With the Sam Raimi-produced 65 now playing in theaters, genre fans are getting something we’ve been craving for years – a big budget dinosaur thriller Not part of the Jurassic Park franchise. The film’s premise of an astronaut crash landing on Earth during the age of the dinosaurs sounds exactly like something that would have hit theaters and drive-ins back in the 60s and 70s when a healthy stream of dinosaur themed B-movie fare was released.
65 seems like a perfect genre mash-up of sci-fi and survival horror. Back in 1969, another genre hybrid about dinosaurs was set loose – The Valley of Gwangi. The hook? Cowboys vs. dinosaurs. Hell, if the movie came out today I guarantee that Cowboys vs. Dinosaurs would be the title.
The Valley of Gwangi was spearheaded by stop motion effects legend Ray Harryhausen and his long-time producing partner, Charles Schneer. Harryhausen needs no introduction. His...
65 seems like a perfect genre mash-up of sci-fi and survival horror. Back in 1969, another genre hybrid about dinosaurs was set loose – The Valley of Gwangi. The hook? Cowboys vs. dinosaurs. Hell, if the movie came out today I guarantee that Cowboys vs. Dinosaurs would be the title.
The Valley of Gwangi was spearheaded by stop motion effects legend Ray Harryhausen and his long-time producing partner, Charles Schneer. Harryhausen needs no introduction. His...
- 3/15/2023
- by Tyler Eschberger
- bloody-disgusting.com
Spoiler alert: Dinosaurs and humans didn’t exist on Earth at the same time. This presents a problem for filmmakers looking to make a dinosaur movie with human/dino interaction, at least in terms of historical accuracy. One option is to ignore reality entirely, as One Million Years B.C. did. Another is to bring dinosaurs back to life, a la Jurassic Park and its many sequels. Or, you could have the characters go back in time, which is the solution delivered by the directing-screenwriting team of Scott Beck and Bryan Wood with 65, in which Adam Driver plays an astronaut from another planet who crashes on this planet 65 million years ago.
Or maybe the other planet also existed 65 million years ago, which would account for a key plot element. Driver’s character, Mills, has to undergo the grueling two-year space mission to pay for medical care for his daughter (Chloe Coleman...
Or maybe the other planet also existed 65 million years ago, which would account for a key plot element. Driver’s character, Mills, has to undergo the grueling two-year space mission to pay for medical care for his daughter (Chloe Coleman...
- 3/9/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Atlantis: The Lost Empire” producer Don Hahn had an anecdote about the ethos that drove that 2001 animated Disney film’s production. If other Disney animated films, the ones concerned with princesses and magic kingdoms, represent the Fantasyland area of a Disney theme park, the one you reach after passing through the castle, then he wanted “Atlantis” to be the Adventureland movie. This would be one where you turn left.
For “Strange World,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 61st (!) feature, they have decided to turn left again. “It’s funny, every time I walk down Main Street, I turn left,” said “Strange World” producer Ron Conli.
“Strange World” is the story of the Clades, led by the rugged adventurer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid). After Jaeger goes missing on an expedition, his son Searcher (Jake Gyllenaal) grows up, maintaining the family name in a different way: he farms a powerful crop that has...
For “Strange World,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 61st (!) feature, they have decided to turn left again. “It’s funny, every time I walk down Main Street, I turn left,” said “Strange World” producer Ron Conli.
“Strange World” is the story of the Clades, led by the rugged adventurer Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid). After Jaeger goes missing on an expedition, his son Searcher (Jake Gyllenaal) grows up, maintaining the family name in a different way: he farms a powerful crop that has...
- 9/21/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Director Ron Underwood discusses a few of his favorite westerns with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Speechless (1994)
Heart and Souls (1993)
Stealing Sinatra (2003)
City Slickers (1991)
Tremors (1990) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Tourist Trap (1979) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary
The Seduction (1982)
Puppet Master (1989)
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)
Capricorn One (1977) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Back When We Were Grownups (2004)
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)
Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)
The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Red River (1948) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Johnny Guitar (1954) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Westworld...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Speechless (1994)
Heart and Souls (1993)
Stealing Sinatra (2003)
City Slickers (1991)
Tremors (1990) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Tourist Trap (1979) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary
The Seduction (1982)
Puppet Master (1989)
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)
Capricorn One (1977) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Back When We Were Grownups (2004)
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)
Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)
The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Red River (1948) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Johnny Guitar (1954) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Westworld...
- 2/1/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By John M. Whalen
Kino Lorber, in its relentless effort to make forgotten, hard-to-find films available in superior, like-new condition, has released a Blu-Ray edition of the 1959 Weird Western, “Curse of the Undead,” the first movie ever to mix cowboys and vampires. The Weird Western, in case you’re not aware, is a sub-genre that combines the traditional western with elements of the supernatural, horror, or science fiction. They’ve been around for about 90 years, first appearing in print in the 1930s when Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer from Texas, best known as the creator of Conan the Barbarian, wrote several short stories for Weird Tales and Argosy magazine that combined the traditional western with supernatural horror. Today a number of authors including Joe Lansdale, Heath Lowrance, Jonathan Mayberry, David West and even yours truly, have turned out Weird Western novels and short stories,...
By John M. Whalen
Kino Lorber, in its relentless effort to make forgotten, hard-to-find films available in superior, like-new condition, has released a Blu-Ray edition of the 1959 Weird Western, “Curse of the Undead,” the first movie ever to mix cowboys and vampires. The Weird Western, in case you’re not aware, is a sub-genre that combines the traditional western with elements of the supernatural, horror, or science fiction. They’ve been around for about 90 years, first appearing in print in the 1930s when Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer from Texas, best known as the creator of Conan the Barbarian, wrote several short stories for Weird Tales and Argosy magazine that combined the traditional western with supernatural horror. Today a number of authors including Joe Lansdale, Heath Lowrance, Jonathan Mayberry, David West and even yours truly, have turned out Weird Western novels and short stories,...
- 1/16/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
To celebrate the release of The Valley of Gwangi - available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD Dual Format from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment 26th Feb. 2018 – we are giving away a copy!
Cowpokes head into a mysterious Mexican valley to head ’em up and move ’em out. But they’re not looking for little dogies. They’re looking for great, big dinosaurs. James Franciscus stars in this thunderous adventure featuring amazing special effects by Ray Harryhausen (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Clash of the Titans). Franciscus plays a Wild-West showman who leads his riding and roping crew into the title region where prehistoric giants still roam. Thanks to Harryhausen wizardry, fantastic creatures lunge, fight and rampage in scene after dazzling scene (including an awesome sequence where the cowboys rope Gwangi, a razor-toothed allosaurus). Saddle up and join the excitement.
