Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

ultramatt2000-1 I saw this movie and yes, this is the kind of monster movie where the soundtrack is disco. I know, in other countries like Italy and Germany, the goofy disco soundtrack is replaced scary music of their own. While the special effects are typical Japanese kaiju stuff you see, I would have to say that these monsters could be OK if there was a bit more money put into it. It looks like Manda from ATRAGON let himself go and fights Rodan's cousin. The film is a mixture between EARTHQUAKE, JAWS, LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE GODFATHER and RODAN. EARTHQUAKE, because there is one. JAWS, because there are various scenes that copy it. LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, well the monsters come from a lost world. THE GODFATHER, because there was a horse with no head. RODAN, well, isn't it obvious? A pterodactyl that came out of an egg in a cave. I mean these dinosaurs look realistic, that they should be in a KING KONG-type movie. I bet this movie was a response to the Dino De Laurentiis version of KING KONG. Originally Toei wanted to make a movie, in co-production with British horror film company Amicus, to cash-in with the 1976 remake of KING KONG with a movie called KONGORILLA. With a script written by Tudor Gates, this was going to be good, but it never got made. Then, in 1979, Toei, in co-production with American film production, Punch Productions, called MORTAL. This was about a giant ape that comes out of a Mount Fuji to attack Tokyo in search of food. That never got made, unfortunately. Plesiosaur and the Rhamaphryncus, akin to the T-Rex and Triceratops in THE LAST DINOSAUR, look realistic and would good for the 1976 remake of KING KONG if Dino would put in some dinosaurs. I think this movie was made as a response to the 1976 KING KONG because this movie, THE LEGEND OF THE DINOSAURS (a.k.a. THE LEGEND OF THE DINOSAURS AND MONSTER BIRDS), along with THE LAST DINOSAUR, PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT, PLANET OF DINOSAURS, and WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS are saying that everything is better with dinosaurs. This is something that dinosaurs can do. Dinosaurs have potential. Would I recommend it? Yes. If you like dinosaurs, watch it. If you like Japanese monster movies, watch it. If you like disco, watch it. So give it a watch. Not rated, but due to the gore in it, it should be rated PG or PG-13. Bottom line: Good for bad movie night.

Eric Stevenson I guess it's kind of hard for me to really hate this movie, mostly because it's easy to see how awful the dubbing is. They're not even trying to match up the words with the lips. That could be more of the dubber's fault and not the movie's creators. I still knew that this movie would be really cheesy. The dinosaurs don't really appear until the end of the movie and it's at this point that you can easily see how bad the effects are. I can at least appreciate the attempt at character development. It's hard to believe this was made in 1977. It looks a lot more like the 1960's.There's too much going on at the end. About the only good thing is that some of the explosions were cool. I just knew what would happen next. I knew that she would carry up an arm attached to a partly eaten body. It's easy to see how they use stock footage. This should have been shorter as you can tell they were trying to drag it out. I seriously wouldn't have been surprised if that fake dinosaur part was supposed to be the real one in the story. *1/2

Aaron1375 This one had potential, unfortunately it moves so slowly that it kind of shoots itself right in the explosive tank. The film is about mysterious killings in a lake and does follow a basic 'Jaws' formula for the first bit of the movie. They wait awhile to reveal the beast then it is finally shown, killing a couple of guys who played a very bad prank. The film follows a man who wants to get to this area near Mount Fuji where there has been mention of a petrified egg. He thinks that perhaps there is money to be made from this discovery. Strange though that they mention this discovery as no scientist actually sees this, but rather a woman who falls into a cave and then runs from the forest in a panic and falls into a coma shortly thereafter. Why this makes the news is beyond me. Still, he gets there and there start to be strange incidents happening such as a horse with its head bitten off. After a bit the dinosaur comes in, chomps a few people and then near the end the bird of the title swoops in and makes an impressive first appearance. Of course, the two duel in a very unimpressive battle that made me lower my initial score of six to five. This one had potential, they just needed to have more bloody kills and less banter. Sure they were copying "Jaws", but this film was not going to be in that film's league as far as acting and atmosphere so you have to go the bloody route. They did, but not quite enough. They even managed to show the naked rear end of a lady, so for the most part this one was quite different from most Japanese monster films of its day. Just needed more monster action. Though one thing I notice a lot of people saying about this is that the people in the film seem to say that the appearance of the dinosaurs causes the volcano to erupt, but in actuality the scientist is saying that if there was a dinosaur present than the conditions are such to release it from its slumber and one of the conditions is that there is going to be an imminent eruption of Mount Fuji. However, for the most part the film has way to many plot holes and such and suffers from not enough monster action.

sogoishi This is regarded as the worst kaiju eiga ever made. I believe people always have a right to their opinions but this is vastly underrated. This film, about an obsessed paleontologist(dubbed by Robotech's Greg Snegoff) who comes back to his home town in search of a plesiosaur living in the lake. A pteranodon also makes an appearance as they duke it out at the end of the movie. There is graphic violence in this film but it's used quite effectively in quick cuts sending a jolt to the viewer. Most notably is when we catch a glimpse of a girl's bloody thrown-up arm and a headless horse. The music by Masao Yagi is of the times but is often effective and very original. It's unheard of for any monster movie to have a stylish jazzy film score. The pre-credit sequence is eerie. The cinematography is atmospheric, showing the misty forests of the lake and MT.Fuji. I admit this is a bad movie, but one that should looked closer on artistic terms. However, the movie has some obvious logic missing. Why would the reappearnce of dinosaurs cause massive earthquakes? Why would the ever so dormant MT. Fuji erupt after such a long time? How could anything hatch from a petrified egg?Also, plesiosaurs and pteranodons ARE NOT dinosaurs. The best scene in the movie is when the ptreanodon attacks some villagers. The editing is top notch and the disco-esque music that plays over it adds to the fun. The most disturbing part of the scene is when the winged reptile picks up a victim, flies high into the air and sadistically drops him. The dubbing is also very good. If you're a fan of Kaiju Eiga or b-films, pick this up.