![The Land That Time Forgot [DVD] [1975]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/8177jrct+vL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'Dinosaurus!' released by Kino Lorber in 2019.
My rating is for the release, more specifically the picture which is excellent as described below.
*****NOTE***** For those new to this movie, it is a movie made in 1960. The picture looks as if it could have been made today, but unfortunately the special effects look like they were made in 1960! This is for fans of old dinosaur movies.
BLU-RAY: 5 stars!!! The picture is beautiful. I was surprised to see how good the picture looks. The colors are vivid and very bright. It looks so good, that it makes the rear projection in this movie look terrible. Of course that is the downside to having such a nice picture. You can see some occasional flaws but they are barely noticeable and you will see them only if you are looking for them. At first I thought the picture looked soft but then I realized that it was the rear projection that looked soft because that was the way it looked. Once you get past that, the rest of scenery looks pretty spectacular. If you are a fan of this movie, I don't see how you can possibly be disappointed. Even the commentator could barely contain his excitement while viewing this for the first time. That commentator is Kris Yeaworth, the son of the director, Irwin Yeaworth. He says he has never seen the movie look this good. The print is made from a new 4K restoration and it is shown in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
EXTRA'S:
-The inside of the Blu-Ray case has an alternate cover.
-Audio Commentary by the director's son, Kris Yeoworth: Kris was on the set when his father made the movie. He recalls everything he can about the movie in this commentary. He speaks quite slowly and leaves long gaps of silence. When he is speaking, he reminisces about what he remembers from the production. He is quite ecstatic about the quality of the restoration which he comments on throughout.
-'Dinosaurus!: A Monstrous Story' documentary: This features the Producer Jack H. Harris, star Paul Lukather and film historians Donald F. Glut and Bill Warren. This is an excellent documentary. The producer, Jack H. Harris, is an old man but he provides a lot of background information about the movie. The documentary is 28 minutes long
-Theatrical Trailers for this movie and 6 others.
-Subtitles
*****WARNING - LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT*****
PLOT/SYNOPSIS: A dinosaur is discovered off the coast of a Caribbean island (the actual island is St. Croix) by two dredgers, Bart and Chuck. The dinosaur, A Tyrannosaurus Rex, is brought on shore. Another dinosaur, a brontosaurs, is also brought on shore. Once on shore, the dinosaurs are left to be guarded by a local alcoholic. The town manager, Hacker, finds a caveman in the frozen mud that is attached to the dinosaurs. He plans on selling the caveman. He purposely looses a telegram to the mainland, from Bart, describing the discovery.
In the evening, lightning strikes the dinosaurs and they are revived along with the caveman. The Tyrannosaurus goes on a rampage. A little boy, Julio, befriends the Brontosaurus. The caveman shows up at a house and scares away the lady resident. Julio goes to the house and finds the caveman but at first does not realize that he is a caveman. Julio makes friends with the caveman. Hacker comes searching for the caveman. The caveman then saves Bart's girlfriend, Betty from the tyrannosaurs. The two end up in a cave along with Hacker. Bart sends the rest of the island's population head for an old fort for shelter until a plan can be formulated to stop the Tyrannosaurus. The Tyrannosaurus attacks the cave. Bart and Chuck arrive to help Betty and Julio.
$$$PRODUCTION$$$: This movie was made in 1960 and released by Universal Pictures.
-'Dinosaurus' was released as part of a double bill with 'Brides of Dracula'.
-The movie was set on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and a large part of the movie was filmed there. The underwater scenes were filmed off of Santa Catalina island which is off of the Southern California coast. The remainder of the movie was shot on sets in Hollywood.
-This movie was budgeted at $400,000. Jack Harris says that the movie cost triple what 'The Blob' cost.
-The leading role was meant for Steve McQueen. McQueen would of course star in Yeaworth's 'The Blob'.
-The dinosaur models were made by Marcus Delgado, the same person who made the models of King Kong and Mighty Joe Young.
-The brontosaurus in this movie was used in a Twilight Zone episode, 'The Odyssey of Flight 33'.
-All the humor was written by Jean Yeoworth, the wife of the director.
-Kris Yeoworth says the the dinosaur special effects cost more than the entire budget of 'The Blob' or the '4-D Man'. The total shooting schedule for the special effects lasted only 12 to 13 days. This is considerably shorter than Ray Harryhausen movies in which the special effects could take over a year to produce.
