Rating: 
Summary: Classic Cheese
Review: I'm going to start by saying this- if you don't like really, really cheesy, bad movies, then you're not going to like "Planet of the Dinosaurs".
On the other hand, if you can appreciate a really bad movie for how good it is underneath all the cheese, terrible acting, and hideous special effects, then this movie is probably the penultimate late 1970's cheesy sci-fi horror pic.
The intrepid crew of "The Odyssey" (played by an ensemble cast of nobody you've ever heard of) crash lands on distant planet populated by fierce dinosaurs. Armed only with a few lasers (with are terribly ineffective against dinosaurs) and their wits, they must learn to survive on this harsh new world.
The special effects in this movie are actually not that bad for the genre. The stop-motion dinosaurs are a little silly sometimes, but overall the stop-motion is pretty good. The movie actually won a "Best Special Effects" award at a Science Fiction festival for it's special effects, so you know that at one time they were pretty good.
The acting is horrible. But not horrible in a "Matt Damon" kind of way... more like horrible in a "this is the best movie I've ever seen" way. You'll probably have to pause the movie after a few choice lines, to give yourself time to laugh the tears out of your eyes.
The music is... interesting. It fits the movie pretty well, but it's not really music so much as unpleasant noises strung together to form basic melodies. Granted, it's perfect for the movie, but if you ever heard it somewhere else, you'd be convinced there was a dying cat nearby.
I don't know if you've ever seen "Mystery Science Theater 3000", but this movie is basically like one of the ones they watch on that show. If you like that show (and those types of movies), you'll probably love "Planet of the Dinosaurs". Personally, as someone with a great deal of experience in bad B-movies from the late 1970's, I am firm in my belief that "Planet of the Dinosaurs" is and shall remain the best bad movie ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Dinosaur and Spaceship Genre Film
Review: 'Planet of the Dinosaurs' is a typical sci-fi cheapie from 1979 starring nobody of any note. A spaceship explodes (in a visually amusing 'special' effect) and the survivors end up on a hostile planet ruled by dinosaurs, hence the title. The acting is fairly awful (particularly among male cast members) and the spaceship effects are fairly laughable, but the dinosaurs are done with stop motion (by Douglas Beswick), and are actually amazingly well done. In fact, they are about as good as stop motion dinosaurs can be done. For that alone the movie is worth seeing, but the interplay with the humans is priceless (wait till you see some of the human vs. dinosaur battle scenes.) In fact the humans are as bad as the dinosaurs are good. Interestingly everyone is wearing hideous 1970s one piece disco survival ensemble uniforms, which make the downright homely cast appear even dowdier. The only remotely attractive human in the film is the gorgeous Mary Appleseth, who is, unfortunately, eaten by creatures early on. This film is also a favorite of mine for a totally different reason. Footage of the spaceship and dinosaurs was bought for $500 and used in the appallingly hilarious 'Galaxy of the Dinosaurs' in 1992, with additional footage shot on location in Mogadore, Ohio (behind the producer's parents house, if memory serves me correctly.) It is available in the "Bad Movie Police" series on DVD from Amazon, and it is highly recommended as well as this, the original. This is a type of movie not seen anymore. Bad acting and varying quality scenery and effects combine to make this a quintessential low budget sci-fi film from the 1970s. It's good in its own unique way, so go ahead and check it out.
Rating: 
Summary: They Can't Be Saved.
Review: A spaceship crashes on a planet similar to Earth, but with one major exception: it's filled with man-eating beasts. The rest of the movie's plot follows the crew as they attempt to adjust to their new life. That's it. Pretty lame plot, huh. Well, the dialogue is worse that the plot, the acting worse than the dialogue, and the music worse than the acting. The cinematography is horrible as is the lighting. The only upscale about the film are the stop-action dinosaurs which are well done. Normally, something like that would improve the quality of the film somewhat. Not here, though. Everything is so bad, that not even the dinosaurs can save this film from utter disaster.
Rating:
Summary: Earth calling...
Review: I find it impossible to give this movie with its' actors, script and effects (+++) more than one star. It is clearly made by amateurs, and probably they had to pay for this themselves. It looks... crazy! The dinosaurs look really false, and the acting is terrible.
I saw this movie when I was a little boy, it was scary back then, so I had to buy this out of that value - and it was fun to see it again. It looked a lot better back then though...
The music... Well, whatever, nevermind =)
Rating:
Summary: A Forgotten Classic!
Review: I got this movie on VHS from my grandma and grandpa when I turned five back in 1990. And from the moment I first watched it, I loved it! Being a huge dinosaur fan, I had to love it. It holds a special place in my heart because I have loved it ever since I was young!
Sure most people are going to think it's stupid and corny, but it is enjoyable! People who are fans of dinosaurs/sci-fi films will love this movie.
