The Island of the Dinosaurs (1967)
A group of scientists in search of lost Atlantis are plane wrecked on an uncharted island full of stock footage monsters fresh from One Million BC. Occasionally we get an original papier mache monster peaking out from behind an alcove, but for the most part this is typical Mexican filmmaking for the period. With Armond Silvestre and Alma Delia Fuentes.
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Excellent but underrated film
Absolutely Brilliant!
it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
There is literally nothing you haven't seen before in this cheap Mexican dinosaur picture. The old "plane crashes in unknown area inhabited by prehistoric animals" plot is used to frame a prehistoric romance between a female scientist and a hunk in a bearskin. Their story is built around extensive footage from One Million B.C. Leads Armando Silvestre and Alma Delia Fuentes are even costumed to more or less match Victor Mature and Carol Landis in the stock footage. The producer also throws in some Hollywood gorilla suit shots. The monkey suit used for the gorilla attack in the new material looks like someone's Halloween costume. The only original dinosaur on the island is a papier-mâché creature glimpsed behind a log in the river. The story revolves around a scientific expedition to discover the remains of lost Atlantis. The scientists' plane makes a crash landing on an island during a storm. While they repair it, they study the island. It is inhabited by a tribe of cave dwellers led by burly Silvestre. Fuentes is frightened by a dinosaur while swimming and is kidnapped by the caveman, who has been ousted from his position. Despite their cultural differences, they fall in love. This is handled in "me Tarzan, you Jane" fashion. La Isla de los dinosaurios a pretty dull affair despite reasonable production values. The cinematography by award-winner Agustin Jimenez is outstanding. That said, there are better ways to spend 87 minutes.