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The Valley of Gwangi was one of my favorite films as a kid. I saw it on the big screen and would relive the fun by reading my Dell Comics adaptation. Later when the film played on television, I recorded the entire movie on audio cassette and would listen to it over and over. The DVD for some reason chose not to use the classic one sheet art that was the cover of the comic as well as the VHS and laser disc versions. The cover that Warner Home Video chose to use actually stopped me from buying the DVD when it first came out. I have seen this artwork used on some foreign one sheets now, but I'm still not a huge fan of the art. So how does the DVD compare to my memories? First the good points. The picture looked great to my eyes. The movie still takes me back to that magical time in my childhood when movies could completely astonish me. Most of these films were also Ray Harryhausen productions. There is a nice featurette "Return to the Valley" which offers a little behind the scenes stuff, some interviews with Harryhausen, and lots of experts gushing over Gwangi and Harryhausen. Now the not so good. With the exception of the featurette and a collection of creature feature trailers, there really isn't much extra to be offered on the disc. I also had some issues with the sound quality on the DVD transfer. Gwangi, like many of Warner's discs from that time, was released in a snapper case where the case is cardboard as opposed to plastic. Gwangi the movie is still great entertainment, but the DVD could have been so much more. Maybe they'll rectify that down the road with a Blu-ray release. Until then, if you can find a copy of Gwangi, grab it.Read full review
Only in the last 10 years has special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen recieved his due. His best pictures; Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, the Sindbad series, are still good solid entertainment even today. "The Valley of Gwangi" isn't one of them,but I bought it because it's a personal favorite of mine, dating back to my college days when I'd watch the local Friday night Chiller Theater in a funeral home. Still, it's not as good a story as his best, and it's not photographed as well as they, but then, it's not entirely his fault. Why? Because it's an old dinosaur movie, with Gwangi (a T-Rex/Allosaurus blend) still walking upright and dragging his tail. The last is a clear identifier of all "old dinosaur" movies, even the Styrachosaurus drags his tail in this one. For some, that makes this dinosaur movie hard to watch, but then Ray Harryhausen can't be blamed for the rise of the "new dinosaur paradigm" which turned these formerly slow moving reptiles into fast moving birdlike creatures who would have eaten a human for a light lunch. However, Harryhausen's skill gives this old style dinosaur some new style (post Jurassic Park) dinosaur moves that make it a worthy opponent of the cowboys who try to tie it down. Other criticisms are a plot that is really out of King Kong,and a faux romance between Gina Golan and James Franciscus that, well, is nothing more than a pretext for everything else. However, I have to smile at the final scenes, especially the one where Gwangi has chased the whole town into this huge Gothic church, where he snaps at the hero in front of an organ. The movie was filmed in Spain, and the organ looks like a true classic Spanish style organ, with the horizontal trumpets that could easily have caught Gwangi's attention. Alas, no body thought of it, and the instrument probably wasn't playable. However, that's a detail I don't expect most people to notice. So if you want mid level Ray Harryhausen, and don't mind the pre-Jurassic Park critters, get a nice beer, a dark room and settle back for some decent, mindless entertainment.Read full review
I'm one of those cinema freaks who love the works of Ray Harryhausen. It was in fact seeing his movie The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad that made me want to be a film maker. I saw that film at age 12. I saw Gwangi when I was 23. I didn't like it all that much then and I don't really care for it now. RH became an animator because of his love of Willis O'Brien's King Kong. That film and Harryhausen's 20 million miles to earth influence many of the scenes in this movie. The Kong influence is when a party of cowboys go into Gwangi's valley searching for a little horse and return to civilization with Gwangi. He's to be displayed at a circus(remember Kong being captured and displayed on stage?)Then he escapes and causes mayhem. After Gwangi first gets loose, he attacks an elephant(shades of the battle between the Ymir and an elephant at the Rome zoo.) Gwangi is finally trapped in a great Mexican Cathedral and the leading man starts a fire that burns him to death - just like the dinosaur in The Beast from 20,000 fathoms at the roller coaster ride in Jersey. I don't want to spend anymore time on this other than to say as I watched the animation of thought of how it would look today as CGI. But I see no point in trying to remake this film. It didn't make any money in 1969 and it wouldn't make any today. I saw it on a double bill with another Warner's movie, The Learning Tree. I enjoyed that one better.Read full review
I won't mix words and will try to keep this short. Based upon an unproduced script by Willis O'Brien, "The Valley of Gwangi" is a fun, rough and tumble action film for the fan of classic stop motion films. To sum the plot up, a group of Wild West Show performers discover an isolated population of prehistoric creatures and decide to use their discovery as the ultimate sideshow attraction. The completely predictable disaster follows, of course. If you like any of the Ray Harryhausen or Willis O'Brien films (King Kong, The Lost World, Clash of the Titans, 20Million Miles from Earth, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) you will probably like this movie. Its really for the scifi/fantasy fan, not the western fan. The special effects are top of the line for 1969. The acting is passable. The story is fun. The quality of my 2003 produced DVD was excellent. Hope this review helped. any questions, message me at myspace.com/lyndonnoblesRead full review
At first I was tempted to summarize "The Valley of Gwangi" by saying 'the Wild West meets "Jurassic Park"'. But to do so would not only be an injustice to visual effects creator Ray Harryhausen, who before the use of computers, perfected interaction between actors and animated characters, but would also ignore the fact that this movie is a foundation for the "Jurassic Park" trilogy. Plot wise, the film combines 1900 civilization just south of the Rio Grande and its technology with the prehistoric age as the struggling Breckenridge Wild West Show looks for new lucrative attractions. T. J. Breckenridge (the lovely Gila Golan) is the star performer who teams up with sometimes boyfriend Tuck Kriby (James Francisscus) and several others from the company for a dino hunt to the "forbidden valley". A band of gypsies led by Tia Zorina (Freda Jackson) although leading them to the valley, repeatedly sabotages their efforts. There is excellent horsemanship by all the show performers, especially Golan. But the interaction with the dinosaurs is a first for its time, as four different riders lasso the allosaurus. How this was accomplished is detailed in the featurette "Return to the Valley". After successfully trapping the beast, they transport him back to the arena, but at the unveiling performance, the gypsies have unlocked the cage and Gwangi gets loose terrorizing the town. I had seen this picture when it first came out and remembered it as a classic. 40 years later it does not disappoint. But perhaps the best part is in the extgras. Dan Taylor, who later became animation director at Industrial Light and Magic and was instrumental in creatintg "Jurassic Park" gives a first rate commentary on "Gwangi". This special also includes explanatory remarks from Harryhausen and many other ILM employees. As a bonus there are trailers for "Gwangi" and 3 other creature features. For a real Easter egg, check out the train in "Black Scorpion". I would highly recommend this DVD for creature fans as well as students of interactive animation. It's a delight.Read full review
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