I have always been a fan of giant monster movies, whether they are classics or cheesy, especially the ones made in Japan. During the 1970’s budgets for Kaiju films had plummeted to the point where the movies were made as cheaply as possible. In 1977, Toei distributed Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds, known as North America as The Legend of Dinosaurs, which falls somewhere between decent and cheesy. The Toei Company had also produced House of Terrors, Yongary, Monster from the Deep, and The Green Slime on their resumeprior to Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds so you know what to expect!

The film basically is about two prehistoric dinosaurs that hatch from giant eggs that were buried in the caverns in Mount Fuji. A young girl who was wondering around the area and fell into the cave was a witness to one of the eggs hatching and talks about it on television. A geologist, Takashi Ashizawa (screen legend Tsunehiko Watase, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, The Incident, Virus) hears about the fossilized egg and goes Mount Fuji to find it. While the search is on for the eggs, a Plesiosaur starts to attack, eating people and animals. Later, a Rhamphorhynchus egg hatches and the beast flies around attacking the community. The climax has both dinosaurs battling each other during a volcanic eruption in Mount Fuji with Takashi and his partner Akiko Osano (Nobiko Sawa), a swimmer and former lover, smack in the middle of it.

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds for me is a guilty pleasure as I know it’s far from a classic, but I love it anyway. The dinosaur fight is as amusing as it is awkward and poorly staged as neither creature has arms, so they attack with their heads and tails and is unconvincing. The acting is decent enough, but the characters are not all that engaging, as the dinosaurs are the real stars, which is why we watch monster movies. The music by Masao Yagi is a seventies disco theme which to me was inappropriate for a science fiction horror movie. The opening music started out creepy but then went into icky disco music. The special effects are no better or worse than any other Kaiju film from the seventies. I thought the dinosaur suits were excellent, with some of the dinosaur effects being effective with close-ups of victims being attacked and chewed on by the Plesiosaur. One of the best scenes in my opinion is when the Rhamphorhynchus first emerges from Mount Fuji with the weather suddenly changing from sunny to stormy dark clouds. I can only imagine if the film was as good as the poster! The film was an MST3K experiment during the KTMA Season of the show.

In what I would call a pleasant surprise, Discotek Media releases Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds on Blu-ray. The release comes with a slipcover with the poster art. The Media Blasters DVD release had a good transfer, so as expected the 1080p Blu-ray outshines it somewhat. This is the same uncut release with all the gore intact. I would call it a modest upgrade with the boost in contrast improving the image. Colors look rich, particularly reds, blues and yellows looking the strongest. Black levels are nice and dark. Flesh tones appear accurate with some details in close-ups. Some scenes were still a little hazy but that might have been due to the film elements used. Overall, I was happy with the picture quality.

Both English and Japanese LPCM 2.0 audio tracks for the movie are perfectly fine with crisp, clear dialogue, screams, music, and other background noises coming in perfectly clear without any issues such as hissing, or drop-offs being detected. English subtitles are offered, and instead of white, they are yellow, making it that much easier to read.

The extras include a trailer and a teaser, and that’s it!

Kaiju fans who haven’t seen Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds are sure to get a kick out this movie and it’s Blu-ray release. If you have seen this movie, you know what to expect, and now it’s in 1080p! This Blu-ray release has both solid picture and audio quality and you can replace your DVD! Don’t let the lack of supplements stop you from picking this release up! Recommended!  

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds

Director- Junji Kurata 

Cast- Tsunehiko Watase, Nobiko Sawa

Country of Origin- Japan

Distributor – Discotek Media

Number of Discs – 1

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date –10/30/2022