WANTED ON BLU-RAY: THE LAST DINOSAUR (1977)

WANTED ON BLU-RAY:
THE LAST DINOSAUR (1977)

Not Rated | Color | 106 minutes 

With JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM about to hit theaters, I've been feeling nostalgic for the dinosaur films of my youth. During my early childhood, I became enamored with dinosaurs, which made me the "weird kid" throughout grade (and middle) school! I read books about prehistoric creatures, drew pictures of them, and naturally watched cartoons AND movies featuring those "terrible lizards." I just couldn't get enough!

From KING KONG and DINOSAURUS! to BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND and THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER, I watched anything and everything that contained any sort of prehistoric fauna. And out of those dozens of films, there's one in particular that left a lasting impression to this day: THE LAST DINOSAUR!

Synopsis: During a routine mission aboard "The Polar Borer," an exploratory laser-drill used in seeking oil reserves under the polar ice caps, the crew members made a history-shattering discovery: There is a prehistoric world beneath the Earth's crust, teeming with life! A geologist named Chuck Wade (Steven Keats) is the sole survivor of the expedition, and tells the world during a press conference that a T-Rex ate the rest of his crew!

Realizing that a Tyrannosaurus head would be one hell of a trophy to hang on his wall, Thrust puts together a new expedition made up of Chuck, a Massai tracker named Bunta (Luther Rackley), Dr. Kawamoto (Tetsu Nakamura), and a Pullitzer Prize-winning photographer named Frankie Banks (Joan Van Ark) who secures herself a spot on the trip by getting "Thrusted." With his team assembled, Maston leads them underground to bag himself a T-Rex!

And here I always thought Denver was the Last Dinosaur...

Naturally things do not go well for the would-be hunters as they soon find themselves way in over their heads. Their intended quarry turns out to be nigh indestructible, and after losing a few colleagues, Thrust takes things personally! Chuck and Frankie try to talk some sense into the vengeance-fueled hunter,  but he'll not hear of any plans to escape because he is on a mad mission to kill the Tyrannosaurus by any means necessary!

THE LAST DINOSAUR is the result of an odd pairing of Tsuburaya Productions, known for their tokusatsu shows (primarily Ultraman) and Rankin/Bass, best known for all of those claymation Christmas specials you watch every holiday season! Together they crafted a rather gloomy adventure tale with laughable suitmation dinosaurs and a somewhat catchy theme song. While it isn't a great movie by any stretch, I have fond memories of watching this cult oddity in my youth and would love to see it given a little TLC for a change!

Availability: After failing to find a distributor, THE LAST DINOSAUR premiered on ABC on February 11, 1977 in a truncated 95-minute cut. After that, it would be released on VHS by various distributors in the 1990s, before finally being released on (Region Free!) DVD by The Warner Archive Collection back on May 9, 2011. It has the same uncut version of the film that Toho released on DVD two years earlier, but lacks any special features.

Current Rights Holder: Obviously Warner Bros. owns the U.S. rights at the moment (hence the DVD release I just mentioned). However, Shout! Factory has been dipping into the Warner vaults as of late (as evidenced by several of their recent and upcoming Scream! Factory titles) so I wouldn't be shocked if they did a nice little release of this one down the road. Only time will tell I suppose.

Normal people watching this scene: "Which dinosaur will win?!"
Me watching this scene: "The cattle there must be ENORMOUS!"

Blu-ray Wishlist:

• Both cuts of the film, remastered in 2K!
• Audio commentary by a kaiju film expert/historian, such as August Ragone.
• Interviews with any surviving cast members or crew. From what I've seen Joan Van Ark and Luther Rackley seem to still be alive. I'm not sure if screenwriter William Overgard is still around, but it'd be great to hear about his involvement with this film, as well as THE BERMUDA DEPTHS, and his stint as a writer on Thundercats! 
• An interview with Producer Jules Bass (of Rankin/Bass). 
• Poster & Stills gallery (w/ theme song on a loop)
• The supplemental materials from the Toho disc (featuring visual-effects supervisor Kazuo Sagawa) with English subtitles.
• Original Theatrical Trailer

I'm not sure if THE LAST DINOSAUR has built up enough of a cult following for any label to bother giving it a Blu-ray release, but we can only hope! If you also want this odd-ball dinosaur epic in HD, then let the powers that be at The Warner Archive Collection know by bugging them on social media. Hit them up on Facebook and/or Twitter, and maybe bother Shout! Factory on Facebook as well, just to let them know some of us are interested in a Blu-ray release for this title!

