What Happened to The VALLEY of GWANGI?

[@Yak1312]

The Valley of Gwangi was one of my favorites growing up. Well worth the watch.

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

It was fun to watch, and still is :-)

[@Carepedoit]

Valley of the Gwangi is my absolute favorite dinosaur movie ever! Thanks for this gem!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Hey, you're so welcome. Enjoy :-)

[@rickgoldsberry2993]

I couldn't AGREE with you more! This movie was one my favorite childhood movies! Keep up the good work Dan!

[@Retierdlife4me]

I have this dvd and love this movie.James Fransiscus also has a tv show called Longstreet, where he played a blind detective or something like that. Ran from 1971 to 1972

[@cliffchism9187]

I remember 99 percent of the shows you talk about. I don’t remember seeing this one. But it looks like fun.

[@jagpanzer16]

1966 "One Million Years B.C." & "Valley of Gwangi" are still my all time favorite dinosaur movies. As far as "Valley of Gwangi" I'm such a fan of this movie I have a original 1969 movie poster that I had Ray Harryhausen autograph back in 1996 at a convention in Boulder, Colorado, I also have a "Valley of Gwangi" jig saw puzzle and a "Valley of Gwangi" coloring book and a original press book and the Dell comic book as well, I also have the soundtrack that came out on Intrada Records. I have several "Gwangi" figures as well especially the newest by Star Ace Toys. "Valley of Gwangi" was one of the most important childhood memories and still to this day.

[@NomadicBrian]

I remember watching this film in the theaters when it came out. I was 11 in 1969. Sure I liked it just fine. James Franciscus was in the TV show 'The Naked City' as a rookie cop. I guess he did some films then went back to TV again.

[@powmagazine]

James Franciscus was great in the movie, MAROONED. That was a great film. I saw it in wide-screen when I was a little kid. MAROONED is now free on KZbin. It wasn't too long after GWANGI, Land of the Lost brought back the art of stop motion and dinosaurs.

[@jknuttel]

I met Ray Harryhausen back in the 90s. He was extremely polite and quite flattered when I told him he was one of my heroes. "Oh my goodness", he said, "that's quite an honor." He autographed my laserdisc copy of _Jason and the Argonauts._ (Note that this was before DVDs and blu-rays were on the market.) He is _still_ one of my heroes and I'll enjoy his films fo the rest of life.

[@highlandappareldisplays]

Awesome. So glad you got to meet Ray and have such wonderful memories. 😊👍🏻

[@George-pp2hr]

That movie is one of the best of all Ray Harryhausen classics. The combination of live and stop motion was incredible for its time. I did see this back in 1970s was great then it's great now. The DVD is superb. I love that it's crystal clear. James Franciscus is great actor and loved to see him again in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes. There was similarity with Charlton Heston. Like brothers. I also remember seeing him in a sci-fi don't remember the title where he is at some town where the people at night would be gathered in trucks and taken somewhere under some hypnotic influence. Except it didn't affect James because of a metal plate in his head from injury. It was Aliens making people help work on a spaceship also stared Andrew Prine as the alien. And I hope that can be a topic of another time. Great pic Valley Of Gwangi.👍🇭🇲🦘🐨✌️

[@sandrahurst4123]

I was hooked on Gwangi from my childhood. LOVE it!!! The storyline is so entertaining, mysterious, and adventurous. The Valley of Gwangi is a perfect movie!!

[@roberthutton9698]

One of my favourite movies growing up! Bought the Blu Ray.

[@portland-182]

James Franciscus also features in the 'genre' movie 'Marooned', which has a great cast, but is slightly underwhelming.

[@jeffthompson9622]

I first saw this on TV sometime in the '70s and greatly enjoyed it.

[@markbarrett8180]

Greetings from the UK. Gwangi is a true classic always loved it.

[@Ranger1PresentsVirtualRealms]

This is one of my favorite movies. Dan, there is one other movie that left a similar impression on me as a kid, and that was The Beast of Hollow Mountain. It is similar to Gwangi but has an iconic chase scene (the Allosaurus is horrifyingly relentless) and the final "use yourself as bait by swinging over a tar pit" is a classic. While the stop motion models aren't quite as good as in Gwangi, the actual final effect ends up pretty well done. It might be worth a look at for a future episode. Thanks for the excellent content Dan.