The Premium Collection, revered films across all genres celebrated in a Premium package...
Cowpokes head into a mysterious Mexican valley to head ’em up and move ’em out. But they’re not looking for little dogies. They’re looking for great, big dinosaurs. James Franciscus stars in this thunderous adventure featuring amazing special effects by Ray Harryhausen (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Clash of the Titans). Franciscus plays a Wild-West showman who leads his riding and roping crew into the title region where prehistoric giants still roam. Thanks to Harryhausen wizardry, fantastic creatures lunge, fight and rampage in scene after dazzling scene (including an awesome sequence where the cowboys rope Gwangi, a razor-toothed allosaurus). Saddle up and join the excitement.
The Premium Collection, revered films across all genres celebrated in a Premium package...
- 2/20/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Blake Eckard’s Coyotes Kill For Fun screens Saturday, November 4th at 7:00pm at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here.
Blake Eckard’s Backroad Blues screens Sunday, November 5th at 1:30pm at the .Zack (3224 Locust St.). The Backroad Blues screening is a free event.
In Coyotes Kill For Fun, the latest from Northwest Missouri indie filmmaker and Sliff favorite Blake Eckard, a backwoods babysitter agrees to help an abused mother of two escape her lunatic boyfriend, but his psychotic brother is headed back to the area, and he has a fraught history with everyone involved. Filmed over three years in Missouri, Montana, and La, “Coyotes” had a long gestation: Two-thirds was first shot back in March 2014, and a trio of cinematographers — Eckard, St. Louisan Cody Stokes, and American-indie legend Jon Jost...
Blake Eckard’s Backroad Blues screens Sunday, November 5th at 1:30pm at the .Zack (3224 Locust St.). The Backroad Blues screening is a free event.
In Coyotes Kill For Fun, the latest from Northwest Missouri indie filmmaker and Sliff favorite Blake Eckard, a backwoods babysitter agrees to help an abused mother of two escape her lunatic boyfriend, but his psychotic brother is headed back to the area, and he has a fraught history with everyone involved. Filmed over three years in Missouri, Montana, and La, “Coyotes” had a long gestation: Two-thirds was first shot back in March 2014, and a trio of cinematographers — Eckard, St. Louisan Cody Stokes, and American-indie legend Jon Jost...
- 10/31/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I don't think I've ever posted anything on GeekTyrant involving the Italian fashion line Gucci. However, I saw this promo from their upcoming line of Star Trek-inspired fashion and I had to share it. The promo has a very cool retro vibe as it was made to look and feel like the classic sci-fi entertainment from the 1950s and 1960s, including Star Trek, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Lost in Space, and The Valley of Gwangi, and it even has Ray Harryhausen-like stop-motion dinosaur effects. This is for their 2017 Fall and Winter fashion campaign. ...
- 7/26/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Famous Monsters of Filmland is paying tribute to the horror genre's past while also celebrating the present at this year's San Diego Comic-Con:
Press Release: "Famous Monsters has come to San Diego Comic-Con once again, and we've scheduled several panels featuring special guests and announcements!
Famous Monsters Stake of the Union 2017
Friday July 21, 2017 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Room 26Ab
Famous Monsters of Filmland has spanned nearly 60 years with its game-changing genre magazine, groundbreaking cover art, record-setting fan events, original comic books, and more. And 2017 promises to be the most exciting year yet as FM expands into new forms of media, including syndicated television! Publisher Philip Kim, editor Holly Interlandi, and associate editor Joe Moe will welcome special panelists to tease future projects, give exclusive art reveals, and maybe wax a little philosophical on Frankenstein.
From Comics to Virtual Reality with American Gothic Press
Saturday July 22, 2017 7:00pm - 8:...
Press Release: "Famous Monsters has come to San Diego Comic-Con once again, and we've scheduled several panels featuring special guests and announcements!
Famous Monsters Stake of the Union 2017
Friday July 21, 2017 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Room 26Ab
Famous Monsters of Filmland has spanned nearly 60 years with its game-changing genre magazine, groundbreaking cover art, record-setting fan events, original comic books, and more. And 2017 promises to be the most exciting year yet as FM expands into new forms of media, including syndicated television! Publisher Philip Kim, editor Holly Interlandi, and associate editor Joe Moe will welcome special panelists to tease future projects, give exclusive art reveals, and maybe wax a little philosophical on Frankenstein.
From Comics to Virtual Reality with American Gothic Press
Saturday July 22, 2017 7:00pm - 8:...
- 7/20/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
In today's Horror Highlights, we have a Q&A with The Gracefield Incident at Mathieu Ratthe, new stills from Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories, and details on Famous Monsters of Filmland's presence at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Mathieu. How and when did you first come up with the idea for The Gracefield Incident?
Mathieu Ratthe: First of all, thank you, Derek, for your interest in our film. I wanted to create a suspenseful story that scared the crap out of the audience, but also made them emotionally involved, which is really tough to do in this kind of movie, but I think we achieved it pretty well in our film.
The conceptual idea (or I liked to call it the “technique”) came after I realized how many days I was given to shoot our film with the budget that I had.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Mathieu. How and when did you first come up with the idea for The Gracefield Incident?
Mathieu Ratthe: First of all, thank you, Derek, for your interest in our film. I wanted to create a suspenseful story that scared the crap out of the audience, but also made them emotionally involved, which is really tough to do in this kind of movie, but I think we achieved it pretty well in our film.
The conceptual idea (or I liked to call it the “technique”) came after I realized how many days I was given to shoot our film with the budget that I had.
- 7/17/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
By Hank Reineke
The blending of two disparate but popular film genres – in this case, the horror/sci-fi film with the saddle opera - was hardly new when The Valley of Gwangi hit the big screen in 1969. This film’s most identifiable predecessor, one pitting cowboys against a prehistoric monster, might be The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956), but truth be told Hollywood had been combining these two genres almost from the very beginning. In the 1930s and ‘40s, audiences thrilled to the ghostly monochrome exploits of such western serial heroes as Ken Maynard, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Buster Crabbe with such films as Tombstone Canyon (1932), The Vanishing Riders (1935), and Wild Horse Phantom (1944). Universal’s Curse of the Undead (1959) was a later but no less interesting experiment for Hollywood’s preeminent fright factory. The studio removed the vampire from the usual atmospheric Gothic trappings of old Europe and dropped him onto the sagebrush plain.