Goodbye Godzilla: Suitmation legend Haruo Nakajima has passed on.

RIP - Haruo Nakajima (January 1, 1929 - August 7, 2017)

It is with a heavy heart, that I bid farewell to actor Haruo Nakajima, who passed away yesterday at the age of 88. Starting out as a little-known actor playing bit parts, Nakajima eventually cemented himself as a staple of kaiju movies, with the release of 1954's GOJIRA. As the first person to ever climb inside a Godzilla suit, Nakajima instantly became a trailblazer, and would continue to portray the King of the Monsters in eleven more Showa era films.

But his bragging rights do not stop there: Nakajima-san was also the first to don the suits of other popular giant Japanese monsters, including Rodan, Mothra, Mogera (in THE MYSTERIANS), Varan, Baragon, Gaira (the Green Gargantua), and Gezora (from SPACE AMOEBA, aka YOG: MONSTER FROM SPACE).

As a lifelong Godzilla fan, I've managed to get my paws on tons of collectibles featuring my favorite mon-star. But all of that stuff (movies, soundtracks, action figures, Christmas ornaments, comic books, posters, etc.) pales in comparison to meeting Haruo Nakajima in person! It's an experience that I shall treasure always!

I could barely contain the joy of meeting my childhood hero!

I met Nakajima-san at Chiller Theatre in October 2014. Despite the fact that I had to get up early and drive to Parsippany, NJ, I foolishly attended a 35mm EVIL DEAD film festival the night before in Syracuse, NY. Because of this, I was running on approximately three hours of sleep on my way to Chiller. Once there, I waited in line for an agonizingly long period of time, just to get into the hotel. Then I waited nearly two more hours just to be in the same room as Nakajima-san, as well as Kenpachiro Satsuma and Tsutomo Kitagawa, two other notable Godzilla performers.

In the end, it was well worth the lack of sleep and long lines, because I got to meet a living legend! I was able to shake the hand of the surviving member of Godzilla's "Founding Fathers, which at one time also included the amazing quartet of Director Ishiro Honda, Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, Composer Akira Ifukube, and Special Effects Supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya! Nakajima signed my old Ian Thorne Godzilla book (which he seemed to puzzle over for a moment), and gave me a quick photo op.

But before parting ways, I issued him a heartfelt thanks for bringing me hours upon hours of joy during my tumultuous childhood. Although I'm not quite sure he understood everything I said, there was no mistaking my excitement and enthusiasm. (Unbridled joy is a universal language!) Sadly, this would end up being the first and last interaction I would ever have with Nakajima-san.

I will treasure this always!

While that realization fills me with sorrow, I take solace in the fact that I had the opportunity to meet one of my heroes. On top of that, Nakajima-san's filmography is readily available, so we can continue to enjoy all of the films that he starred in as our favorite kaiju characters. As long as we keep Haruo Nakajima's memory alive, he will never truly be gone, and we can continue to enjoy, and share, his legacy with newer generations!

Thank you Nakajima-san: You will be missed, but you will not be forgotten! And though we may meet again in another place, for the time being, I must sadly say....

Goodbye now Godzilla, Goodbye now Godzilla, until then.
Take care now Godzilla, take care now Godzilla, my old friend.
Sayonara till we meet again.

To Haruo Nakajima's family, friends, and fans, please accept my deepest sympathies in your time of mourning. But take heart knowing that he was well-loved, and will long be remembered for his contributions to (kaiju) cinema.

- The Vault Master