Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews: THE VALLEY OF GWANGI

Yee-haw! It's cowboys & dinosaurs time with the 1969 Ray Harryhausen movie "The Valley Of Gwangi"!
--------------------­--------
🔶 Patreon: / brandontenold 🔶
👕 Store: teespring.com/...
🔔Stay Connected!Twitter ► / brandontenold
Facebook ► / officialbrandontenold

[@TheBrandonTenold]

Before "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" there were "Cowboys and Dinosaurs".

[@tekkaikenmega509]

Great work as usual after all these years you're still my favorite snarky Canadian/movie reviewer

[@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn]

I have a movie for you to review. "Triassic Attack"

[@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn]

Please review Triassic Attack

[@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn]

That, or do another godzilla movie.

[@shaunmccomish8572]

It would be great to see Xenozoic get adapted one of these days.

[@Emperor_Oshron]

for the record, "-hippus" _means_ "horse" and is where "hippopotamus" comes from--it's Greek and means "river horse" ;)

[@marhawkman303]

I seem to remember eo hippus is equally boring and means something like tiny horse or first horse....

[@iapetusmccool]

​@@marhawkman303dawn horse.

[@marhawkman303]

@@iapetusmccool ah, ok, TY

[@Emperor_Oshron]

@@iapetusmccool beat me to it ;)

[@JackieSkellington]

the little horse! my dream animal

[@ThomasGidley-kv2uj]

Look. About that Alec Baldwin joke, I'm one of the people who stand behind him. ........ because I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand in front of him..

[@timtheskeptic1147]

100% the fault of the firearms supervisor. Why was live ammunition even on site? Why wasn't it locked up? Who's job was it to make certain it wasn't in the weapon? And so on... It wasn't Baldwin's fault.

[@thacobell4700]

@@timtheskeptic1147 Still preventable on Baldwin's end by double checking. It was a string of errors.

[@timtheskeptic1147]

@thacobell4700 not untrue, but it still doesn't explain why live ammunition was on set. I digress and agree. It was a string of errors that resulted in tragedy.

[@Mister-Six]

​@@timtheskeptic1147He fired the gun. His fault. Any responsible person would always, regardless of what anyone else says, check the weapon for ammo and safety. Also, the firearms supervisor had no idea what they were doing. Everything would've been prevented if Baldwin was properly trained in firearms.

[@timtheskeptic1147]

@@Mister-Six I agree! But it all starts with the person in charge of the weapons on set.

[@BlackMoore82]

Nice timing doing this review because this past Tuesday was the 55th Anniversary of The Valley of Gwangi.

[@tskmaster3837]

"Meet Diablo." Cue ad for Diablo IV. "Dammit, Google. Stop linking ads to the video!"

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

That's the most flamable stone church I've ever seen!

[@nicksmyth4050]

My dad showed this movie to me as a kid, and it’s still my favorite Ray Harryhausen films. The action, the dialogue, the animals. I love how you kinda feel bad for Gwangi, he aggressive, but only because he’s a territorial animal captured and forcibly brought to an unfamiliar place. Also, the bit where he says something along the lines of, “On one hand I love her and don’t wanna hurt her. On the other hand I love money”, ALWAYS makes me laugh

[@theasexualvampire13]

Yeah, same, my dad showed this and some other monster movies recorded from TV on a VHS, including Reptilicus, which that movie traumatized me.

[@roberthiltz2741]

I giggled at the Buffalo Bill “Silence” jokes, and I truly agree with your comparison between Harryhausen and contemporary period art direction. Well done as always!

[@flightlesslord2688]

The eohippus (the prehistoric mini horse) is absolutely stunning. It might be my favourite model of his because it looks genuinely like he went back in time and got an early horse, its insanely lifelike, even to this day. Has to be one of my favourite depictions of an extinct animal.

[@wellthatwasfun]

FINALLY! One of my favs since childhood.

[@wstine79]

The Wild Wild West tv show was an attempt to mix cowboys with James Bond.

[@randallbesch2424]

And started steam punk.

[@ctp5676]

That movie was shot in Spain, in Cuenca, and my father played as an extra in the movie.