The blending of two disparate but popular film genres – in this case, the horror/sci-fi film with the saddle opera - was hardly new when The Valley of Gwangi hit the big screen in 1969. This film’s most identifiable predecessor, one pitting cowboys against a prehistoric monster, might be The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956), but truth be told Hollywood had been combining these two genres almost from the very beginning. In the 1930s and ‘40s, audiences thrilled to the ghostly monochrome exploits of such western serial heroes as Ken Maynard, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Buster Crabbe with such films as Tombstone Canyon (1932), The Vanishing Riders (1935), and Wild Horse Phantom (1944). Universal’s Curse of the Undead (1959) was a later but no less interesting experiment for Hollywood’s preeminent fright factory. The studio removed the vampire from the usual atmospheric Gothic trappings of old Europe and dropped him onto the sagebrush plain.
- 5/15/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“The gods of Greece are cruel! In time, all men shall learn to live without them.”
Sunday, May 7 marks the 4th anniversary of the legendary visual effects guru Ray Harryhausen’s death. Read what We Are Movie Geeks thinks are Harryhausen’s top ten films Here
To celebrate this master of illusion, Comet TV (www.COMETtv.com) is running a Ray Harryhausen Marathon of movies on Sunday, May 7 beginning at 11:30am Est/8:30am Pst. The complete marathon will run as follows:
11:30am Est / 10:30am Ct / 8:30am Pst – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
In many ways the ultimate combination of stop motion animation, adventure, and overall production quality, 7th Voyage Of Sinbad is still one of Harryhausen’s most popular works. It was also a turning point for Harryhausen, establishing the framework for not only his other Sinbad films, but all animated adventure films in general...
Sunday, May 7 marks the 4th anniversary of the legendary visual effects guru Ray Harryhausen’s death. Read what We Are Movie Geeks thinks are Harryhausen’s top ten films Here
To celebrate this master of illusion, Comet TV (www.COMETtv.com) is running a Ray Harryhausen Marathon of movies on Sunday, May 7 beginning at 11:30am Est/8:30am Pst. The complete marathon will run as follows:
11:30am Est / 10:30am Ct / 8:30am Pst – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
In many ways the ultimate combination of stop motion animation, adventure, and overall production quality, 7th Voyage Of Sinbad is still one of Harryhausen’s most popular works. It was also a turning point for Harryhausen, establishing the framework for not only his other Sinbad films, but all animated adventure films in general...
- 5/5/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This Week in Home VideoGet Ready to Fall in Love With the Funny, Sexy, and Beautifully Independent ‘The Love Witch’Plus 13 more new releases to watch at home this week on Blu-ray/DVD.
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekThe Love Witch
What is it? A witch visits a small coastal community in search of love with a side of unintended consequences.
Why buy it? Writer/director/producer/composer/editor/production designer/art director/set decorator/costume designer Anna Biller delivers a singular experience with this incredibly stylish, sexy, and scathing tale of a witch in search of love. The film is a colorful, stylized nod to the days of Technicolor romance that manages to be both a take down of a patriarchal society and a loose, fun romp.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, featurette, interview, deleted scenes, dance audition]
The...
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekThe Love Witch
What is it? A witch visits a small coastal community in search of love with a side of unintended consequences.
Why buy it? Writer/director/producer/composer/editor/production designer/art director/set decorator/costume designer Anna Biller delivers a singular experience with this incredibly stylish, sexy, and scathing tale of a witch in search of love. The film is a colorful, stylized nod to the days of Technicolor romance that manages to be both a take down of a patriarchal society and a loose, fun romp.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, featurette, interview, deleted scenes, dance audition]
The...
- 3/14/2017
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Gwangi! Ready your rifles and lariats because this is one of the best. Harryhausen’s happiest dinos- à go-go epic comes thundering back in HD heralded by Jerome Moross’s impressive music score. Unless you count The Animal World, all of the stop-motion magician’s feature films are now available in quality Blu-rays.
The Valley of Gwangi
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Freda Jackson, Gustavo Rojo.
Cinematography: Erwin Hillier
Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen
Art Direction: Gil Parrondo
Film Editor: Henry Richardson
Original Music: Jerome Moross
Written by William E. Bast
Produced by Charles H. Schneer
Directed by Jim O’Connolly
“Ladies and Gentlemen, what you are about to see has never been seen before, I Repeat, has never been seen before by human eyes!”
In just the last month three...
The Valley of Gwangi
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Freda Jackson, Gustavo Rojo.
Cinematography: Erwin Hillier
Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen
Art Direction: Gil Parrondo
Film Editor: Henry Richardson
Original Music: Jerome Moross
Written by William E. Bast
Produced by Charles H. Schneer
Directed by Jim O’Connolly
“Ladies and Gentlemen, what you are about to see has never been seen before, I Repeat, has never been seen before by human eyes!”
In just the last month three...
- 3/7/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Originally released in 1969, Jim O'Connolly's The Valley of Gwangi was brought to life by the creature effects of Ray Harryhausen (Mighty Joe Young, Jason and the Argonauts), and Warner Archive will release an HD remaster for the dinosaur Western on Blu-ray sometime this year.
From Warner Archive: "The Valley Of Gwangi (1969)
New 2017 1080p HD Remaster
BD50
Color - 95 Minutes
Original Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1, 16 X 9 Widescreen
DTS HD-Master English 2.0 Mono
English Sdh
Special Features:
Return to the Valley featurette with SFX wizard Ray Harryhausen.
Theatrical Trailer (HD)"
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): "The discovery of a midget horse, thought to be fifty million years old, prompts members of a Wild West show to venture into Mexico's Forbidden Valley in search of fame and untold wealth. But they are met by prehistoric monsters, including "Gwangi," a giant dinosaur that decimates their ranks."
Cover art courtesy of Warner Archive:
The...
From Warner Archive: "The Valley Of Gwangi (1969)
New 2017 1080p HD Remaster
BD50
Color - 95 Minutes
Original Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1, 16 X 9 Widescreen
DTS HD-Master English 2.0 Mono
English Sdh
Special Features:
Return to the Valley featurette with SFX wizard Ray Harryhausen.
Theatrical Trailer (HD)"
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): "The discovery of a midget horse, thought to be fifty million years old, prompts members of a Wild West show to venture into Mexico's Forbidden Valley in search of fame and untold wealth. But they are met by prehistoric monsters, including "Gwangi," a giant dinosaur that decimates their ranks."
Cover art courtesy of Warner Archive:
The...
- 2/16/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
One Million Years B.C.
