Planet of Dinosaurs

Infobox Film
name = Planet of Dinosaurs


image_size = 240px
caption = Cover of the 2001 DVD Release
director = James Shea
producer = James Shea
writer = Jim Aupperle
Ralph Lucas
starring = Max Thayer
James Whitworth
music = Kelly Lammers
John O'Verlin
cinematography = Henning Schellerup
editing = Stan Gilman
Maria Lease
distributor = Cineworld Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
Citadel Films (1980) (Canada) (theatrical)
GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (worldwide) (DVD)
Retromedia Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
released = 1978
runtime = 84 mins.
country = United States
language = English
budget =
gross =
amg_id = 1:38296
imdb_id = 0078089

"Planet of Dinosaurs" is a 1978 science fiction film. Set in an unspecified future, the film follows the journey of Captain Lee and his crew after they crash land on a planet with similar life conditions as Earth, but millions of years behind in time. Encountering a wide variety of dangerous dinosaurs, the crew decides that its best chance for survival lies on finding higher ground and setting up a defensive perimeter on a higher plateau until their rescuers arrive. They soon encounter a deadly "Tyrannosaurus" and must figure out a way to defeat the creature and survive on the planet.

The film was a low budget endeavor with no major stars; James Whitworth and Max Thayer have the most film experience amongst the actors. Director James K. Shea instructed most of the budget to be spent on the special effects for the film, which included an array of award-winning stop motion dinosaurs, leaving little money for props or even to pay the main actors. Modern reviews have generally been negative, although there is agreement that the stop motion dinosaurs were the most notable and enjoyable aspect of the film.

Plot

After a mechanical failure aboard the spaceship "Odyssey", Captain Lee Norsythe (Louie Lawless) is forced to crash land on a planet with atmosphere and conditions much like that of Earth, although it is many light-years away. As the ship sinks into the lake that it landed in, communications officer Cindy (Mary Appleseth) realizes that she forgot the radio in the ship and attempts to retrieve it, with the assistance of fellow crew-member Chuck (Chuck Pennington). En route, Cindy is attacked and killed by an unidentified aquatic creature, prompting Chuck to return to shore without the radio.

Realizing that they are stranded, the remaining eight people aboard the ship decide that survival is their primary goal and begin to explore the planet that they have landed on. Derna Lee (Derna Wylde) quickly loses one of the laser guns that Mike (Max Thayer) had given her, leaving the stranded individuals with one less weapon. They eventually come across a "Brontosaurus", which leads them to deduce that the planet is following a similar evolutionary track as Earth, but is millions of years younger. Later, Charlotte (Charlotte Spear) determines that the plant life, especially the berries, is poisonous. After another dinosaur encounter, Lee decides that the best option is to climb the mountains and reach a higher plateau, where he believes the large creatures will be unable to reach them

During the ascent, Nyla (Pamela Bottaro) slips and loses the entire supply of food rations, which Lee refuses to retrieve. In a cave higher up the mountain, Vice-President of Spaceways Incorporated Harvey Baylor (Harvey Shain) discovers a nest full of eggs. After stealing an egg, Harvey is attacked and killed by a "Styracosaurus". Soon after, much to ship engineer Jim's (James Whitworth) dismay, Lee decides to halt the expedition and settle at what he considers to be a defensible area. Lee expects to hold out until they are rescued, but Jim believes them to be trapped forever on the planet, and advises that they begin a new civilization. Lee triumphs and the remaining crew begin to build a defensive stockade around a cave. After a few more encounters, including a giant spider and an "Allosaurus", a large "Tyrannosaurus" arrives and kills Derna, demolishing the stockade in the process.

The crew finally agrees with Jim that the best way to survive is to kill the predator. Their first plan, devised by Lee, is to attempt to poison the dinosaur by smearing berries on a dead "Polacanthus" and leave it outside of the "Tyrannosaurus"' lair. The plan backfires when the beast attacks from behind, killing Mike. Jim's plan is to set up large, wooden stakes and coat them in the poison, then lure the predator into them. After some initial troubles, the plan works, killing the "Tyrannosaurus", which nearly takes Jim with it.

Years pass and the survivors have set up an agricultural settlement. Chuck and Charlotte now have a son. Charlotte wonders if they will ever be rescued, to which Nyla comments that it does not seem important anymore.

Cast

Production

"Planet of Dinosaurs" was originally conceived by director James K. Shea and writers Jim Aupperle and Ralph Lucas as much different in tone and content. Much of the violence was planned as being explicitly gory, there were to be a few sex scenes, and the language was going to be much harsher. The tone and content were changed when they figured it would be a very low-budget production.

"Planet of Dinosaurs" was filmed on a significantly limited budget. Most of the budget went towards the special effects, particularly the significant amount of stop motion dinosaurs, which would later win it a Saturn Award in 1980. Including among the dinosaurs was a model that paid homage to Ray Harryhausen's "Rhedosaurus" from "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms".cite web|last = Reis|first = George R.|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = DVD Drive-In|date = 2007|url = http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/n-s/planetofdinosaurs78.htm|accessdate = 2008-01-03] Since most of the budget had been spent creating the stop motion effects, all of the actors had to sign partial deferments for their contracts and at least one actress (Derna Wylde) claims that she never received the balance of what was owed to her. In addition, the low budget was reflected in many of the props. The "fermented berry juice" used in the film was grape Kool-Aid, but the shoddy props made it taste "like liquid cardboard."cite web|last = Delahoyde|first = Michael|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = Washington State University|url = http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/planetdino.html|accessdate = 2008-01-03] Filming took place in the Vasquez Rocks area of California's desert, in an area previously used to film several episodes of "".

Reception

The film won the 1980 Saturn Award, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, in the "Best Film Produced for Under $1,000,000" category, taking specific note of its stop motion effects.cite web|title = Awards for "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = Internet Movie Database|date = 2008|url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078089/awards|accessdate = 2008-01-03] Given the nature of the film and the era in which it was released, there were no contemporary reviews of the film.cite web|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs" (1980)|publisher = Rotten Tomatoes|date = 2008|url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/planet_of_the_dinosaurs/|accessdate = 2008-01-03] The Bad Movie Report published a review in 2000, calling the film a "sad little wanna-be",cite web|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = The Bad Movie Report|date = 2000-07-23|url = http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/reviews/P/dinoplanet.html|accessdate = 2008-01-03] citing the dinosaurs and stop motion animation as the best aspects of the film and giving it 1.5 "stars" out of 5.

The film garnered more attention upon its first DVD release in 2001, all of it praising the stop motion animation as the most significant and memorable aspect of the movie. The film, released with no additional extra features, was given a grade of "C+" by DVD-rating site Digital Monster Island,cite web|last = Zillamon51|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = Digital Monster Island|date = 2007|url = http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/planet_of_dinos.html|accessdate = 2008-01-03] while Digital Retribution gave it 2 stars out of 5.cite web|last = Jones|first = Trist|title = "Planet of Dinosaurs"|publisher = Digital Retribution|date = 2006-05-08|url = http://www.digital-retribution.com/reviews/dvd/0471.php|accessdate = 2008-01-03] Allmovie gave it 2 stars out of 5 as well,amg movie|id=1:38296|title="Planet of Dinosaurs"] and the film maintains a rating of 4.2 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Databaseimdb title|0078089]

References