The Last Dinosaur (1977)

Directors:

Alexander Grasshoff
Tsugunobu Kotani

Writer:

William Overgard

Release Date:

11 February 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Wealthy big game hunter (Boone), along with his group, gets trapped in pre-historic times where they are stalked by a ferocious dinosaur.

Plot Keywords:

Hunter | Dinosaur | Big Game Hunter | Oil Tycoon | Volcano

Cast

Richard Boone	...	Masten Thrust Jr.
Joan Van Ark	...	Francesca 'Frankie' Banks
Steven Keats	...	Chuck Wade
Luther Rackley	...	Bunta
Masumi Sekiya	...	Hazel
William Ross	...	Hal - Mother 1 Chief Technician
Carl Hansen	...	Barney
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Kawamoto
Nancy Magsig	...	Thrust's Girl on Plane
Don Maloney	...	Mother 1 Captain
Vanessa Cristina	...	Reporter
James Dale
Hyôe Enoki
Shunsuke Kariya	...	Caveman Leader
Gary Gundersen

Directed by
Alexander Grasshoff		(as Alex Grasshoff)
Tsugunobu Kotani		(as Tom Kotani)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
William Overgard

Produced by
Jules Bass	....	producer
Kazuyoshi Kasai	....	associate producer
Benni Korzen	....	associate producer
Kinshiro Ohkubo	....	associate producer
Arthur Rankin Jr.	....	producer
Noboru Tsuburaya	....	producer: Tsuburaya Productions
Masaki Îzuka	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Maury Laws

Cinematography by
Shôji Ueda		(as Shoji Ueda)

Film Editing by
Minoru Kozono
Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Tatsuji Nakashizu

Production Management
Minoru Kurita	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shohei Tôjô	....	assistant director (as Shohei Tojyo)

Art Department
Kazuhiko Fujiwara	....	art designer

Sound Department
Yuji Hiyoshi	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Kazuo Ohashi	....	production manager: special effects
Kazuo Sagawa	....	special effects
Moriake Uematsu	....	special effects specialist
Yoshiyuki Yoshimura	....	assistant director: special effects
Tetsuzô Ôsawa	....	art designer: special effects (as Tetsuzo Ohsawa)

Visual Effects by
Yasuo Kitazawa	....	lighting: special effects
Michihisa Miyashige	....	optical specialist: special effects
Minoru Nakano	....	optical specialist: special effects
Sadao Sato	....	cameraman: special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Hisaaki Yoneyama	....	lighting technician

Music Department
Kenjiro Hirose	....	music arranger (as Ken Hirose)

Other crew
Kiyotaka Ugawa	....	coordinator

Production Companies

• Rankin/Bass Productions
• Tsuburaya Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Better Television Distribution (2006) (worldwide) (TV)
• Warner Bros
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Kaino Kai  sound studio
• Tsuburaya Enterprises Inc.  production coordination

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:95 min (TV version) | Japan:106 min (uncut version)

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia:

This was originally scheduled for theatrical release in the United States. The release was cancelled and the film premiered, in edited form, as a TV-movie on U.S. network television. This edited version became the U.S. version used for television showings and video releases.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Francesca and Hazel are at the river and are attacked by the tyrannosaurus, Francesca's hair is wet, but when she looks up at the dinosaur, her hair is considerably dryer.

Quotes:

Wade:You told me! You swore to all of us that we were not going to harm the dinosaur! We were only supposed to take film and study it!
Thrust:You ding-dong!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Top 13 Scariest Animated Monsters" (2011)

Soundtrack:

The Last Dinosaur

Worst dinosaur movie I've ever seen. Recommended

Stupidly beautiful. This movie epitomizes the 'so bad it's good' genre of films.

The only two talents in it are Richard Boone and Joan van Ark, and only Boone is any good. It's kind of sad that the man who rose to fame as Paladin should wind up in this ugly pile of celluloid. While he turns in a fantastic performance, I couldn't help but feel that he so outclassed all his fellow actors in this piece that he shouldn't even have been there.

The effects in this film are laughable, but fun. The idea of a dinosaur being buried in the wall of a cave and suddenly coming to life is B-movie gold. When the 'triceratops' gets killed, watch how it falls. It's clear that the stunt performer in the FRONT of the costume knows the timing best. He falls to the ground, well before the back half of the dinosaur follows suit.

Speaking of 'suits', there is nothing good to say about the purple tyrannosaur, in this flick. It seems to have some kind of stealth technology, since Bunta (reputed to be the best tracker in the world) twice fails to notice it until it's within biting range of him. I don't know how all the prints are, but in the version I own, the Tyranno's roar contains Godzilla's trademark bellow.

This is loads of fun, to watch, if you like bad movies. I love them, and especially bad monster movies, so I consider this the gem of my collection. If bad movies are your thing, definitely get this one.