Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977)
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The "Legend of Dinosaurs" (TV 1987)
Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (恐竜・怪鳥の伝説 Kyōryū, Kaichō no Densetsu) is a 1977 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Junji Kurata and written by Masaru Igami, Isao Matsumoto, and Ichiro Otsu. Produced by Toei Kyoto Studio, it stars Tsunehiko Watase, Shotaro Hayashi, Yoko Koizumi, and Fuyukichi Maki. Toei released it to Japanese theaters on April 29, 1977, and an English-dubbed version entered U.S. television syndication in 1987 under the title The "Legend of Dinosaurs".
Plot
It is the summer of 1977 and reports of strange natural phenomena, such as tremendous earthquakes around the world and snowfall in Hokkaido, dominate the news. Strangest of all, however, is the story of Hiroko Takami, a young woman who fell into an icy cavern underneath Aokigahara's Sea of Trees. There she found herself surrounded by colossal eggs, inside one of which she saw the eye of a living creature.
Takashi Ashizawa, geologist for Universal Stone, learns of Takami's ordeal and immediately cancels an important work trip to Mexico. Ashizawa's late father, Bunkichi, was a renowned paleontologist who'd also discovered a similar stone egg in Aokigahara, so Ashizawa heads to Mount Fuji in hopes of making a substantial profit from any fossils he can find.
He's directed by locals to the village of Ashiwada on Lake Sai, renowned for its ancient legends of an aquatic dragon. Also at Lake Sai to document the village's Dragon God Festival are Akiko, an underwater photographer and former romantic partner of Ashizawa, and her friend Junko. One night, Junko's dog chases after a stray horse, one of several livestock reported missing from the area. Junko wanders into the woods and finds the horse's body, its head seemingly torn off. Ashizawa notices large tracks nearby and, recalling his father's theory that prehistoric animals might return to life if certain climatic conditions arise, notes the prints' resemblance to those of a Plesiosaurus. When he returns to the area later that night, he's shocked to see the corpse somehow had been lifted high into the treetops.
The festival gets underway the next day with a band performing on a stage over Lake Sai. The stage collapses during the concert and Jiro, a young local man, spots the dorsal fin of a monstrous animal above the surface further out in the lake. Akiko tries to photograph the creature but finds it's only a prop being propelled by two student divers. With the revelation that the monster was only a tasteless practical joke, the crowd is calmed and the concert resumes. Still, Ashizawa wonders what caused the stage to crash.
Jiro, who was in on the prank, goes along the shore to a cove to meet up with the divers Hiroshi and Susumu. He watches helplessly as a real Plesiosaurus rises from the depths and ferociously devours his friends. Although initially dismissed as a further joke at the town hall, his story is partially corroborated by foreign newspaperman Harold Tucker, whose daughter also observed the monster in Lake Sai.
Unaware of these events, Akiko and Junko head back out onto the lake. Junko relaxes in their dinghy as Akiko takes photos underwater. The Plesiosaurus strikes again, snatching Junko in its jaws. Akiko surfaces some time later to find the boat unoccupied. She spots Junko bobbing overboard, unresponsive. She reaches for her friend's hand and pulls back only part of her torso, all that remains of poor Junko.
Five disappearances and now Junko's shocking death force the prefectural authorities to close the beaches and launch a hi-tech scientific investigation of Lake Sai. Despite testimony from Ashizawa and Tucker, a two-day search involving sonar and aerial reconnaissance nevertheless turns up no evidence of a Plesiosaurus in the lake. Ashizawa, however, finally convinced of his father's theory, dons scuba gear and sets out alone to photograph the creature in the depths. Unbeknownst to him, the villagers have arranged to have depth charges detonated in the lake. Although Ashizawa is stunned in the operation, Akiko dives after him and pulls him to safety through an underwater tunnel that opens into a grotto full of eggs.
Meanwhile, a Rhamphorhynchus, hatched from an egg in the cave, appears in the darkening sky over the lake. It swoops down in an attack on the villagers, who run for cover behind the remaining depth charges stacked nearby. Some of the men grab rifles and open fire on the beast, which causes further panic as it circles back. A stray shot strikes and explodes the depth charges, incinerating all persons present.
Ashizawa and Akiko climb to the surface from the hidden cave, but the Plesiosaurus, all this time lurking in the forest, forces their retreat underground. Before it can claim its prey, however, the Plesiosaurus is attacked from above by the Rhamphorhynchus. The prehistoric monsters battle savagely, continuing to fight even after the Plesiosaurus loses an eye. Suddenly, the long-dormant Mt. Fuji erupts and the ensuing earthquake buckles the cave. Ashizawa and Akiko ascend and flee past the battling monsters, who both plummet into the hellish abyss opened up by the violent tremors.