[@karlsilcock8727]

That last other dinosaurs just had me expecting Doug McClure to leap out and save the day 🤣🤣🤣

[@markneath7555]

I remember seeing this movie! At a drive-in! In my PJs! Most I cannot remember, too much time and recreational chemicals, but I do remember the cage bars falling on the professor and then the dinosaur jumping on it! Now get off my lawn, I have a cloud to yell at!

[@rickbase6587]

Just stumbled across your video and really enjoyed it.. So I thought I'd throw my two cents in.. I was fortunate enough to speak with Mr. Harryhausen at a convention in Chicago once. As Gwangi is one of my favorite movies of his. He told me a couple things I thought I'd share...I think it was after he had finished the film he gave Gwangi to his daughter who would put it in a baby carriage and play with it like a doll. He said she got some funny looks from some of the mothers at the park...Also I actually asked him if the elephants in Gwangi and 20 million miles to earth were the same model and he said no. He usually tore the models apart after he was finished with them in order to use the armatures on other projects. So both elephants were built for their individual movies.

[@safetinspector2]

"The human leads" This will be how I describe all starring actors from now on. Thanks, Brandon!

[@b62boom1]

I was absolutely obsessed with this as a kid!

[@stevenray8737]

Cheers for reviewing Gwangi! If under interrogation, I'd have to tell the truth and say that Blazing Saddles and Valley of Gwangi are the best westerns ever made! The theme tune is unforgettable.

[@restionSerpentine]

I first saw this as a kid, I had gotten up early for Saturday morning cartoons, turned on the TV, to a dinosaur burning alive in a church. The TV had been left on TMC or AMC, it was the 80s... it took me decades to learn what the movie was, but that scene always stuck with me. Easily my second favorite dinosaur movie

[@KBWeeds]

Fun fact: In 1986 Harryhausen set up the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation. He left his whole collection, which includes all of his film-related artifacts, to the foundation so they could look after his extensive collection, protect his name and to further the art of model stop-motion animation. The trustees are his daughter Vanessa Harryhausen, Simon Mackintosh, actress Caroline Munro, and film maker John Walsh, who first met Harryhausen in 1988 as a student at the London Film School!

[@williamcrowe2576]

A clip from this movie was used in a Newsflash segment on Whose Line. "Collin, you hardly see anything like this at a rodeo". "Not at all because the clowns, for one thing... Well, look!"

[@BeachTypeZaku]

I like how the horse isn't just a miniature modern horse. They actually spent time to make the creature look like it would have millions of years ago.

[@BryanH63]

Saw Gwangi as a kid when it came out in '69... still my favorite Harryhausen film.

[@mathieuleader8601]

Stephen King's magnum opus The Dark Tower is a great example of a paranormal Western

[@BBC42618]

I ❤ this movie growing up. This and Dinosaurus were two of my favorite 60s Dinosaur films.

[@indygeo4267]

Probably my favorite movie Ray Harryhausen worked on. Thanks!

[@brycevo]

This movie was a classic. I loved it as a kid

[@CastOfCharacters13]

This has been my favorite movie since I was a little boy and I remember I love renting this from Blockbuster on vhs It’s my favorite movie. What good mix Cowboys and dinosaurs you got this awesome flick and I never trusted that old gypsy witch lady

[@mrdraven3857]

I immediately thought the same thing when I saw him come from behind the rocks

[@93Monstermike]

This is the kind of movie my dad and I can watch, he loves western movies and I love dinosaurs!

[@DaleRibbons]

"You're hung like El Diablo". That was the line that got me! LOL!

[@teedup8995]

Hey!!!

[@bonesf200]

The number of normal cowboy films I sat through as a kid thinking it might be this......