It's a shame though that most people won't pick movies like these up anymore cause they are too old. Everyone is into the new stuff and let me tell you something, these movies made the movies of today! Most people are so un-cultered nowadays!
This is a worthy buy! For $5 I was shocked to see it at that price! I was at least expecting $10 but seeing as there are no extras, it wouldn't be worth that amount of money. The color and all is much better than the VHS version, but during some of the night scenes, seem so dark that you quite actually tell what's going on. Sure there are specks of dust and all on the film, but being a B movie, what would you expect?
The acting is good and corny in some parts, but bearable. All in all, this movie is a classic that EVERYONE needs to see at least once!
Rating:
Summary: perfect, you love it or you hate it
Review: I originally saw this movie about a decade ago and not to long afterwards i was banned from getting it out because everythime we went to the video store i would grab it. Sure its clay mation but its old, maybe it doesn't have great acting but its not horrible acting which ticks you off it just makes it more enjoyable. To be proper this movie would really be 4 stars but it has sentimental value so it deserves five and to out on dvd makes it better.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Funny for Words
Review: I'm sure they meant it to be serious, but it's so ... bad, it's funny. To me it looks like a school project, with incredibly bad music. On the other hand, there are all the great dinosaur fights I like in cheap dinosaur movies.
One fun thing to do with it is to watch it with other people who like this sort of stuff. Give them a game card with all the characters' names, and have them predict in advance who is the next "star" to get gored or eaten.
Who needs the Jurasic Park lawyer when you have Harvey?
Rating: 
Summary: Stop-Motion Dinosaurs Save the Day (and this film)
Review: If you crossed 'Planet of the Apes' with 'One Million Years B.C.,' you'd get something that looks like 'Planet of the Dinosaurs.' Trouble is, it appears that most of the budget went into the stop-motion dinosaurs, which are admittedly quite good. The story line is OK, but the bad dialog and, mostly, amateur acting almost sink this low budget science fiction film. The plot is simple with the entire opening sequence virtually ripping off 'Planet of the Apes,' as a futuristic spacecraft crashes into a lake on a seemingly desolated planet. From there it's man versus man-eating dinosaurs for the remainder of the film. Who will get eaten and who will survive? That's the entire plot, in a nutshell. The cast is comprised of virtually all unknowns, save James Whitworth who had a fairly successful B-movie career throughout the 1970s and is probably best known as the leader of the mutant desert family in 'The Hills Have Eyes' and its sequel. With the exception of the stop-motion dinosaurs, the film's low budget is apparent in every scene, from the mostly outdoor exterior scenes (very few indoor sets were used) to the jumpsuits that are supposed to represent space flight suits and the knock-off Nike sneakers that the male crew members wear. The actors' blow dry hairstyles are straight out of 'Saturday Night Fever.' Still, if you can get past the low budget, bad dialog and acting, 'Planet of the Dinosaurs' does have its moments like the scene where a large spider attacks one of the crew's female members. The Goodtimes DVD is nothing special, just the film (in full frame) and 12 chapter breaks which are adequate for the film's 84 minute running time. My three star rating is closer to two and one-half stars.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is PERFECT!
Review: Sometimes production companies try to make a b-movie, and it's no secret that it's supposed to be funny. Those moves are lame. Planet of the Dinosaurs, however, is AWESOME. Each line of the horrible dialog is delivered with all the intensity of a Knight Rider-era Hasselhoff. You actually get the impression that they were trying to make a decent movie, and that makes it even more hilarious. I first saw this on tv when I was a kid. I was excited to see that it was out on DVD! The dinosaurs are most likely totally innacurate and out of scale if you asked a paleontolgist, but see, these are SPACE dinosaurs! ROCK! The best part is the plot. They crash, some of them die, and then they never find a way off the planet! It just ends with a scene of them washing their clothes in a pond! Their space suits are rad, and the dude's beard is sweet! Easily worth 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is PERFECT!
Review: Sometimes production companies try to make a b-movie, and it's no secret that it's supposed to be funny. Those moves are lame. Planet of the Dinosaurs, however, is AWESOME. Each line of the horrible dialog is delivered with all the intensity of a Knight Rider-era Hasselhoff. You actually get the impression that they were trying to make a decent movie, and that makes it even more hilarious. I first saw this on tv when I was a kid. I was excited to see that it was out on DVD! The dinosaurs are most likely totally innacurate and out of scale if you asked a paleontolgist, but see, these are SPACE dinosaurs! ROCK! The best part is the plot. They crash, some of them die, and then they never find a way off the planet! It just ends with a scene of them washing their clothes in a pond! Their space suits are rad, and the dude's beard is sweet! Easily worth 5 stars.
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