The two lovers are separated amid the chaotic scene. Ashizawa doubles back and locates Akiko clinging to a fallen tree suspended over a chasm. He struggles to reach her, almost falling in himself. Both grasp for each other despite the fires raging from below. They touch fingers and Akiko lets go of the branch, just managing to grab Ashizawa's arm as the cataclysmic eruption continues unabated.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Junji Kurata
- Associate director Tomoomi Yoda
- Written by Masaru Igami, Isao Matsumoto, Ichiro Otsu
- Planned by Keiichi Hashimoto
- Music by Masao Yagi
- Theme song "Legend of Distant Blood"
- Performed by Eiichi Miyanaga
- Lyrics by Keisuke Yamakawa
- Composed and arranged by Masao Yagi
- Cinematography by Sakuji Shiomi
- Edited by Isamu Ichida
- Production design by Yoshichika Amemori
- First assistant directors Kazuo Noda, Mitsukazu Kawamura
- Monster modeler and operator Fuminori Ohashi
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Tsunehiko Watase as Takashi Ashizawa, geologist
- Shotaro Hayashi as Akira Taniki
- Nobiko Sawa as Akiko Osano, underwater photographer
- Satoko Kyoshima as Junko Sonoda
- Fuyukichi Maki as Shohei Muku, mountain guide
- Kinshi Nakamura as Hideyuki Sakai
- Hiroshi Nawa as Masahiko Miyawaki
- So Takizawa as Jiro Shimamoto
- Yusuke Tsukasa as Susumu Hirano
- Go Nawata as Hiroshi Sugiyama
- Yukari Miyazen as Hiroko Takami
- Masahiro Arikawa as Seitaro Shintaku
- Tamikashi Karazawa as Uemura
- Sachio Miyashiro as Kobayashi
Frontier Enterprises English dub
- William Ross as Takashi Ashizawa
- Tom Clark as Harold Tucker, U.P.I. correspondent
Appearances
Monsters
- Plesiosaurus
- Rhamphorhynchus
- Stone dinosaur eggs
Production
Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds was shot on location at Mount Fuji. Principal photography began on October 12, 1976.[1]
Gallery
- Main article: Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds/Gallery.
Alternate titles
- The "Legend of Dinosaurs" (United States)
- The Monsters of Prehistory (Les Monstres de la préhistoire; France)
- Earthquake 10° (Terremoto 10°; Italy)
- God of the Sea (Denizlerin tanrisi; Turkey)
- Giants of Prehistoric Times (Giganten der Vorzeit; West Germany)
- Legend of the Dinosaur (Легенда о динозавре; Soviet Union)
- The Monster Birds Against the Island of the Dinosaurs (Los pajaros monstruo contra la isla de los dinosauros; Mexico)
Foreign releases
U.S. release
Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds was dubbed into English for international export by the Tokyo-based Frontier Enterprises.[1] Although Japanese dialogue accurately refers to the titular "monster bird" as a Rhamphorhynchus, Frontier's dubbing names the creature a pterodactyl.
Television producer and distributor Sandy Frank acquired U.S. television and home video rights to the film from Toei. In 1987, Frank sold the film, now titled The "Legend of Dinosaurs", in a television syndication package through King Features Entertainment with other Japanese productions that he had licensed; Celebrity Home Entertainment released the film to VHS the same year. Strangely, the cover art featured photos of two Futabasaurus props from the otherwise unrelated 1978-1979 television series Dinosaur Corps Koseidon. On May 28, 1989, The "Legend of Dinosaurs" was featured as the final episode of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 during its original broadcast on the Minneapolis-area station KTMA.[2]
A 2007 DVD release by Tokyo Shock included both the film's original Japanese audio with English subtitles, and its English dub.
Soviet Union release
Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds was released theatrically in the USSR in 1979, with a Russian-language dub commissioned by the studio Mosfilm and a shortened 80 minute runtime. The first Japanese monster movie to be released in the Soviet Union, it recorded 48,700,000 admissions, the 17th-most for a foreign film at the time, and became something of a cult film.[3] According to Gregory Pflugfelder, "For many Russian viewers, this was a rare glimpse into everyday life in a capitalist economy. People were not taking note of the dinosaurs and monster birds—it was the Polaroid cameras!"[4]
Videos
Trailers
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Video releases
Tokyo Shock DVD (December 18, 2007)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese, English (2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Still gallery, trailer and special announcement, four trailers for other Tokyo Shock films
- Notes: Out of print.
Discotek Media Blu-ray (November 29, 2022)[5]
- Region: A
- Discs: 1
- Audio:: Japanese, English (LPCM 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Teaser (0:49) and theatrical trailer (2:25)
Trivia
- Despite the film's title, neither of the titular creatures are actually dinosaurs or ancient birds, though both are animals that lived alongside them; Plesiosaurus is a marine reptile genus, while Rhamphorhynchus is a pterosaur genus.
- Other dinosaurs, including an Archaeopteryx, were present in the early planning stages for the production before being replaced by the aforementioned creatures.[6]
- Italian posters for the film featured a gigantic Tyrannosaurus towering over a skyscraper in place of the film's Plesiosaurus, while Italian magazine advertisements added the giant octopus from It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) to the proceedings.
- Stock footage of the Plesiosaurus and the Rhamphorhynchus was briefly used in the final few episodes of the 1985-1986 series MegaBeast Investigator Juspion, depicting the creatures as members of the villainous MegaBeast Empire.[7][8]
- The 2021 film Zillafoot makes a brief mention of the (otherwise unseen) Disco-Plesiosaur, a humorous homage to the main creature and the soundtrack of Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds. The Disco-Plesiosaur is described as a lake monster who lives near Mt. Fuji and can summon forth "funky beats" to force humans to dance in its presence.
References
This is a list of references for Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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