[@RoarOfWolverine]

Anything Harryhausen made are masterpieces as far as I’m concerned. It was these old classics I remember watching on TV, like creature features and Saturday afternoons. It was Ray’s work along with other brilliant FX artists of those times that inspired me to become an FX artist and sculptor. I’ve worked more than 40 years in movies, television and theme attractions and loved my job. How many people get to say that and mean it? Yeah, it was long hours and crazy deadlines to meet, but that just made it challenging. I loved anything Harryhausen and started practicing on sculpting little monsters and rigging the up with anything I could dig up to work as armatures or skeletons to hold the poses as I snapped 12 pictures for every second of animation. Like Ray, I learned to take two pictures for each frame, making it a 12 frame per second animation, except for action shots where I snapped all 24 per second. Unfortunately, by the time I was an adult, in the 1980s, there wasn’t really a call for much stop motion animation, so I mostly did prosthetic makeup and cable controlled puppetry, along with RC controlled servos to animate with. At that time, ILM had come up with the Go Motion technique, which added motion blur to each frame of animation, making everything smoother. One of the charming things about Ray’s work and those that came before him, was that every frame was sharp and clear, unlike the real world where any movement causes objects to bur between frames, but that’s what makes the motion we’re used to seeing. That is what gives Ray’s work that jittery feeling, but that look worked great for monsters like Kong and Mighty Joe Young. It was a very unnatural look but it made the characters seem more other worldly, really worked in his favor. That’s what gives Ray’s work so much style. The new King Kongs, made with CGI, look very realistic which is great, but I still think the old shaky, jittery Harryhausen style looks very creepy. It really works for monsters. If you want to see one of the first stop motion animations that used the Go Motion at ILM, you need to check out the movie Dragonslayer, if you haven’t already seen it, which I’m sure you have. Not a great movie for sure, but the dragon is great, possibly the best dragon ever filmed. I am talking a rival to the Game Of Thrones dragons or any other modern dragons. Her movements are smooth, very, very realistic. Adding that bit of blur makes a huge difference in taking out that shaky feeling. I saw that movie about ten times when it came out in the early 1980s, just to see that dragon again on the big screen. It’s amazing. The model is expertly sculpted and the movements are fluid. I can’t remember how they created the blur effect. I used it know, but I’ve studied so many techniques on FX that it all kind of blurs together, no pun intended.

[@StarAccount-km1rt]

Dan I really look forward to your videos. You have tapped into what my generation grew up loving. You deserve the great ratings you are getting. So well done. keep them coming!!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Thank you kind sir :-) much appreciated. Cheers, Dan

[@ScottBaker_]

Well said. I fully agree.

[@gallery7596]

Franciscus was a very likeable actor, and he was excellent in "Longstreet," his tv series about a blind insurance investigator.

[@mikavirtanen7029]

James Franciscus had a main role in five different tv-series, but none of them lasted more than two seasons. Like you said he was likeable and he certaily had movie star look, but still he never managed to punch himself to Hollywood A-list. Died also quite "young", when he was only 57 years old...coincidentially i'm also 57 years old in autumn this year...hmmm...

[@evanwardwell4611]

One of those films I never tire of watching. One of the things that stood out for me was the sound effects in the church. Don't know why but they heighten the action in it. I just watched it a couple of weeks ago. Keep up the good work!

[@DarthViva]

How cool was this “Whatever Happened to…” episode. I Love The Valley of Gwangi when I was a kid. And, the kid in me still does.

[@MichaelSeminara]

Cowboys and Dinosaurs- the way God intended!

[@theequalizer9154]

👍

[@emmitstewart1921]

Cowboys roping dinosaurs, best of all worlds.

[@FIREBRAND38]

Great job! I love the background of the practical effect of Roping Gwangi. Good stuff. I never knew that was a full-size Gwangi in the long shot. I wish someone in the crew had taken close up photos of that model. How cool would that be?

[@ez054098]

Thanks Dan. I just ordered the Blu-Ray to add to my Plex server!

[@figureofauthority]

In the valley of gwangi (1969) James franciscus ventured into the forbidden valley and found dinosaurs, In Beneath the planet of the apes (1970) he ventured into the forbidden zone and found mutants:

[@johnnoble01]

Takes me back to being a kid as well. Saw this in the early 70's when it was quite new.

[@jayhaack2883]

Very underrated gem. The roping scene is incredible and one of Harryhaiusen's best scenes!

