Customer Reviews

The Valley of Gwangi

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Valley of Gwangi, aka Gwangi, aka The Lost Valley, aka The Valley Time Forgot, aka The Valley Where Time Stood Still, (whew!) stars James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes) and Richard Carlson (It Came From Outer Space) and while they were decent, the real star of this movie is special effects creator and legend Ray Harryhausen. Franciscus plays Tuck Kirby, a cowboy looking to make a quick buck by brokering a deal for the sale of a horse that's being used in his ex-girlfriend's Wild West circus show that is located 'just south of the Rio Grande'. Gila Golan plays T.J. Breckenridge, owner of the circus, with Carlson as Champ Connors, the protective fatherly figure/manager of the circus.

Anyway, a discovery is made of some sort of prehistoric animal, a wee little horse, and we soon find out the animal came from an area called the 'forbidden valley'...or at least that's what it is called by the gypsy-like tribe that seems to live near it, which, by the way, are inclined to believe that the rather wee horse needs to be returned to the valley whence it came of dire consequences involving a curse or some such hooey will follow. Now, getting off on a slight tangent, if I were these gypsies and I wanted to keep people out of the valley, I would have probably called it something else, like valley of the happy flowers, or valley of the nothing to see here, as the forbidden valley just sounds too tempting to strangers and such to not be explored. The gypsies also refer to it at times as the valley of the Gwangi, but they never really get specific as to the exact nature of the Gwangi. So these gypsies end up stealing the wee, small horse and returning it to the 'forbidden' valley, with members of the Wild West circus in hot pursuit. Also along for the ride is some elderly anthropologist who happens to be in the area studying fossils and various junk who seems to just get in the way more than anything else. This pursuit ultimately leads the group into the forbidden valley, where they encounter various prehistoric creatures, including a voracious and persistent tyrannosaurus rex. We are now about an hour into the movie, so if it's dinosaurs ye be looking for, keep this in mind, as you will probably be bored silly with the movie leading up to this point. Cowboys and dinosaurs? Sounds pretty cool...and it is. Harryhausen really outdid himself in this movie not only bringing these various creatures to life, but managing to instill personality into them, and adding all kinds of nuances to the stop motion animation. Keep in mind there were no high tech hoity toity computer gizmatronics back when this movie was made, so special effects creators had to be, well, creative. Harryhausen, shows in this film why he's considered one of the greatest effects artists in motion pictures. The man must have truly loved his work as it shows here. So what happens next? Well, the cowboys manage to capture one of the bigger, wily, creatures (hint, it's a real big one with sharp, pointy teeth) and bring it back to put in the Wild West show but things go badly as the creature escapes and wreaks havoc in a heavily populated area. Think of Godzilla attacking Tokyo except instead of Godzilla it's a prehistoric beast, instead of Tokyo it's Mexico City and instead of frightened Japanese people fleeing in terror, it's frightened Mexican people in sombreros fleeing in terror. Oh the carnage...who lives? Who dies? Who get horribly ate up? Well, you'll just have to see the movie.

The picture provided on this disc is wide screen anamorphic, and special features include an eight minute tribute to Ray Harryhausen entitled `Return to the Valley' where contemporary special effects artists gush over Harryhausen and tell how he influenced them and the various films they've worked on, most notably Jurassic Park. There is also like four or five trailers for other films Harryhausen worked on, including The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. I thoroughly enjoy The Valley of the Gwangi, even though I understand others have thought the movie to be bit slow, in the beginning, at least. I understand this, as the really cool dinosaurs don't appear until about halfway into this 95-minute feature. Fans of Ray Harryhausen will not be disappointed, but others may find themselves looking for the chapter stop where the dinosaurs are...all in all a nifty western adventure with a good helping of thrilling science fiction provided by a true pioneer of special effects. By the way, where did they find this actress who played the love interest to James Franciscus? She was somewhat attractive, but her wooden acting skills certainly made me root for a big, hungry, salivating primal beastie to gobble her up quickly.

Cookieman108

This was always one of my favorite Ray Harryhausen films. The Jerome Moross score elevates this film from being just another standard fantasy motion picture and transforms it into a Western dinosaur roundup. The setting enhanced by the score and Harryhausen's convincing stop motion creatures really dupes the viewer very subtly into thinking that this Western could have happened. Or almost! The actual valley when first seen by the cowboys has a very unsettling look about it, somewhere between prehistoric and surrealistic. The Jerome Moross score is very reminiscent of his "THE BIG COUNTRY," "THE PROUD REBEL" and "THE JAYHAWKERS." The dinosaur work here by Harryhausen ranks among his best. "I see what you mean Mister Kirby."

Resurrecting an aborted project that Willis ( KING KONG ) O'Brien wanted to make himself, Ray Harryhausen followed-up his successful Hammer film ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. with this movie, working once again with longtime partner Charles H. Schneer. Filmed in Spain, this 1969 offering has stunning stop-motion animated dinosaurs.

