female survivors of the space wreck and two of them are babes (the other two aren't that bad either, that is, if you're stranded on a deserted planet). One beauty unfortunately gets eaten almost immediately, but the other survives for quite awhile. The latter, by the way, appears to be of Native American ancestry and her tight outfit shows off her midrift and bellybutton the entire stint she appears in the film. And, trust me, if you have any doubt that American Indian women can be truly beautiful, you need to see this fine piece of womanhood.
-- After the first 20-30 minutes I was able to mentally adjust and accept the film's limitations; I strangely started to get into the story at this point and even care about the characters.
-- Lastly, this is definitely not a kiddy flick, nor is it goofy, comedic or even campy. It's a serious sci-fi story.

If "Planet of the Dinosaurs" had better actors, sound, music and worked out various other kinks in the story, direction, etc. it would certainly be a 4 or 5-Star film.

BOTTOM LINE: It's worth picking up if (like me) you're a sucker for Sci-fi survival-on-deserted-planet type flicks. Just keep in mind it's strictly Grade Z and mental adjustments will have to be made to appreciate it.

"Planet of the Dinosaurs" has garnered a worthy "guilty pleasure" spot in the cult/independant film section of my video library. October 13, 2005

Classic Cheese

I'm going to start by saying this- if you don't like really, really cheesy, bad movies, then you're not going to like "Planet of the Dinosaurs".

On the other hand, if you can appreciate a really bad movie for how good it is underneath all the cheese, terrible acting, and hideous special effects, then this movie is probably the penultimate late 1970's cheesy sci-fi horror pic.

The intrepid crew of "The Odyssey" (played by an ensemble cast of nobody you've ever heard of) crash lands on distant planet populated by fierce dinosaurs. Armed only with a few lasers (with are terribly ineffective against dinosaurs) and their wits, they must learn to survive on this harsh new world.

The special effects in this movie are actually not that bad for the genre. The stop-motion dinosaurs are a little silly sometimes, but overall the stop-motion is pretty good. The movie actually won a "Best Special Effects" award at a Science Fiction festival for it's special effects, so you know that at one time they were pretty good.

The acting is horrible. But not horrible in a "Matt Damon" kind of way... more like horrible in a "this is the best movie I've ever seen" way. You'll probably have to pause the movie after a few choice lines, to give yourself time to laugh the tears out of your eyes.

The music is... interesting. It fits the movie pretty well, but it's not really music so much as unpleasant noises strung together to form basic melodies. Granted, it's perfect for the movie, but if you ever heard it somewhere else, you'd be convinced there was a dying cat nearby.

I don't know if you've ever seen "Mystery Science Theater 3000", but this movie is basically like one of the ones they watch on that show. If you like that show (and those types of movies), you'll probably love "Planet of the Dinosaurs". Personally, as someone with a great deal of experience in bad B-movies from the late 1970's, I am firm in my belief that "Planet of the Dinosaurs" is and shall remain the best bad movie ever made. January 14, 2005

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