[@clownprince88]

I like the somewhat subtle subtext here , the wild , untamed woman the pseudo stud was trying to wrangle , but it was all doomed because she needs to be free , and any attempt to attain her for your entertainment will result in disaster , the church ( a symbol we associate with a wedding ) burning to the ground was symbolic of where that relationship was headed after marriage , and the gypsy wasn't warning them about the dinosaurs , she was warning pseudo stud about his paramour We need a sequel dammit , there was way more to this story than cowboys and dinos , and also , if that kid was the Mexican kenny a natural name for him is Menny

[@drhkleinert8241]

I have special rememberings about this movie. It was the first movie i saw in Cinema, must be 1969 or 70. With my elder brother aside. I think this movie made me a Monster-Movie-Fan then. After that i loved in TV Formicula, Tarantula, all kind of Monsters and Dinosaurs and of course i was in cinema every sunday morning at 11 o'clock for the next Godzilla Movie... Long time ago. My brother died 20 yrs ago but allways i see or hear about Gwangi i think about him.

[@orinanime]

Another great "Cowboys vs..." movie is "The Warriors Way" - which is cowboys vs ninjas. It's surprisingly very entertaining.

[@monkeybonez6159]

For the true film nuts, "Goodbye Horses" song title drop. Nice.

[@spartandud3]

"... prehistoric hippo. Not a tiny horse." Etymology is not your strong suit?

[@thebigone6071]

Can you do the adult video version? It’s called the “Valley of Wang”! You’re the best Canadian in history Brandon!!!!!

[@redhatguy8464]

Please do "20 Million Miles to Earth" that one was a childhood favorite for me. Love the channel and the work you do. Thanks

[@BobHershey]

10:19 - This pterosaur is WAAAAAAY better than the one in Legends Of Dinosaurs...but the music still works.

[@nickmitsialis]

"It looks like a plucked ostrich".

[@jeremycourtney8797]

im beyond jelly how nice this version of the movie looks better then the one i own

[@brotherkellymatthewbarnes8882]

I didn't expect stop motion Luffi.

[@louisduarte8763]

1:32 That premise worked better as an episode of BATMAN:TAS. 4:54 "TJ"? In Mexico? Hoo boy. 6;27 And they come expecting a donkey! 8:46 "TUROK: DINOSAUR HUNTER"?! I loved that game! 9:`6 "Miss Breckenridge"? Was her first name "Mya"? Harryhousen made the dinosaurs for 1 Million Years B.C> (which you need to review)? That... doesn't really surprise me.

[@titanium6549]

3:30-3:36: Well there was that superhero cartoon on Spike TV he made. Stan Lees’s Stripperella. With her secret identity being Erotica Jones!

[@bezoticallyyours83]

I loled at You know what? The horse is fine, lets get the hell outta here.

[@JGZiggy90]

I was waiting for you to call the kid "Keneto" lol

[@SkibidiWorldepisode1pilot.]

Man the legend of Dino’s theme song be hard! Even in 2024! And your right some classic never dies! Long live the legend of dinosaurs!🎉🎉❤ Edit: oh crap Bandai turned gwangi into a 6 inch figure godzilla toy!

[@vgovger4373]

Props looked okay

[@TheRealNormanBates]

5:55 man, you got a trifecta of Buffalo Bill jokes there! "Goodbye, Horses" indeed! 10:20 speaking of which, are you considering reviewing *The Visitor?* Now _that_ has some funky music! 16:55 would his name be Sauroman? even as a kid in the 70's, this was a little on the slow side.. but I still like it. I'd rather have build up and payoff than just _splat, there it is!_

[@karl_alan]

@19:29 I dunno...maybe he has a chance to beat it in karate...how's the Dino gonna karate chop him with such short arms?

[@JSPena]

This will be interesting.

[@rogervandusen8361]

Entertaining film that kept me enthralled when I was a kid.

[@SwingingInTheHood]

Haven't finished watching the review yet. Just wanted to comment, I saw this movie as a kid also, and I don't remember Lope either!

[@jessquinn6106]

Still one of my favorites, no matter what anyone says. And the more someone mocks it, the more I will enjoy the film.

[@rubberneckinc.8937]

If there are any movies with Segal fighting dinosaurs they're home movies. Gwangi did not appreciate Carlos' help at all. I'm super down for "Gwangi; Dinosorcerer & the Prisoner of the Forbidden Valley"

[@josuasanjuan5493]

i love classic like this simple no eye blinding cgi 😂

[@Didymus20X6]

YO HO MEXICO! FAR TO THE SOUTH WHERE THE CACTUS GROW! TEQUILA AND A DONKEY SHOW! MEXICO! MEXICO! YO HO MEXICO! FAR TO THE SOUTH WHERE THE CACTUS GROW! TAKE ME AWAY FROM THE ICE AND THE SNOW! *_THREE MARGARITAS AND A TACO!_* LET'S GO TO MEXICO!