Set around the turn of the century in Mexico, it is a very Kong-like tale of a mighty creature ( the titular Allosaurus with T-Rex attributes ) that is captured in "Forbidden Valley" and brought back to a local Wild West show / circus to make money. The monster flees its bonds and proceeds into a magnificent cathedral, which becomes consumed in a raging inferno and brings about its demise.

Harryhausen, who worked a full year on the special effects, effectively populates a valley that is lost in time with a number of prehistoric animals, which include an equine Eohippus, a "plucked ostrich" called an Ornithomimus and a horned Styracosaurus who fights Gwangi to the death in a memorable sequence. The highlight is a well-staged roping sequence which consumed many months of Ray's time to realize; he had to carefully align the animated ropes on the Gwangi model with real ropes used in live action to snare a Jeep with a pole affixed.

Other key points include the escape of Gwangi from its cage ( a split-screen process was used in the making of this effect ) and battle with an eleplant model, and its fiery finale in the great edifice ( utilizing the optical printer to superimpose flames around the allosaur's feet ). Ray Harryhausen outdid himself for this feature which includes literally hundreds of animation set-ups to concoct the visual effects.

Unfortunately, the live-action sequences do not show as much panache. James Franciscus and Gila Golan do not create any sparks as the movie's leading couple. Curtis Arden is okay as Lope but no more, and Richard Carlson looks haggard as the impresario of the circus troupe. The only bright spot is the amiable performance of Laurence Naismith as the slightly eccentric Professor Bromley who recognizes the miniature horse for what it is.

Even though it was a commercial failure in 1969 due to a number of unfortunate circumstances that took place ( lack of advertising, its pairing with an R-rated movie and changes in cultural tastes ), THE VALLEY OF GWANGI is a spectacular adventure teeming with fantastic creatures and exotic settings that should not be overlooked. The superficial storyline and other shortcomings pale when Ray works his legendary magic. A highly recommended picture that is only unsuitable for the the very youngest of children ( under 5 yrs. of age ).

A struggling Wild West show discovers dinosaurs on the loose in Mexico, and decides to exploit the discovery. The true star of this movie is the stop-motion animation done by the master of non-computerized special effects, Ray Harryhausen. Crisp color photography adds to the pulse-pounding scenes of prehistoric predators. The production problems of this movie help explain its lack of commercial success. A weak script and wooden acting also detract from the enjoyment. The plot drags and takes too long to get to the "monsters of the lost valley" part. Once the special effects kick in, things get more lively. The scenes of riders roping Gwangi are thrilling. The show-ring battle, however, between Gwangi and the elephant is not up to RH's usual excellent standards. The elephant is obviously an animated model. The segment copies an earlier RH film, "20 Million Miles to Earth." Gwangi rampaging through the Mexican town recalls King Kong rampaging through the streets of New York, but the comparison ends there. The spectacular fire in the great cathedral is an exciting visual display. Dedicated collectors of classic sci-fi films or steadfast fans of Ray Harryhausen will want this one for their collection, regardless. ;-)

When Ray Harryhausen was looking for new ideas, he came across an old script - intended for a never-made film - written by Willis O'Brien (creator and animator of RKO's 'King Kong'). Wth a little re-writing, this film came into being. I remember seeing this film as a kid. Personally, I think it's still as good now as it was then. Ray Harryhausen's special effects are, as always, first-rate. The story is both interesting and exciting, contains barely a dull moment. Scenes of the cowboys riding into the forbidden valley, the little horse in its miniature stable, and the roping of the titular allosaur had stuck in my mind since I first saw this film. Combining a western with a dinosaur movie was certainly a master-stroke. The human characters are interesting, as are the dinosaurs - you really do feel sympathy for Gwangi at the finale. The soundtrack is excellent, and the backgrounds are atmospheric and dramatic. Besides this film, now looking better than ever, this DVD also contains an interesting look at the making of Gwangi, including interviews with Ray Harryhausen himself. This is recommended whether you're a fan of dinosaurs or monster movies in general.

Pretty good sci-fi with some of the best Harryhausen effects i have seen. James Franciscus and Richard Carlson of "It Came From Outerspace" fame, team up to capture Gwangi, a T-Rex from a secret valley. Good to see this movie released to DVD. Great site and sound in wide screen format.

The Valley Of Gwangi was a script prepared in 1940 by Willis O'Brien, the SFX technician responsible for King Kong. His apprentice, Ray Harryhausen, acquired a copy of the script, but when O'Brien's project was aborted, Harryhausen forgot about it until in 1966, having wrapped up work on One Million Years B.C., Harryhausen and producer-friend Charles Schneer found the script in Harryhausen's garage, and decided to film it. William Bast was brought it to make changes; originally set in 1940, the story was pushed back to circa 1900.

The film's genesis proved to be most troubling. Schneer and Harryhausen's primary distributor, Columbia Pictures, felt the film would be too expensive (it called for much more in the way of stop-motion animation and film-splicing FX than previous Harryhausen projects), but Ken Myler of Seven Arts (which had financed One Million Years B.C.) liked the project and took it to Warner Brothers when Seven Arts bought into the film company.