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91, 100 min. / Street Date February 14, 2017 / Available from Kino Lorber 29.95
Starring: Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert, Robert Brown, Martine Beswick
Cinematography: Wilkie Cooper
Special visual effects: Ray Harryhausen
Art Direction: Robert Jones
Film Editor: Tom Simpson
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written by: Michael Carreras from a 1940 screenplay by George Baker
Produced by: Michael Carreras, Hal Roach, Aida Young
Directed by Don Chaffey
Here’s a title we haven’t seen in a while, and that we’ve never seen at this level of quality. Hammer Films’ most successful release ever, One Million Years B.C. launched a new film star. I count myself among the zillions of kids that pinned her poster on my bedroom wall. At age fifteen, the release of a new Harryhausen film was so important to me that I begged my slightly older neighbor to take me to the drive-in,...
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91, 100 min. / Street Date February 14, 2017 / Available from Kino Lorber 29.95
Starring: Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert, Robert Brown, Martine Beswick
Cinematography: Wilkie Cooper
Special visual effects: Ray Harryhausen
Art Direction: Robert Jones
Film Editor: Tom Simpson
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written by: Michael Carreras from a 1940 screenplay by George Baker
Produced by: Michael Carreras, Hal Roach, Aida Young
Directed by Don Chaffey
Here’s a title we haven’t seen in a while, and that we’ve never seen at this level of quality. Hammer Films’ most successful release ever, One Million Years B.C. launched a new film star. I count myself among the zillions of kids that pinned her poster on my bedroom wall. At age fifteen, the release of a new Harryhausen film was so important to me that I begged my slightly older neighbor to take me to the drive-in,...
- 2/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Surround three international stars with several thousand extras in Franco's Spain and you've got yourself an instant historical adventure epic. Unfunny Cary Grant has a Big Gun, Spanish peasant guerilla (!) Frank Sinatra looks totally lost, and Sophia Loren conquers Hollywood by making with the sultry eyes and body moves. The Pride and the Passion Blu-ray Olive Films 1957 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 125 132 min. / Street Date August 16, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.95 Starring Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, Theodore Bikel, John Wengraf, Jay Novello Cinematography Franz Planer Production Designer Rudolph Sternad Art Direction Fernando Carrere, Gil Parrondo Film Editors Ellsworth Hoagland, Frederic Knudtson Original Music George Antheil Written by Edna Anhalt & Edward Anhalt from the novel The Gun by C.S. Forester Produced and Directed by Stanley Kramer
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Successful producer Stanley Kramer graduated to directing in 1955; two years later he was helming this giant, rather ill-conceived big-star epic in Spain.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Successful producer Stanley Kramer graduated to directing in 1955; two years later he was helming this giant, rather ill-conceived big-star epic in Spain.
- 8/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
- 6/29/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Release the Kraken! They're only now releasing this Blu-ray in the U.S.. The patron saint of every special effect fan gets the royal treatment in this career overview capped with industry testimonials and rare film items from a cache of 35mm outtakes found packed away in Rh's storeroom. Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Region B Blu-ray Arrow Video Us 2011 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date June 28, 2016 / 19.95 Starring Ray Harryhausen, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Randy Cook, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Tony Dalton, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Ray Bradbury, Ken Ralston, Martine Beswick, Vanessa Harryhausen, Caroline Munro, Guillermo del Toro, Joe Dante, John Lasseter, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Henry Selick. Original Music Alexandre Poncet Produced by Tony Dalton, Alexandre Poncet Written and Directed by Gilles Penso
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The time has long passed that Ray Harryhausen was merely a cult figure. By the release of Golden Voyage...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The time has long passed that Ray Harryhausen was merely a cult figure. By the release of Golden Voyage...
- 6/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Tired of stupid sword 'n' sandal costume pictures? Robert Rossen's all-star bio-epic of the charter founder of the Masons is a superior analysis of political ambition and the ruthless application of power. Yeah, he's wearing a blond wig, but Richard Burton captures the force of Alexander without camping up Asia Minor. Alexander the Great Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 136 min. / Ship Date March 15, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Richard Burton, Fredric March, Claire Bloom, Danielle Darrieux, Barry Jones, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Peter Cushing. Cinematography Robert Krasker Art Direction Andrej Andrejew Film Editor Ralph Kemplen Original Music Mario Nascimbene Produced by Gordon Griffith, Robert Rossen Written and Directed by Robert Rossen
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Critical opinions aren't supposed to flip-flop with every screening of a film, but I have to admit that my appreciation of Robert Rossen's 1956 epic Alexander the Great...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Critical opinions aren't supposed to flip-flop with every screening of a film, but I have to admit that my appreciation of Robert Rossen's 1956 epic Alexander the Great...
- 4/2/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert Wise's taut noir suspenser about the Mafia takeover of a small city is like an underworld Invasion of the Body Snatchers. John Forsythe's newsman slowly realizes that gambling corruption has infiltrated the business district, city hall, and even his close associates; he's expected to become a crook too, or else. Great docudrama style aided by a special deep-focus lens; Estes Kefauver makes a personal appearance touting the crime-busting Washington committee that inspired the picture. The Captive City Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1952 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 91 min. Street Date January 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring John Forsythe, Joan Camden, Marjorie Crossland, Victor Sutherland, Ray Teal, Martin Milner, Geraldine Hall, Hal K. Dawson, Paul Brinegar, Estes Kefauver, Victor Romito. Cinematography Lee Garmes Film Editor Robert Swink Original Music Jerome Moross Written by Alvin M. Josephy Jr., Karl Kamb Produced by Theron Warth Directed by Robert Wise
Reviewed...
Reviewed...
- 1/4/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Germany's Explosive Media company has a serious itch for American westerns, and they have a trio of new releases. One is a minor Hollywood classic with major graces, from the late 1950s. A second sees an American producer based in England filming in Italy with a rising international star, and for the third an established American star goes European to stay in the game. The best thing for Yankee buyers? The discs are Region-free.
Gunman's Walk, Land Raiders, A Man Called Sledge Three Westerns from Explosive Media Blu-ray Separate Releases 1958-1970 / Color Starring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter; George Maharis, Telly Savalas; James Garner
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The majority of American studios now choose not to market their libraries for digital disc, and license them out instead. Collectors unwilling to settle for whatever's on Netflix or concerned about the permanence of Cloud Cinema, find themselves increasingly tempted by discs from Europe,...
Gunman's Walk, Land Raiders, A Man Called Sledge Three Westerns from Explosive Media Blu-ray Separate Releases 1958-1970 / Color Starring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter; George Maharis, Telly Savalas; James Garner
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The majority of American studios now choose not to market their libraries for digital disc, and license them out instead. Collectors unwilling to settle for whatever's on Netflix or concerned about the permanence of Cloud Cinema, find themselves increasingly tempted by discs from Europe,...