[@Shawn321ification]

Well now we know where Steven Spielberg got his ending to The Lost World from. Lol

[@ggrarl]

The original Lost World movie ended with a dinosaur rampaging through a city, which funnily enough makes The Lost World: Jurassic Park closer to the original Lost World than the Crichton novel.

[@grindtoothmedia120]

Gypsy Snake Plissken will be the name of my new post-punk-post nu metal band.

[@svengallus8336]

Ich kann mich nur an die Dinosauriers und dem Elefanten erinnern. Die Story der Leute ist verschwunden.

[@randybarnett2308]

Kennies are worse than Dinosaurs!😂😂😂

[@spencerdokes6056]

If that movie was made today, that horse would end up in a jar

[@bryanbell7816]

Once again Brandon you knock it out of the park. Great movie and review. You da man 👨

[@tjf7101]

Loved this movie when I wa a kid.

[@SaveTheTylers]

Yay! I asked for this one a while back in the comments of a different video, while I doubt that's why you did this or that I was the first I still like to think I helped 😆

[@bonehead2768]

Brandon, great job as always - BUT -the World DOES NOT need anymore steven seagal movies...... Oh Dear GOD NO!!!!!

[@wimvanderstraeten6521]

10:14: this reminds me of the Weird West episode of The Unxplained that has a segment about a winged creature that looks like a Pterodactyl.

[@JimTerry-rw9pv]

I like the shirt thats all. Anyways now to watch the rest of the video.

[@bensneb360]

This movie better have a dude riding a dinosaur like a horse lol

[@lancemarek3572]

I love this movie.

[@rexevans5477]

YEEHHHHAAAAAWWWWW THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ICE9RLN0]

I don't know, dude, Barney will brainwash your children. He has an army of Kennys, and that is terrifying.

[@kyuss89]

Gwangi looks bad ass

[@Cameroo]

Say what ya will (and it looks like you did!) but for all its faults Planet of the Dinosaurs had pretty amazing stop motion dinos

[@jamesjimbob71]

it was funny to see the comparison between Ray Harryhausen's films and the cheap knockoffs, by the way the the dinosaur and the gorilla wtf was that

[@travisshallenberger9486]

Great review of a fun movie. I remember it fondly from TNT's Monstervision. Too much AI art in the video, though.

[@darrenrunning5415]

Hands up, who here over the years confused 'Beast of Hollow Mountain,' with 'Valley of Gwangi'?

[@garyhall7867]

Steven Segal DID fight a dinosaur. Just ask him, im sure he'll tell you all about it

[@DchanZockt]

Is there any dinosaur movie that doesn't fit the disco music from "Legend of the Dinosaurs"?

[@megalon73]

Gwangi is still a great movie to watch. The only thing to complain is the ending on how it killed the Title Dinosaurs. In a church?

[@ZaidOrtiz-q7s]

Hey Brandon I was wondering if you could possibly due a review of the 2008 film WANTED one of my favorites and another one of my favorite movies is the kingsman series I how you due a review of one of those someday.

[@SwiftNimblefoot]

I remember seeing this as a kid, and being utterly unimpressed by the effects and the story. Turok, it was not... Btw that too is a prime example of cowboys and dinosaurs! Honestly, the human characters are all boring, and I thought their goals were pretty dumb, they have a friggin' live dinosaur and all they can think of is to put it in a circus.

[@ianatkinson7961]

Can you please cover 20 million miles to earth

[@themisfitbrigade]

Hot damn I love this movie

[@Horsemen4deth]

What movie is the one at 14:15? I know this movie but can’t remember the name.

[@wakeangel2001]

11:15 "plucked ostrich" which IS a pretty accurate description for a donosaur with no feathers

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Except, they actually have feathers and look like ostriches with hands and long tails.

[@beastmaster0934]

@@ExtremeMadnessX Some did, some didn’t. And some of the ones that had feathers didn’t have a full coating of feathers, and instead had sparse coverings, similar to the fur covering of an elephant.