[@FrankJCarver]

The scene where the poor little elephant gets attacked by Gwangi was so sad.

[@paultruett3667]

I’m happy to say I have the original movie poster amongst my collection. Always one of my favorites. Another enjoyable episode Dan. Speaking of Ray H. - I would love if you would consider an episode of the 1961 movie The Mysterious Island ( one of my absolute favorites ) ! Thanks.

[@varanid9]

Interesting thing about that movie is that Harryhausen's critters almost get upstaged by Bernard Herman's awesome score.

[@SoCal_Jerry]

Even though I was 21 at the time, I never heard of it in 1969, but fell in love with it when it was released on over air TV. As you say, the combination of the western theme, Jame Franciscus and Ray Harryhousen animation was hard to beat. I should buy that Blu-ray DVD!!

[@terrya64]

This is my first movie memory, saw it at the drive-in at release. I was 5 years old.

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Haha, aren't the memories great :-)

[@petebyrdie4799]

Loved this movie. I think of it as a classic.

[@alvinanderson7944]

I'm 77 and have been a super fan of movies like this all my life. Saw Gwangi on it's first release and loved it like all my friends. What you did not see or maybe know is this was running for many years in the Drive In theaters. We went many times to re-enjoy our beloved Cowboys & Dinosaurs movie. Fond memories of running around the Drive In movies on warm, Midwest summer nights. Truly Gwangi's grand death scene in the burning Cathedral was a grand finale for the Giant monster. They had to burn up a gigantic church to kill the big Tyrannosaurus. Wow! Love it!!!

[@thunderdeed1]

There was a coloring book out of this movie. I had it.

[@johndoe-xr4ut]

Yup, that’s how I found out about the movie

[@lesnyk255]

I've never seen this movie in its entirety - I caught it halfway through on late-night TV several years after its release. I remember not being overly impressed by it - been there, seen that. King Kong redux. On the other hand, I recognized Harryhausen right off the bat - and I was VERY impressed, not just by the visual fluidity, but by how the animal exhibited realistic behavior. It was bothered by the gunfire, reacting with irritation to bullet wounds. You don't often see movie monsters nursing boo-boos. A small touch maybe, but it made a lasting impression on me.

[@victortorres3776]

You've got the greatest taste in the classic movies I grew up enjoying. Thank you for helping me go down memory lane to my happier years of my life.

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Hey sir, thank you for the great comment and supporting the channel. Much appreciate it :-)

[@atheistpower5659]

Dan Monroe his voice sounds just as Cool as many of the topics he covers on the channel even better then some people on TV/Radio !

[@THX-vb8yz]

WOW! I'm absolutely stumped! I never heard of The Valley of GWANGI! And I'm a SciFi nut..... going to have to watch it.

[@theequalizer9154]

Watch Valley of Gwangi, and The Beast of Hollow Mountain.

[@Cafeman_2D]

Great video. I was a Dino loving kid in the 70s and one day Gwangi was aired on TV, I couldn't believe how great the Allosaurus looked. I never realized until this video that it was made so late in the 60s, 1969!

[@EndingSimple]

I remember Saturday. The best day of the week of my young life.

[@mckou1547]

The man holding the 3d glasses at 02:42 is none other than Cary Grant and his first wife Virginia Cherril.

[@TedCyrier]

Ray Harryhausen was what I wanted to be when I was nine years old , my dream job, till like 12 then I wanted to play guitar for Alice Cooper ( Go figure? ) Monsters & Music! Being a kid in the 60's & 70's was a blast !

[@jaywilliams8386]

I think of this film as "The Blue Dinosaur Movie". Gwangi looks blue most of the time. Love the film.

[@chuckpoore]

Hi Dan, your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites on YT. Your taste in movies and TV shows is nearly the same is this old Boomer's. Nearly every movie or show you review is one I grew up with and loved. But mostly, I appreciate your clear enthusiasm and joy at talking about these classic films and shows, it's very infectious. And it cheers me up when I watch them, because it gives me hope that there are still people out there who love this stuff as much as I did growing up (and obviously still do)! And how your channel has grown! Nearly 100k as of this comment!

[@splifftachyon4420]

I always liked The Valley of Gwangi, but I agree with you about the ending. The screams of the dinosaur as he burns to death have haunted since childhood.