- 12/30/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Godzilla's cinematic return leaves James pondering the power of monster movies and how they give us a sense of perspective...
Feature
Human beings live little lives. We sweat the small stuff. We get bogged down in minor trivialities and teeny-tiny insignificances.
And then, oh my Godzilla, a gargantuan kaiju creature rises up and walks right through it all, stomping all over our little lives and smashing the feeble structures of our civilisation without any difficulty at all. When an almighty entity forces itself into the frame and presents a mortal threat, all the things that are amped up as 'big deals' cease to be 'big deals' as humans get a view of just how altogether small they really are.
By re-adjusting the scales, messing with proportional ratios and shifting paradigms, perspective is wholly altered. This is one of the great things about special effects cinema, or 'tokusatsu' to use the Japanese categorical term.
Feature
Human beings live little lives. We sweat the small stuff. We get bogged down in minor trivialities and teeny-tiny insignificances.
And then, oh my Godzilla, a gargantuan kaiju creature rises up and walks right through it all, stomping all over our little lives and smashing the feeble structures of our civilisation without any difficulty at all. When an almighty entity forces itself into the frame and presents a mortal threat, all the things that are amped up as 'big deals' cease to be 'big deals' as humans get a view of just how altogether small they really are.
By re-adjusting the scales, messing with proportional ratios and shifting paradigms, perspective is wholly altered. This is one of the great things about special effects cinema, or 'tokusatsu' to use the Japanese categorical term.
- 5/15/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Initially I set out to compile a list of specific movies to watch after you’ve seen Riddick, in the same fashion as I’ve done for other new releases. But in an attempt to pick out titles worth recommending, I couldn’t choose. The thing about Riddick is that it’s not too directly derivative of any individual precursors. While the original movie in the franchise, Pitch Black, could mostly be traced back to 3:10 to Yuma given its central setup involving a prisoner transport plot, Riddick is more of a typical Western with tropes found in too many examples to mention. Part of the problem might be that it’s kind of all over the place. In the first act we follow Riddick (Vin Diesel) through a solo outing on a desolate planet. He faces trials of survival against monsters, making the early section more like a Harryhausen movie than a cowboy flick, though...
- 9/8/2013
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Guillermo del Toro's summer blockbuster is a well-made sci-fi fantasy full of familiar but satisfying moments
The Mexican cinéaste Guillermo del Toro is a brilliant writer, producer and director of horror, fantasy and supernatural movies, one of the most gifted to have emerged in these fields since Tod Browning and James Whale in the 1920s and 30s. His finest films to date have been made in Spain, most notably two subtle gothic fables set during the civil war and its aftermath, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. But he's also made the highly popular American horror flicks Hellboy and Hellboy II aimed at a younger audience and both starring Ron Perlman as the eponymous comic-book superhero, and his new picture, Pacific Rim, which he co-scripted with Travis Beacham, belongs to this category.
Pacific Rim is a holiday blockbuster, a $180m bag of popcorn as unpretentious as it is expensive,...
The Mexican cinéaste Guillermo del Toro is a brilliant writer, producer and director of horror, fantasy and supernatural movies, one of the most gifted to have emerged in these fields since Tod Browning and James Whale in the 1920s and 30s. His finest films to date have been made in Spain, most notably two subtle gothic fables set during the civil war and its aftermath, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. But he's also made the highly popular American horror flicks Hellboy and Hellboy II aimed at a younger audience and both starring Ron Perlman as the eponymous comic-book superhero, and his new picture, Pacific Rim, which he co-scripted with Travis Beacham, belongs to this category.
Pacific Rim is a holiday blockbuster, a $180m bag of popcorn as unpretentious as it is expensive,...
- 7/13/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
- 6/25/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Fans of Ray Harryhausen came to pay their respects to the filmmaking titan at last night’s Day 1 of American Cinematheque’s tribute to the stop-motion wizard. At the classic, old-time Aero Theater in Santa Monica, people came far and wide to get a double dose of Sinbad.
Before the screening, I perused the wonderful collection of Ray Harryhausen’s very own art, showcasing many original signed copies, featuring Sinbad, Jason, Ymir, centaurs, and cyclops… all of Harryhausen’s movie monsters and heroes that made it to the big screen with his vivid imagination. The collection came courtesy of the great Art Kandy, an organization that has all the artwork up for sale, ranging from $75 to $2,100. You can check some of the pieces in the gallery below.
For me, this was a unique experience. I had never seen a Ray Harryhausen film projected on the big screen, limited to my...
Before the screening, I perused the wonderful collection of Ray Harryhausen’s very own art, showcasing many original signed copies, featuring Sinbad, Jason, Ymir, centaurs, and cyclops… all of Harryhausen’s movie monsters and heroes that made it to the big screen with his vivid imagination. The collection came courtesy of the great Art Kandy, an organization that has all the artwork up for sale, ranging from $75 to $2,100. You can check some of the pieces in the gallery below.
For me, this was a unique experience. I had never seen a Ray Harryhausen film projected on the big screen, limited to my...
- 6/8/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
When we lost Ray Harryhausen on May 7th, we could at least find comfort in all the indelible and immortal works of imagination that he left behind, and all the disciples that he created through his love of dinosaurs, stop-motion and film. To celebrate and honor his memory, American Cinematheque, the esteemed non-profit film organization, is putting together a tribute of some of his best films. The event will take place from Thursday June 6th to Saturday June 15th, at the Aero Theater at 1328 Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, CA, with a bevy of double feature screenings within that period of time.
Films include The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, Jason & The Argonauts, Clash Of The Titans, Mysterious Island and so much more. I’ve been to American Cinematheque screenings before, and they’re sure to be glorious prints of Harryhausen’s master craft. Here’s the press release from American...
Films include The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, Jason & The Argonauts, Clash Of The Titans, Mysterious Island and so much more. I’ve been to American Cinematheque screenings before, and they’re sure to be glorious prints of Harryhausen’s master craft. Here’s the press release from American...
- 6/4/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Dr Dave Hone talks the good, the bad and the ugly of dinosaurs on the silver screen and pays tribute to Ray Harryhausen
With the "furore" of the next Jurassic Park film and the vexed question of whether or not some of the non-avian starts should be bedecked with feathers, I had planned on penning a piece about dinosaurs on film. With the sad passing of Ray Harryhausen recently, that more than doubles my motivation, given the superb work he did and the inspiration I know that he was to a number of palaeontologists.
I have more than a passing interest in animation techniques, special effects and the like, and celebrate Harryhausen's work as much for the actual achievement of the effects on the screen as the actual thrill from watching his movies. I recall reading an interview with him where he claimed not to have been overly interested in...
