Product ReviewsThe Last Dinosaur (DVD, 1977)

He is the Laaaast... Dinosaaauuuuaaaur!

A Japanese-American co-production involving Richard Boone out to hunt and kill a Tyrannosaurus Rex in a recently discovered lost world beyond the arctic. It features mostly American actors although there's the odd Japanese one (mostly playing the cavemen for some reason) with special effects, dinosaur costumes and miniature work done by the Japanese company Tsuburaya Productions (famous for its work on the Ultraman series). The Trannosaurus costume in particular was a refurbished suit from Tsuburaya's earlier Dinosaur War Izenborg.

Masten Thrust (Boone) is an over the hill big game hunter and the world's richest man. He thinks he's seen and done it all and is bored with life. But then new reaches him that a manned "polar borer" expedition in the arctic drilling for oil has discovered a lush and fertile lost world. The usual stuff. Getting it into his head that a dinosaur would make a perfect hunting trophy, Thrust puts together an expedition led by himself to take a second polar borer to explore the lost world.

Accompanying him are geologist Chuck Wade, the sole survivor of the last polar borer group; Francesca "Frankie" Banks, a renowned photographer; Bunta, a Masai tracker; and Dr. Kawamoto, a Japanese scientist. Things go well enough at first in the lost land, but Thrust's first attempt to kill the titular Tyrannosaur fails miserably and the thing kills Dr. Kawamoto and absconds with the polar borer, leaving the remaining expedition members stranded.

The group has to contend with the usual tribes of savage cavemen as they struggle for survival with seemingly no hope of escape, constantly dogged by the Tyrannosaur, whom Thrust becomes increasingly more and more obsessed with killing, more than even escaping back to civilization. The others slowly begin realizing Thrust really is "the last dinosaur" - the last of a dying breed of old world hunter-adventurers. And he isn't leaving without his final and greatest trophy.

A junky and clunky and altogether strange little movie with a haunting soundtrack, The Last Dinosaur is not without its charms. The cast is mostly okay, with Boone in particular coming off as somehow likable despite his character's curmudgeonly hostile behavior. Only Steven Keats as Chuck stands out as being a black hole of anti-personality, boredly reciting his lines as though he's half asleep, even when his character is supposed to be mad. The real attractions though are of course Tsuburaya Productions' dinosaur costumes, which are of course rubbery, goofy and altogether charming in that 1970's Japanese sci-fi kind of way. All in all, The Last Dinosaur is a great bad movie and I highly recommend it for fellow schlock lovers.Read full review...

Poorly executed, but enjoyable movie

Where should I begin? This movie exhibits all of the hallmarks of a low budget production. The special effects lay somewhere between terrible and laughable. The costumes are amateurish, at best. The acting...variable. An aging Richard Boone takes the helm as a wealthy industrialist hunter, obsessed with killing just about every species that inhabits the planet. Strangely, he is depicted as quite the hunk, whom every gal in the movie wants to jump into bed with...and, this includes the troglodyte female they discover in dinosaur world. In a way, this movie is a little sad because it shows the steep decline of Richard Boone's career since Have Gun Will Travel. In conclusion, I enjoy watching this movie, but don't have a clue why.Read full review...

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Perfectly Awful and Beloved Movie

A Japanese/American made movie, this is one of the worst movies probably ever made. I've seen these same actors (Richard Boone and Joan Van Ark) in other projects and they rocked their roles. Not so in this movie. Poorly written, poorly acted, horrible effects, horrible costuming, etc. I bought this for my boyfriend, who saw this as a child on a Friday Night Movie of The Week. He was unwilling to pay $30. I found it for $16 and surprised him with it. It hit the sweet spot of childhood nostalgia. He enjoyed revisiting his past with this perfectly awful movie. My brother would also love it for Horrible Movie Night that he and his friends enjoy monthly. IMDB gave it a 5.8 rating and I really don't know how it rated so high, except that it was just fun to watch such horrible movie "magic". Read full review...

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A cheesy stinker you need to watch

The dino fxs are really bad, the plot and acting are very dubious...but this movie has a vibe that actually makes it kinda entertaining. Richard Boone is as much the last dinosaur as the puppeteered stupidity stepping on everybody. Make sure you take in the opening theme song and watch out for Boone's one liners.Read full review...

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Cheesey, corny and fun!

Campy, corny, but fun movie with surprisingly effective SPFX, interesting though hokey characters, fun for the kids or dinosaur enthusiasts. Recommended.

Nostalgic

Nice to watch on dvd for better picture quality than my old vhs copy .

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The Last Dinosaur

a popcorn movie. But one of those guilty pleasure movies that you will love.

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Great Item

The dvd shows very good and it’s a good movie.

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awesome

I had seen this film years ago and wanted a copy. Great film.

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To be able to watch an oldie

A campy movie,but still entertaining.

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