[@Phil-r6k]

I saw THE VALLEY OF GWANGI on the big screen when it was first released! I was just a little kid, but the perfect age for one of the greatest dinosaur films ever produced!

[@highlandappareldisplays]

Hey Dan, just to let you know the Ray & Diana foundation are in the process of restoring Ray's creations and his pieces are touring again. I was fortunate enough to attend the 'Ray Harryhausen - Titan of Cinema' exhibition in Edinburgh a couple of years ago and got to see a ton of Ray's beautiful creations. Alan Friswell has done outstanding work on restoring many of Ray's pieces and 'Gwangi' has been one of them - he looks amazing now! 😊👍🏻

[@seanlavoie2]

That seems like a fun concept to revisit in an inspired by, but not reboot way . . . Dinosaurs in the old west would be really interesting.

[@ThomasEvans-g7v]

I still love this movie, great special effects by Ray Harryhausen👏👏👏👏💯💯💯💯👍👍👍.

[@bwilliams463]

What happened? It wound up in my movie collection, that's what. Cowboys and dinosaurs? Say no more! I found out about it from a surprisingly good bargain-bin VHS tape titled 'Hollywood Dinosaurs.' That $2 tape had a ton of great clips and entertaining narration ("American International Pictures would release ANYTHING, but even they knew 'Reptilicus' was awful.") fight between Gwangi and the circus elephant is brilliant for its era. Diving horse acts were a very real thing in the early 20th century at fairs, circuses, and even vaudeville halls. More than once, those horses were NOT saved.

[@Joe-j2p3o]

I remember a film of around the same time with a bronto and a cave man brought back to life with a lightning storm. Can't recall the title.

[@gregoryespinoza3572]

Dinosaurus.

[@ScottBaker_]

I haven't watched this in ages. Another one to add to my list for a re-watch. Thank you!

[@zafod101]

I loved this film as a kid but felt sorry for the Animals 😂😂😂😂. What would films as a young boy been like without the great Ray Harryhausen.

[@edward4191]

What a great channel Dan ,it’s become one of my favourites as you pick subjects that I have grown up with and still love today !!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Hey edward, thanks so much for the kind words and supporting the channel :-) much much appreciated :-)

[@vf24renegade23]

You could do a whole series on harryhausen. Great job as always

[@jonathanmartin-ives8665]

So appreciate you digging up this diamond that I had forgotten about! 🦖

[@eddrohan4461]

Gwangi was a great movie that doesn’t get it’s due credit. Ray Harryhausen was a genius.

[@charmawow]

I love this movie…….and that iconic image of cowboys roping a TRex is still frickin cool!

[@musicman201047]

It's an Allosaurus, not a T Rex.

[@charmawow]

@@musicman201047 Glad you got that off your chest!

[@BrianRPaterson]

One of my favourites. I remember the first time I saw it on TV. I was off school sick with chicken pox or something, and it cheered me up no end. I always thought James Fransiscus should have been a much bigger star. He was excellent in the 2nd Planet of the Apes movie. Picking up from where Charlton Heston left off is no mean feat. Cheers

[@Taldaran]

I loved that movie when I was a kid, and I also had the comic book as well! When I saw you show a still of it, I almost cheered out loud! I pretty much wore that comic book out reading it! I have to tell you that this has become one of my favorite KZbin channels thank you so much for all your hard work!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Haha, that's super cool. Do you still have the comic book?

[@Taldaran]

Sadly, no. Back then many kids never entertained the thought of collecting. You just read it, loaned it to your siblings to read as well as your friends till they fell apart. It's one of those "If I only knew then" scenarios!

[@Big_Tex]

How have I never heard of this?

[@brentcooper4345]

Someone bought me the coloring book as a kid because they new I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I loved it. It was many years later I finally actually saw the movie. Great film!

[@raythackston1960]

I loved this movie. But I just watched 2 of the Matt Helm movies with Dean Martin...and I found out they were done by Irwin Allen. That may explain all the cool gadgets he used.

[@my2commonsense476]

I love that movie. And I love this channel. Its amazing how many of these you crank out with such high quality. Thanks.

[@eddietorres1000]

I remember our Dad took me and my brothers to the Drive In Theater back in the 70's to see this movie I loved it

[@bedeodempsey5007]

I loved this movie as a kid, along with "Land of the Lost" every Saturday morning. Lifelong love of dinosaurs, especially allosaurus.

