When
Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth
(1970/Hammer/Warner Archive Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: C- Film: B
Dinosaurs
live again in Hammer Studio's 1970 UK entry to their 'Cave Girl'
series, which includes One
Million Years B.C.
(1966), Slave
Girls
(1967), and Creatures
The World Forgot
(1971). When
Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth
features Oscar-nominated stop motion special effects that are quite
impressive, even by today's standards (this film still has a
following just for this as a result) including some startlingly
realistic dino encounters. It's also worth noting that the
characters talk in a language that was specially constructed for the
film, albeit of only a dozen words or so, a frequent one being
"neekro", which means "kill".
Starring
Victoria Vetri and from writer/director Val Guest, the film looks
fantastic in this restoration on Blu-ray disc and coincidently
accompanies Kino's recent release of One
Million Years B.C. on
Blu-ray disc as well (not reviewed on this site, but the disc also
looks great and is worth a watch as I've witnessed).
In
Prehistoric Times, Dinosaurs and Cavemen live side by side, both
fighting for survival. A small tribe of Cave People are sacrificing
women - one of them a busty blonde named Sanna (Vetri) - to their
god, the Sun, in return for protection. Sanna finds herself on her
own when a freak storm interrupts the ceremony, forcing her to rely
on instinct and compassion. Can she survive the wild amongst the
fantastical creatures that include dinosaurs, killer crabs, and giant
lizards? All of which want her for lunch?
This
version of the film from Warner Archive features the Unrated version,
which features nudity and violence not seen in the G rated or other
censored versions. At one point, the film was released on DVD in
this version but with the G rating on the cover and was quickly
recalled. There's also a rape-like scene that would definitely get
some frowns from uptight parents.
Presented
in sharp 1080p high definition and a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio
with a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) Mono
mix, which has been restored from its original elements. In short,
this is the best that the film is going to look when one takes into
consideration the budget and age of the film, in this format. The
cleanup here is subtle but stands out the most in scenes that cut
back and forth between stop motion effects and live action. Great
work done here by Warner!
My
only disappointment with this release is the lack of extras. All we
get is a trailer. Chapter selection isn't even an option for crying
out loud(!) which is a shame, because it would be interesting to see
some Behind the Scenes or Retrospective interviews with the stars. I
don't understand why studios put so much money into restoring their
films and then put them out in a barebones release. At any rate,
this version is definitely worth seeking out.
To
order this Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