[@thatlittlevoice6354]

Proctolostrich

[@genesismultiverse4896]

Tho I would say reptilian ostrich sound nicer

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

@@beastmaster0934 That's true, but I'm specifically talking about ornithomimosaurs here.

[@fredyrodriguez8881]

Ray Harryhausen, a legend who will never be forgotten of his work

[@genesismultiverse4896]

Like god he is immortal on his impact

[@emsleywyatt3400]

"Where did this tiny horse come from?" Well, when two horses really like each other.......

[@genesismultiverse4896]

They adopt a small horse since they are virgins and their master wouldn't allow it

[@IndominusGojira]

Gwangi's death has always been hard to watch for me. He's trapped in the burning cathedral as he's screaming in agony and fear, and the scene just goes on for so long. It's also sad because the humans took him from his habitat, similar to King Kong.

[@randybarnett2308]

It was sad, but I always wondered did the villagers have a BBQ later?😂🍖🍖🍗🍗😂

[@tylerfish2701]

​@@randybarnett2308 LOOKS LIKE MEAT'S BACK ON THE MENU, BOYS!

[@IndominusGojira]

​@@randybarnett2308mmm...grilled allosaurus sounds tasty...🤤

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

You’re quite right.

[@randybarnett2308]

@@IndominusGojira pass the BBQ sauce!😛😀🍖🍖🍗

[@shainewhite2781]

This was Ray Harryhausen's last and final dinosaur movie he had made, as he knew that people weren't interested in dinosaurs anymore, and that western movies were making monet at the box office.

[@rextexan4727]

I guess he was a little too late to see Jurassic Park then

[@shainewhite2781]

@@rextexan4727 He said in an interview that he saw the film and it was well done and said that the Dinosaurs were so real and scary, little kids would have nightmares for years.

[@tylerfish2701]

I always wonder what he would've thought of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal had he still lived.

[@winternow2242]

Too bad they couldn't do a spaghetti western cowboys and dinosaurs movie.

[@davidwesley2525]

​@@winternow2242I Don't Think Clint Eastwood would Want to be in That Movie. 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@ramblingRJ]

The 'Cowboys vs. (Fill in the creature)' movie genre goes all the way back to the 1935 serial "The Phantom Empire" where western icon Gene Autry plays a singing cowboy who discovers a lost subterranean civilization descended from Atlantis existing under his ranch.

[@randybarnett2308]

Cowboys never go out of style they even had them in Star Trek,and in Star Wars -- Han Solo was sorta a cowboy,anyway Cowboys rule!👍💪🤠

[@LainVics]

That actually sound really cool as a concept

[@Belgand]

@@randybarnett2308 Lucas even explicitly described Han as a cowboy. Part of why he's first encountered in a cantina, not a bar or a tavern or something.

[@Wanttowrite]

It was even the basis for The Secret Empire segments of the TV series Cliffhangers.

[@ramblingRJ]

@@Wanttowrite I remember that show. I liked the "Dracula" segments, and I recall that there was a Brenda Starr-like female reporter.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Still a masterclass work of art by Ray Harryhausen love this movie

[@dunringill1747]

I'm always in awe of Ray Harryhausen's artistic skills. I was 6 when I first saw this. "The Valley of Gwangi" will always hold a special place in my heart of nostalgic love from me.

[@isaacthemonke233]

This movie just feels so unique. I don't think there aren't any westerns and dinosaur sci-fi films that came close to Gwanji or even Beast of Hollow Mountain

[@anubusx]

We need a new one starring Jason Momoa and Chris Evans.

[@markrowlett6921]

James Franciscus. The discount Charlton Heston. Too bad Franciscus lit up his health, ruined his career, and foreshortened his life. With smoking and alcohol. Relegated to B movies and died from emphysema. Like Doug McClure.

[@duncanstone8758]

Franciscus co-starred with Heston in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. They looked like twin brothers.

[@markrowlett6921]

Truth! Before my time. Although, my Planet of the Apes DVD with commentary supports your statement. Linda Harrison played Nova. During the interview she said James Franciscus was a smaller version of Charlton Heston.

