When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

"Akita!", 1 August 2008

I may be the only person alive who has seen both One Million Years B.C. and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth that actually prefers the sequel to the original. Not that either is something I would recommend very highly, but at least there's a sense of goofiness about When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth that's not present in the overly serious Raquel Welch film. When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth also features a bevy of scantily clad cave women (could Victori Vetri fill out a bikini or what?), stop-motion dinosaurs that almost outdo the ones from Harryhausen, and a few nice action sequences. Based on my rating there's obviously a flip-side. The negatives for me include too much dialogue (in a made-up language no less that's completely impossible to follow), an overly involved plot (at least overly involved given the lack of language), and too much caveman butt. The language business actually had me laughing a couple of times. Apparently neither the cavemen nor the screenwriters could agree on what certain words meant. "Akita" appears to have meant anything from let's go over there to I really like you to your ham sandwich is ready! Unintentionally, it's hysterical (and distracting).

In the end, I can't in good conscious rate When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth any better than a 6/10 – not the best movie in the world but worth seeking out if you're a fan of either this kind of dinosaur movie or a Hammer completist.

6/10