With the "furore" of the next Jurassic Park film and the vexed question of whether or not some of the non-avian starts should be bedecked with feathers, I had planned on penning a piece about dinosaurs on film. With the sad passing of Ray Harryhausen recently, that more than doubles my motivation, given the superb work he did and the inspiration I know that he was to a number of palaeontologists.
I have more than a passing interest in animation techniques, special effects and the like, and celebrate Harryhausen's work as much for the actual achievement of the effects on the screen as the actual thrill from watching his movies. I recall reading an interview with him where he claimed not to have been overly interested in...
- 5/17/2013
- by Dr Dave Hone
- The Guardian - Film News
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen passed away yesterday, May 7, at the age of 92. Famed for a brand of stop-motion model animation known as “Dynamation,” Harryhausen brought to life cinematic creatures of all sorts, from monsters of Greek mythology in films like Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1981), to prehistoric beasts in movies such as The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969), to everything in between. Along with innovating new filming practices, Ray Harryhausen is credited with creating the physical looks and movements of dinosaurs, aliens and other creatures [...]
The post Sony Movie Channel airing Ray Harryhausen tribute marathon May 11 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post Sony Movie Channel airing Ray Harryhausen tribute marathon May 11 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 5/8/2013
- by Jeff Pfeiffer
- ChannelGuideMag
Ray Harryhausen was a luminary who nurtured the growth of countless imaginations. He was that rare filmmaker who was an active part of the evolution of the art form, taking his place both as the inspired and the inspirational. “When I first saw King Kong in 1933, I wanted to do something in the film business,” said Harryhausen in an interview for the documentary Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. “Nothing like it had been put on the screen. . . it haunted me for years that, even though it was a little jerky, this creature was amazing. So big. You know, it just left an enormous impression. It wasn’t only the technical expertise, it was the whole production of the film. They took you by the hand from the mundane world of The Depression, and brought you into the most outrageous fantasy that’s ever been put on the screen. It really set me off on my career.” That...
- 5/8/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Raquel Welch wigs vs. Ray Harryhausen monsters: One Million Years B.C. [See previous post: "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Dies."] Without Charles H. Schneer as producer, Ray Harryhausen created the visual effects for the 1966 camp classic One Million Years B.C. — though, admittedly, his work in that movie played second fiddle to Raquel Welch’s physical effects as a blonde-bewigged (?) cavewoman parading around Earth’s pre-history in a cleavage-enhancing fur bikini. Whereas in producer Hal Roach’s 1940 effort One Million B.C., lizards made up as dinosaurs made life difficult for Victor Mature and Carole Landis, in the creationist-style pre-history of the 1966 (sort-of) remake, Raquel Welch and fellow caveman John Richardson had to square off against Harryhausen’s stop-motion models of giant reptiles. (Photo: Raquel Welch One Million Years B.C.) [Please scroll down to check out TCM's beautiful Ray Harryhausen tribute.] Starring James Franciscus and featuring Earth vs. the Flying Saucers‘ Richard Carlson, The Valley of Gwangi (1969) was Harryhausen’s next-to-last mid-level effort. Both The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), with John Phillip Law,...
- 5/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Special effects master on fantasy films including Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans
In 1933, the 13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at the cinema and was hooked – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre "stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done." It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen, who has died aged 92, was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. He created the special effects for fantasy films such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963), with its famous army of skeletons; and Clash of the Titans (1981).
He was born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen,...
In 1933, the 13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at the cinema and was hooked – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre "stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done." It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen, who has died aged 92, was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. He created the special effects for fantasy films such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963), with its famous army of skeletons; and Clash of the Titans (1981).
He was born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen,...
- 5/7/2013
- by Sheila Whitaker
- The Guardian - Film News
Cinema lost a living legend today with the passing of Ray Harryhausen, the maestro of stop-motion special effects. Inspired as a teenager by King Kong, Harryhausen spent his career creating monsters drawn from myth and pseudo-science that took hold of the popular imagination. If anything, Harryhausen’s work looks even better now that we’re so firmly in the digital-effects era — we can better appreciate the artistry that went into creating his gorgeously terrifying creatures. Here’s a quick rundown of my ten favorite Harryhausen beasties.
10. Talos from Jason and the Argonauts
The striking thing about several of the creatures...
10. Talos from Jason and the Argonauts
The striking thing about several of the creatures...
- 5/7/2013
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
When I think of Ray Harryhausen my mind immediately goes to 1981's Clash of the Titans. I was only four years old when it was released, but the movie lived on for years and still does to this day and I remember watching it over and over again. Today it saddens me to report Harryhausen has passed away at the age of 93. Harryhausen's work lives and breathes in today's films just as much as it did when he was creating stop-motion creature effects from the late '40s up until Titans in 1981 and his work has inspired legions of filmmakers from Peter Jackson and Tim Burton to Steven Spielberg and Sam Raimi. The way he worked was the true definition of animation and a life embodied by the phrase "where there's a will there's a way." The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation has issued a statement on their official Facebook...
- 5/7/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
He brought out dreams to life.
Raymond “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) died today at age 92, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering special effects work and a filmography that has deeply influenced writers, artists, and filmmakers for generations.
Dubbed by Starlog as “The Man Who Work Miracles”, he was one of the most influential movie makers who was himself inspired by Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion animation in King Kong. He took O’Brien’s efforts and improved upon them, branding it as Dynamation.
Although he resided in England for the majority of his adult life, Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. King Kong was the spark that set him on a course towards a career in film, meticulously creating miniatures that could be photographed a few frames at a time followed by the tiniest of movements, followed by more frames, until the model appeared to move across the screen. This...
Raymond “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) died today at age 92, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering special effects work and a filmography that has deeply influenced writers, artists, and filmmakers for generations.
Dubbed by Starlog as “The Man Who Work Miracles”, he was one of the most influential movie makers who was himself inspired by Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion animation in King Kong. He took O’Brien’s efforts and improved upon them, branding it as Dynamation.
Although he resided in England for the majority of his adult life, Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. King Kong was the spark that set him on a course towards a career in film, meticulously creating miniatures that could be photographed a few frames at a time followed by the tiniest of movements, followed by more frames, until the model appeared to move across the screen. This...
- 5/7/2013
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
"Legend" is not a word that should be thrown around lightly when used to describe someone; yet, Ray Harryhausen is one of the few to whom it applies and then some. It is with a truly heavy heart that we report this absolute genius is no longer with us.
The news comes directly from The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook Page, where the following message was posted:
The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous with luminaries Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park [having] cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.
Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw...
The news comes directly from The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook Page, where the following message was posted:
The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous with luminaries Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park [having] cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.
Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw...
- 5/7/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Ray Harryhausen, a master of stop-motion animation and a true movie great, has died. He was 92. Born in Los Angeles in June 1920, Harryhausen's enthusiasm for the burgeoning form of animation was sparked by a viewing of Willis O’Brien’s King Kong as a wide-eyed 13 year-old. Two years later and he could be found crafting his own homemade animations, prototypes of the models he would quickly come to perfect in Mighty Joe Young (1949), It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955), 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957) and The Valley Of Gwangi (1969).Three Sinbad movies delivered classic monsters like the Cyclops and Homonicus, Jason And The Argonauts (1963) brought skeletons and Talos to the screen, while Clash Of The Titans (1981) delivered Medusa and unleashed a Kraken. All memorable; all maintained for posterity by the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation.Harryhausen's magic captivated young viewers like Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, all of whom are...
- 5/7/2013
- EmpireOnline
Ray Harryhausen has died, aged 92.
The visual effects pioneer was known for creating some of the most iconic animated scenes in cinema history, including the famous skeleton sword fight in 1963's Jason and the Argonauts.
His family confirmed the news of his passing on his Foundation's Facebook page, stating that he died in London today (May 7).
Known for his stop-motion animation work, he was a multi-award winner, including Oscars and BAFTAs.
In a career spanning five decades, Harryhausen worked on many classic films including Mighty Joe Young, It Came From the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Mysterious Island, One Million Years BC, The Valley of Gwangi and Clash of the Titans.
Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam, George Lucas, John Landis and Nick Park are among several top filmmakers who have praised Harryhausen's legacy in recent years.
Lucas said: "Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry.
The visual effects pioneer was known for creating some of the most iconic animated scenes in cinema history, including the famous skeleton sword fight in 1963's Jason and the Argonauts.
His family confirmed the news of his passing on his Foundation's Facebook page, stating that he died in London today (May 7).
Known for his stop-motion animation work, he was a multi-award winner, including Oscars and BAFTAs.
In a career spanning five decades, Harryhausen worked on many classic films including Mighty Joe Young, It Came From the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Mysterious Island, One Million Years BC, The Valley of Gwangi and Clash of the Titans.
Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam, George Lucas, John Landis and Nick Park are among several top filmmakers who have praised Harryhausen's legacy in recent years.
Lucas said: "Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry.
- 5/7/2013
- Digital Spy
Review Ryan Lambie 21 Mar 2013 - 06:05
The life and work of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen is honoured in the documentary, Special Effects Titan. Here's Ryan's review...
Like so many young artists and would-be filmmakers of his generation, Ray Harryhausen was inspired by 1933's King Kong, and in particular the remarkable stop motion effects work of animator Willis O'Brien. But unlike so many of his peers, Harryhausen not only had an opportunity to meet his hero, but even worked for him as an apprentice; a few years after World War II, he helped O'Brien bring another screen gorilla to life in 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
These were the formative years in Harryhausen's long career, in which he himself would grow in stature, to become inarguably the most influential and respected special effects artist of the 20th century. The highlights of his life and work, from his earliest experiments in stop motion to his final feature,...
The life and work of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen is honoured in the documentary, Special Effects Titan. Here's Ryan's review...
Like so many young artists and would-be filmmakers of his generation, Ray Harryhausen was inspired by 1933's King Kong, and in particular the remarkable stop motion effects work of animator Willis O'Brien. But unlike so many of his peers, Harryhausen not only had an opportunity to meet his hero, but even worked for him as an apprentice; a few years after World War II, he helped O'Brien bring another screen gorilla to life in 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
These were the formative years in Harryhausen's long career, in which he himself would grow in stature, to become inarguably the most influential and respected special effects artist of the 20th century. The highlights of his life and work, from his earliest experiments in stop motion to his final feature,...
- 3/19/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
There has been a long tradition of Western crossovers in cinema. These include the addition of flying saucers in Cowboys & Aliens, steampunk in Wild Wild West, dinosaurs in The Valley of Gwangi and The Beast of Hollow Mountain, and the supernatural in The Shadow of Chikara and Jonah Hex.
And with zombies now high in the cultural consciousness thanks in large measure to TV hit The Walking Dead, it's time for hordes of the undead to march into the Wild West with new film Gallowwalkers.
It stars Wesley Snipes - best to known to comic book fans for starring in the Blade trilogy - who filmed the project before going to jail for tax evasion in December 2010. His prison sentence ends on July 19, 2013.
The cowboy-meets-zombie mash-up was shot in Namibia in 2006 and had its world premiere at the Vue West End, in London's Leicester Square, on October 27, as part of...
And with zombies now high in the cultural consciousness thanks in large measure to TV hit The Walking Dead, it's time for hordes of the undead to march into the Wild West with new film Gallowwalkers.
It stars Wesley Snipes - best to known to comic book fans for starring in the Blade trilogy - who filmed the project before going to jail for tax evasion in December 2010. His prison sentence ends on July 19, 2013.
The cowboy-meets-zombie mash-up was shot in Namibia in 2006 and had its world premiere at the Vue West End, in London's Leicester Square, on October 27, as part of...
- 11/6/2012
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Special effects king Ray Harryhausen revolutionised cinema with skeletal armies and man-eating dinosaurs
Ownership of films is usually the preserve of directors and actors. You will hear of the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, or the new Tom Cruise vehicle. But such films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963)and Clash of the Titans (1981) are Ray Harryhausen films, regardless of who directed and acted in them. One Million Years BC, a film for which, unusually in his career, he was brought in as a hired hand, (1966) isn't even regarded as a Hammer or Raquel Welch movie. No other technician or artist working in film can make such a claim.
"Everyone has their own right way of doing things," explains Harryhausen, now aged 92. "I'd probably call myself a film-maker rather than just a special effects man. I'd often come up with the story, advise on the script,...
Ownership of films is usually the preserve of directors and actors. You will hear of the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, or the new Tom Cruise vehicle. But such films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963)and Clash of the Titans (1981) are Ray Harryhausen films, regardless of who directed and acted in them. One Million Years BC, a film for which, unusually in his career, he was brought in as a hired hand, (1966) isn't even regarded as a Hammer or Raquel Welch movie. No other technician or artist working in film can make such a claim.
"Everyone has their own right way of doing things," explains Harryhausen, now aged 92. "I'd probably call myself a film-maker rather than just a special effects man. I'd often come up with the story, advise on the script,...