[@iwasanangryyoungman]

​@@markrowlett6921on the nose: 60s film producer type: Let's get Heston! 60s film producer type 2: He does come with an asking price....and he's penciled in for....(big name title 1)... and...(big name title 2) 60s film producer type: Let's then get...Franciscus

[@WUStLBear82]

Looked great shirtless, tho, and that smooth look was overtaking Heston's hairy-chested manliness by this time.

[@LIbertyorDeath419]

He was also the star on LONGSTREET where Bruce Lee was often the guest star.

[@chaoticiannunez2419]

Actually, the word “hippus” is latin for horse. Hippopotamus means “River Horse”. Eohippus means Dawn Horse.

[@AndrewGivens]

That's what I would have named my daughter. Luckily for her, I didn't have one.

[@Talisguy]

I learned recently that one of the people involved in the earliest pitch meetings for Doctor Who shot down the idea of giving the Doctor child sidekicks because he reasoned that children don't strongly identify with child characters who aren't the actual protagonist of the story, and even when they do, they don't identify with children significantly older or younger than themselves. I immediately thought of Brandon's thoughts about Kennies when that came up. And the reasoning makes perfect sense when you remember that a lot of kids are in a hurry to be seen as grown up.

[@BainesMkII]

It took time for the comic book industry to realize similar.

[@TheBrandonTenold]

It's fine if kids are the main focus of the story, but whenever they're shoehorned in as side characters it almost always feels superfluous.

[@Mr_Monolith]

@@TheBrandonTenold it's mainly because the kids are never well-written characters. In Jurassic Park the kids are well-written and have good interactions with the adult characters because they're treated like humans and not vessels for the audience to feel extra tension.

[@fakshen1973]

@@TheBrandonTenold There are exceptions. "Short Round" from Temple of Doom was great.

[@iapetusmccool]

​@fakshen1973 Short Round was decent, but as a kid I was still more engaged by Indy.

[@wstine79]

When the purple T-Rex scratched his head with his claw, this was a Ray Haryhausen's nod to Willis O'Brian's T-Rex from King Kong.

[@wesmcinerny4524]

I'm pretty sure Gwangi is an Allosaurus.

[@ggrarl]

That scene where Gwangi comes out from behind that rock formation and eats that Ornithomimid was definitely referenced in the first Jurassic Park - that scene where Rexy charges out of the trees and kills a Gallimimus. The scene where Rexy eats the goat was a reference to the rancor in Return of the Jedi, so it's all intentional.

[@wesmcinerny4524]

@@ggrarl Referenced? I'd say inspired from.

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

He's an Allosaurus/T-rex hybrid (I call Gwangi an "Allotyrannus")

[@LinkMarioSamus]

@@ggrarlThis movie also has quite the parallels to The Lost World.

[@jamesbounds]

Love Brandon's thumbnail pics.

[@24framedavinci39]

Brandon doing all the classics. I remember my father having this on super 8mm. We would watch it projected on my bedroom wall. This was even before we bought our furst VHS player, which was a top-loader.

[@Redfern42]

Never had a projector to watch those 8mm clip reels, but I'm old enough to know about them. For those unclear, during the early to late 70s, I recall visiting stores like K-Mart and in either the phonographic record depart or either the camera section, the stores had display racks offering 8mm celluloid film reels. These items either contained highlights of movies, some pivotal or iconic scenes or a severely truncated cut of the overall movie, usually condensed to 15 minutes or less. This was an era before "affordable" video playback and recording devices like BetaMax, VHS, and a plethora of abandoned technologies. If one wanted yo watch a "movie" at the time of one's choosing (not dependent upon the whims of the local station's programming scheduler), this was one's primary option. And one had to be a bit more fiscally affluent if one wanted audio. Sound for these reels, and the projectors with the hardware to play it, cost considerably extra. While my father was not poor by any means, he was prudent with finances, so we never owned these entertainment "frivolities". We made do with "rabbit ear" color TV in the den. But I do remember "drooling" over the reels offered in the store. Of course, once the video industry started to offer movies upon tape, full length with audio (and color if the it was filmed that way), the 8mm reel market died hard.