-An old fort was used for the end sequence.
HOW GOOD DO THE DINOSAURS LOOK?: I've seen better, but they are definitely passable. The budget was small and the schedule was short. The special effects team needed more time and better sets but had to make do with what they had. The dinosaurs look a bit cartoonish, but I still prefer them to... say... Universal's own 'This Land Unknown', though that picture's sets were much nicer. When you factor in the comedy aspect of this movie, they don't look so bad. I think the bus scene didn't look all that good but the scene with the construction equipment looked decent enough. The reputation of the effects are not good. Most critics think they dinosaurs look awful. The effects team was extremely time constrained.
COMMENTS:
-When I first purchased this on regular DVD several years ago, I could not find it. I was not putting the 'U' at the end of the title before the 'S' and instead was searching for 'Dinosaurs'. Apparently this is a very common misspelling of the title.
-The dinosaurs are left to be guarded by a drunk. You'd think the find of the century would need better security!
-'Dinosaurus' was an actual name given to a newly discovered dinosaur in the 1800's. It turned out that it was just another part of an already existing dinosaur.
-The movie ends with the words "THE END?". This is also the way '4D Man' and 'The Blob' end. These are all movies directed by Irvin YeaWorth.
CONCLUSIONS: Even though the opinion on the humor in this movie is somewhat divided, I like it. By injecting humor, this movie that has an otherwise bland plot, becomes entertaining. I think it was a smart idea. The scenes with the caveman are, in my opinion, the best parts of the movie. These scenes are very creative.
RATINGS:
Picture: 9.5/10 or 5 stars - The picture is excellent and makes this movie very watchable.
Plot: 5/10 or 2 1/2 stars - Just OK. The humor makes it entertaining.
SFX: 6/10 or 3 stars - These are pretty good when you factor in the budget and time schedule.
Extra's: 6/10 or 3 stars - You get a 'making of' documentary and a below par audio commentary.
Overall: 5 stars - This gets 5 stars for the simple reason that anybody purchasing this is buying it for nostalgic reasons and the most important feature, the picture, is excellent.
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Customer reviews
Really hokey and amazingly filmed in CinemaScope but it's fun still the same.A couple of dinos in a state of frozen hibernation are dredged up from a harbour being built on an island in the Caribbean.....should happen all the time...!!! Throw in a caveman also dredged up ( fun performance by Gregg Martel ); a crusty construction crew, a kid (there's always a kid!!!); a good looking woman; the handsome boss and a smarmy villain and you have an enjoyable 80 mins or so!!Lots of fun with model animation and obvious background projection but what the heck, brings any childhood memory straight back if you saw it then. Though it would be interesting to see a remake with today's technology and a budget 10 times bigger.Fun all the way. Not to be missed.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2009
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2022
Fun movie for all ages
By Kindle Customer on May 14, 2022
By Kindle Customer on May 14, 2022
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Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2020
A couple of dinos in a state of frozen hibernation are dredged up from a harbour being built on an island in the Caribbean.....should happen all the time...!!! Throw in a caveman also dredged up ( fun performance by Gregg Martel ); a crusty construction crew, a kid (there's always a kid!!!); a good looking woman; the handsome boss and a smarmy villain and you have an enjoyable 80 mins or so!!
Lots of fun with model animation and obvious background projection but what the heck, brings any childhood memory straight back if you saw it then. Though it would be interesting to see a remake with today's technology and a budget 10 times bigger.
Fun all the way. Not to be missed.
EARY DINOSAUR FUN!!
By by Alan Bond on March 15, 2020
Really hokey and amazingly filmed in CinemaScope but it's fun still the same.By by Alan Bond on March 15, 2020
A couple of dinos in a state of frozen hibernation are dredged up from a harbour being built on an island in the Caribbean.....should happen all the time...!!! Throw in a caveman also dredged up ( fun performance by Gregg Martel ); a crusty construction crew, a kid (there's always a kid!!!); a good looking woman; the handsome boss and a smarmy villain and you have an enjoyable 80 mins or so!!
Lots of fun with model animation and obvious background projection but what the heck, brings any childhood memory straight back if you saw it then. Though it would be interesting to see a remake with today's technology and a budget 10 times bigger.
Fun all the way. Not to be missed.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Brian O'connor
1 CinemaScope nice
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2014Alain Carmichael
WHEN tHe DinOsaurS mOved JERKy!
Reviewed in Canada on September 25, 2019