- 11/2/2012
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Graphic murders meet 70s Italian chic, in a film that exemplifies the Giallo horror genre that become so popular under the helm of director Dario Argento, amongst others. The Cat O’Nine Tails is released on Monday for the first time on Blu-ray, read on for our review…
The Cat ‘O Nine Tails, Dario Argento’s second feature as director, stars James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes; The Valley of Gwangi), Karl Malden (On the Waterfront; A Streetcar Named Desire) and French actress and singer Catherine Spaak (Hotel, La Ronde) in a classic Giallo tale that begins when a break in at a genetics lab leads to a spiralling vortex of bloody murder. Strange circumstances surrounding the crime pique the interest of a journalist (Franciscus) and a blind crossword compiler (Malden) whose sharp ears have overheard talks of blackmail. However, all those assisting the would-be investigators in their...
The Cat ‘O Nine Tails, Dario Argento’s second feature as director, stars James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes; The Valley of Gwangi), Karl Malden (On the Waterfront; A Streetcar Named Desire) and French actress and singer Catherine Spaak (Hotel, La Ronde) in a classic Giallo tale that begins when a break in at a genetics lab leads to a spiralling vortex of bloody murder. Strange circumstances surrounding the crime pique the interest of a journalist (Franciscus) and a blind crossword compiler (Malden) whose sharp ears have overheard talks of blackmail. However, all those assisting the would-be investigators in their...
- 9/25/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford contend with goo-dripping aliens in Jon Favreau's sadly humourless sci-fi western
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
- 8/20/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
An interesting sub-genre called the Weird West has been around longer than most people think, and certainly Cowboys & Aliens won’t be the last, but it might be one of the more successful film mash-ups in the rarely talked about genre. First of all, what’s the Weird West? It’s a term used to describe a western that uses sci-fi, horror, or fantasy elements in its narrative. And although it was popularized by authors, especially Joe R. Lansdale, it has had a long history in film dating back all the way to the early 1930s.
Because of the iconic themes and ideals with in the western movie, which often mirrors the fantastical elements in a sci-fi tale, such as (but not limited to) unknown wilderness and the survival of pioneers, and social decay and order, it would not be very long before the two genres merged, given us a...
Because of the iconic themes and ideals with in the western movie, which often mirrors the fantastical elements in a sci-fi tale, such as (but not limited to) unknown wilderness and the survival of pioneers, and social decay and order, it would not be very long before the two genres merged, given us a...
- 8/1/2011
- by Jon Peters
- Killer Films
Director Jon Favreau would like Cowboys and Aliens to be the chocolate and peanut butter of Summer movie blockbusters, but let’s be real here -- it’s just peanut butter. And not even the good kind, but the lumpy, salty “100% all-natural” kind that your grandparents buy in plastic tubs. For those still hungering for a satisfying Cowboys and Fill-In-The-Blank mash-up, I have the remedy. Consider The Valley of Gwangi the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups of films in which cowboys interact with things that cowboys don’t usually interact with (see also: Cowboys and Robots in Westworld, Cowboys and Fred Ward the Time Traveling Biker in Timerider). The Valley of Gwangi stars James Franciscus as Tuck, a rogue in a traveling Wild West...
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- 7/29/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com - Celebrity Gossip
Director Jon Favreau would like Cowboys and Aliens to be the chocolate and peanut butter of Summer movie blockbusters, but let’s be real here -- it’s just peanut butter. And not even the good kind, but the lumpy, salty “100% all-natural” kind that your grandparents buy in plastic tubs. For those still hungering for a satisfying Cowboys and Fill-In-The-Blank mash-up, I have the remedy. Consider The Valley of Gwangi the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups of films in which cowboys interact with things that cowboys don’t usually interact with (see also: Cowboys and Robots in Westworld, Cowboys and Fred Ward the Time Traveling Biker in Timerider). The Valley of Gwangi stars James Franciscus as Tuck, a rogue in a traveling Wild West...
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- 7/29/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com
From the titular Mighty Joe Young to Medusa and the Kraken from Clash of the Titans, YouTube user Mat Bergman has put together a four and a half minute compilation of every Ray Harryhausen animated creature in feature films, presented in chronological order. I have included the list of films taken from Harryhausen.com and placed them below the video, but you can visit that link if you would also like the names of each creature.
The films included are: Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The Animal World (1956), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960), Mysterious Island (1961), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), First Men in the Moon (1964), One Million Years B.C. (1966), The Valley of Gwangi (1969), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) and Clash of the Titans (1981).
Thanks to Roger Ebert for the heads up.
The films included are: Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The Animal World (1956), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960), Mysterious Island (1961), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), First Men in the Moon (1964), One Million Years B.C. (1966), The Valley of Gwangi (1969), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) and Clash of the Titans (1981).
Thanks to Roger Ebert for the heads up.
- 7/2/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Ray Harryhausen is 91 years old today.
Last summer, I went to an exhibit displaying some of the collected works of Ray Harryhausen, an honest-to-goodness cinematic legend. On tables and in display cases and on the walls were the actual, tactile artifacts from a career creating and animating iconic creatures, monsters, and various other flights of fantasy. There’s a creative buzz that lives in these things, something that’s wholly absent from so many of today’s digital creations. I suspect this comes from the meticulous care, energy and effort put into their creation by their master, Ray Harryhausen. To this day, that liveliness pops off of them – honest; you can kinda feel it when you’re in their presence — and it still and will forever show on screen.
Today, Ray Harryhausen, the inspiration for an entire generation of filmmakers (including most, if not all, of our gurus), turns another year older.
Last summer, I went to an exhibit displaying some of the collected works of Ray Harryhausen, an honest-to-goodness cinematic legend. On tables and in display cases and on the walls were the actual, tactile artifacts from a career creating and animating iconic creatures, monsters, and various other flights of fantasy. There’s a creative buzz that lives in these things, something that’s wholly absent from so many of today’s digital creations. I suspect this comes from the meticulous care, energy and effort put into their creation by their master, Ray Harryhausen. To this day, that liveliness pops off of them – honest; you can kinda feel it when you’re in their presence — and it still and will forever show on screen.
Today, Ray Harryhausen, the inspiration for an entire generation of filmmakers (including most, if not all, of our gurus), turns another year older.
- 6/29/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
Assuming you have a humongous front door or outstanding insurance, Thursdays in June will be good night to pull your car into the living room, park it in front of your flatscreen, turn the channel to TCM, and try to relive the golden age of drive-in monster movies as TCM is loading its schedule this month with nothing but classic old school monster movies.
As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:
It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...
As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:
It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...
- 6/1/2011
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
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