Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie Review

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is a classic science-fiction fantasy adventure exploring the realm of giant monsters and creatures. The old-school creature-feature was produced and distributed by Toei. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds was featured as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. A feature-film aimed directly at giant monster fans, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds was produced by Keiichi Hashimoto (Big Time Gambling Boss, The Thief in Black). Starring Tsunehiko Watase, Nobiko Sawa, and Shotaro Hayashi, classic monster-movie aficionados will find some thrills in this adventure.

Geologist Takashi Ashizawa (Tsunehiko Watase) sets out on a journey of unexpected mysteries when he finds himself searching the wild landscape of Mt. Fuji. Having heard the legends of ancient creatures roaming across the land and seeing a news report about a cavern filled to the brim with large eggs, Takashi sets forth. The tales of ancient dinosaurs and beastly lizards piques Takashi’s curiosity.

The search eventually leads Takashi to reacquainting with his former flame Akiko Osano (Nobiko Sawa). As the exploration continues, Takashi journeys forth and encounters a Plesiosaurus in Fuji's Saiko Lake. The Plesiosaurus is dangerous and anyone to come in to contact with the dinosaur has had an early end-on-life.

There’s even a pterosaur dinosaur about to hatch in an ice cave within the mountains. Making matters even more complicated than expected, another giant monster, Rhamphorhynchus, enters the equation. Now it’s an epic battle between these legendary creatures as the beasts duke it out while Mt. Fuji is about to erupt. Can Takashi survive the battle of the dinosaurs?

One of the things about Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is the fact that the filmmaking is entirely over-the-top and wild. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is not an epic in the sense of something like the original Godzilla or King Kong. Instead, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is more of an interesting experiment in classic effects work and monster-movie mayhem.

The filmmaking may be considered wild by some viewers but despite the average reputation the film has with some audiences the filmmaking is nonetheless a lot more fun than audiences might be expecting to find. Experimental, engaging, and creative. There is something imaginative about Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds that works well.

Edited by Isamu Ichida (Four Days of Snow and Blood, Carmen 1945), Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is certainly a feature that has fast-paced and entertaining editing. The editing style is simply fun throughout the film. However, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is also a film that feels a bit unfocused and some of this is also due to the editing style. It is arguably all over the place.

Perhaps some trimming might have been something that could have streamlined the storytelling a bit. Even so, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is entertaining in its pace and the editing choices are effective for the style of filmmaking. An editing effort with plenty of charm by Ichida – given this is a monster mayhem extravaganza.

The score composed by Masao Yagi (Zenka onna: Koroshi-bushi, Yamaguchi-gumi San-daime) is an entertaining component of the filmmaking. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds has a fun and energetic score. The music certainly adds something creative to the experience and helps aid in highlighting the monster-mayhem of these creatures: the dinosaurs battling it out against the compelling score by Yagi.

The cinematography by Sakuji Shiomi and Shigeru Akatsuka (The Spying Sorceress, Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon) is one of the most compelling artistic achievements. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds features beautiful looking cinematography. The efforts help to enhance the experience with a truly mesmerizing visual style that helps the canvas of the film feel all the more compelling.

The screenplay penned by Masaru Igami (Kamen Rider, Return of Ultraman), Isao Matsumoto (Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, North Sea Chivalry), and Ichirô Ôtsu (1750 Days of Turbulence, The Yakuza Code Still Lives) is easily the weakest element of the feature-film. The script for Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is arguably utter-nonsense. The plot-line is all over the map and the characters are written in a paper-thin and cookie-cutter manner. These elements are disappointing. Nonetheless, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds features a fun concept and a lot of fun ideas so for classic monster movie fans there is still plenty of fun to be had with the ideas explored.

Directed by Junji Kurata (Ninja in Moonshade, Tobidasu Boken Eiga: Akakage), Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is an underrated monster-movie. The filmmaking is energetic and creative. The film has plenty of exciting action beats and there are some fun monster carnage sequences that are gruesome and thrilling to experience. The visceral quality of some of the bloodiest action sequences is something old-school monster movie fans will enjoy most of all. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds might be a bit inconsistent and it doesn’t manage to reach the high bar established by the best monster movies but with thrilling creativity the film offers plenty of dinosaur mayhem for audiences to enjoy.

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The release provides Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds in high- definition on Blu-ray disc for the first time. The high-definition scan looks exceptional on the release.

The picture-quality looks outstanding and is highly detailed. The image on the release is sharp and pleasing without the drawbacks of egregious digital-noise-reduction (DNR) or other distractions. The print is extremely crisp and clean – free from significant dirt, debris, scratches, and other forms of print damage. The transfer is beautiful looking: filmic and organic. An exceptional transfer from distributor Discotek Media.

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes both the original Japanese language track in uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles) and the English dub in uncompressed PCM 2.0. In North America, the English dub has been more accessible to most viewers than the original language version. The English dub was shown on television.

The original Japanese language version is the preferred and recommended version for enthusiasts seeking the most authentic representation of the feature-film – as the original audio presentation provides the more essential viewing option for Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds.

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nice-looking o-card slipcover. The inside sleeve artwork (underneath the slipcover) includes the same key artwork. However, the inside sleeve features additional interior artwork. The disc art is well-selected (showing a still of one of the dinosaurs from the film). The packaging design is well thought out by Discotek Media.

On disc supplements include:

Teaser Trailer (SD, 00:49)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:25)

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is an entertaining classic monster movie with a lot of fun mayhem along the way. Director Junji Kurata (Ninja in Moonshade) created a film with enormously fun visuals along the way. The monster chaos and carnage keep things engaging. The visual effects for the dinosaurs are old-school fun.

It is hard to image any giant monster movie fan not finding something to enjoy here – even if not every aspect of Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is perfect. The film is enjoyable mayhem even with some of the over-the-top elements and a somewhat average screenplay. A worthwhile dinosaur film and one that is more creative than expected. Well worth checking out.

The Blu-ray release from Discotek Media features an excellent presentation. Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds is presented with an impressive high-definition encode. The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent as well. The release only includes a small selection of extras but is otherwise excellent. A release well worth adding to the collection. Recommended.