Filming took two years and was plagued with problems. There were reports of controversies with director James O'Connelly (Harryhausen wound up directing the majority of the film, though it was mostly because of the sheer quantity of stop-motion/splitscreen effects work needed) and also spats between Schneer and the film's musical composer, Jerome Moross. There was also the matter of Israeli actress Gina Golan, cast as the film's heroine, T.J. Breckenridge; Golan could not speak fluent English, so her voice had to be dubbed for the entire film.

Then, when the film was finished, Ken Myler left Warner Brothers-Seven Arts, and the new management wanted nothing to do with the film, so they dumped it on the market with little more than a poster and a coming attractions trailer as publicity. The bitter experience almost drove Harryhausen out of movies.

The film could have been a huge hit, because it is very entertaining, highlighted by Jerome Moross' thrilling score (Moross used a large orchestra, a luxury becoming extinct in the budget-crunched movie industry of 1968-9), great performances by James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and company, and animation by Harryhausen that is among his finest. The allosaur Gwangi is quite an energetic beast, and his battles with a belligerent styracosaur and later a circus elephant (this scene has been unfairly criticized because the elephant is depicted as too large and moving a bit too smoothly) are thrilling and at times a bit overpowering. Contributing mightily to the film's adrenaline rush is awe-inspiring sound editing and FX; the growling voices of Gwangi and the styracosaur are far deeper and more menacing than monster voices in previous Harryhausen films; even when the beasts simply breathe, the menace is unmistakable; the echo effect when Gwangi prowls through a huge church late in the film is brilliantly realized.

The human characters are often overlooked in reviews of the film, for they succeed in holding it all together. Tuck Kirby (James Franciscus) and T.J. Breckenridge are sparring over ownership of a struggling wild west show, but bite of more than they can chew when the discovery of a tiny horse - a prehistoric Eohippus, tenderly animated by Harryhausen - leads to The Forbidden Valley. The human characters are put through the emotional wringer as they fight, reconcile, fight again, team up to battle the dinosaurs, and succeed in bringing Gwangi to captivity. But Tuck has had his fill, and wants no part of T.J's scheme to use Gwangi as part of the show. When Gwangi is freed by gypsies, he kills the elephant (a battle that is quite gory for a G-rated film) and traps Tuck and T.J. in a church, where he is killed when a flaming brazier sets the place afire. The climatic fire rips at the audience as Gwangi wails in its death throes, and we are left feeling guilty at the creature's death.

The film's extremely unhappy ending is uncharacteristic of a Ray Harryhausen film, and may be why Harryhausen has admitted that the film is not one of the favorites he has done. He should feel more pride in it, though, for it is a true masterpiece of his.

This is the best Cowboys and Dinosaurs film out there.The story was one Wllis O'Brien tried to get produced in the 30's without
succes.Three and half decades later his protegee Harryhausen finally gets it made.In addition to the lovely Gila Golan it stared
James Fransicus (TV's Mr. Novak) but upon it's initial release it was paired with an incompatable co-feature and released during
the hieght of the 60's student protests.It's audience either failed to find it or was more interested in protesting than going to the
movies.It was quickly pulled from theaters and considered a failure.Luckily it went quickly to television.The segment where the
Cowboys rope Gwangi is particularly memorable.

I like this movie. I consider it to be something of a classic, in an arcane sense. The Valley of Gwangi was a unique mixture of genres: The Western and the Dinosaur Sci-Fi! Seeing the characters react to and deal with this creature in that setting is an interesting premise. Remember, this was the turn of the LAST century. No hi-tech weapons or science were available.

A mildy interesting, if not predictable, character sub-plot developed for quite a while, until Gwangi and his prehistoric brethren appeared. I am unphazed by the biological/paleontological licenses taken by the filmmakers. After all, in sci-fi, suspension of disbelief is what it's all about.

In the end, the star of the movie is the great Ray Harryhausen, whose stop motion art is legendary. Ray always seemed to give his animated characters a character! Unlike the monstrous, unthinking Anaconda or T-Rex of the Computer Generated Era. If you imerse yourself in the setting, you will be awestruck, scared and eventually compassionate about this creature. This Harryhausen ability to impart pathos to the monster was never more evident than in his creature from Venus in "20 Million Miles to Earth." (Which I also recommend!)

Finally a word about the leading man, James Francsicus. People always put him in Heston's shadow, but I thought he did a good job here. As for his attractive (if not greatly talented) co-star Gina Golan...I never heard from her again!

All in all, it's worth buying or renting. I've seen it, in part or in total many times.

Cowboys at the turn of the century find a forbidden valley and bring back a dinosaur (Gwangi) to put on show in their circus, which has not been doing well as of late. A re-write of an old unmade Willis O'Brien (maker of King Kong) story, this has an excellent, fast-paced script with hardly a dull moment. Harryhausen's animation is at its best and combined with awesome scenery and an unforgettable soundtrack this is one of the best dinosaur films ever made. The characters are interesting and realistic and Gwangi himself goes to demonstrate that being a monster is far worse than being scared by a monster.