[@monabailey3093]

What happened to the movie Valley of the Gwani? It's sitting on my movie shelf and I show it to my grandchildren. They love it

[@TheWebcrafter]

11:00 - LAURENCE NAISMITH - I remember him portraying Argus in 'Jason and the Argonauts (1963), and the judge in the TV show, 'The Persuaders' starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis. I also saw him in the children's ghost story movie, 'The Amazing Mr. Blunden' (1972).

[@josephmythosian5432]

I watched this on Shock Theater when I was ten or so. Like you, I was really upset when Gwangi was killed at the end and refused to watch it since. Same with the original King Kong, etc. I look forward to your Mighty Joe Young review. THAT one I've seen many times.

[@jonwashburn7999]

I've always enjoyed this movie.

[@Kains_Gaming_Channel]

The advertisement for the movie when it was been released was done very badly and hurt the film. Which is why it wasn't well received at release. But it got a good following after time. People that watched rays stop motion work really love the movie. And I'm one of them

[@StephanKorollocke]

there is also a gwangi coloring book and a puzzle of the movie poster, i have both in my collection.

[@Phil-r6k]

I had the coloring book when I was a kid, and I remember Bozo the Clown giving the puzzle away as prizes. It was incredible on the big screen!

[@lar1382]

The movie was okay, but my friends and I thought the movie looked like a western version of the sci-fi movie "20 million miles to Earth" because of the end scene, where the elephant fighting the dinosaur, it looked the same as the ending fight in "20 million miles to Earth".

[@timothypiantedosi5009]

Mr. Monroe… Would you consider one of my personal childhood Fav’s & one of Vincent P’s best performances… THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES.

[@ronaldzeka1720]

Whatever happened to those cute little droids from Silent Running?

[@brianstephenson984]

You rule, Dan! Thank you for doing what you do! 🙌🏼

[@georgeburns7251]

Hi Dan. Thanks for doing these videos about SF movies. I always look forward to them.

[@tonyfrank1844]

I have a suggestion for a video one that I liked as a kid and never really got much attention was a TV show called the star lost. One of the actors had been in 2001 a space Odyssey

[@noman6041]

The Valley of Gwangi still remains one of my favorite fantasy films to this day! I remember as a kid watching it every time our local late night 'Creature Feature' would show it. [I think i saw it as a saturday afternoon matinee too] One of the absolute BEST Harryhausen effects movies, and it forever has a special place in my childhood memories and my heart and proud to have it in my movie collection. James Franciscus was all over movies and TV-he played 'Longstreet', a TV series about a blind lawyer, [The pilot episode is right here on KZbin]. And 'Marooned' is a classic. Anyway, love that movie and now i will have to gladly revisit it again.

[@raulalcala5839]

I remember James Franciscus in a series called Longstreet when I was a teenager.

[@Saor_Alba]

I saw this movie in the Lyceum Cinema on Govan Road in Glasgow Scotland just before my 10th birthday in 1970, I was visiting my Gran and she gave me a Half Crown for the ticket, 30p in today's money, which left a tanner (sixpence 6d) for popcorn. I went by myself to see it, it was a different world then. I was fascinated as I had never seen stop-frame animation before and was transfixed watching it.

[@thearthound]

Suggestion Dan - How a profile episode on Forrest J. Ackerman, & Famous Monsters of Filmland.

[@lancerevell5979]

I've long heard of this movie, but unfortunately haven't seen it yet. I need to get the DVD. 😎👍

[@juangallegos1048]

Marvelous film Dan, I first saw it when I was 11; it's probably the only film where I felt saddened the way the "monster" was killed, great cast & Gila Golan what a beautiful lady!

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Excellent job. The inspiration for cowboys and dinosaurs 😂❤

[@maxsmodels]

Gwangi would make a great kit model.

[@caweakley]

Great video. "Valley of Grange" came out when I was 6 years old and lived in Texas. Finally, a movie with Dinosaurs AND cowboys AND a Wild West show! It was like the movie was tailor-made just for me! It was my favorite film for many years and is still one of favorite movies.

[@DoubleMrE]

Harryhausen once said that special effects have to be slightly fake or they’re not cool. I think he hit it right on the head there. 😉

[@opencurtin]

This viewed as a wee lad was pure gold along with any Ray Harryhausen special effects movie they were amazing escapism on a rainy day at the weekend! Then you’d have some great games playing with your dinosaurs and plastic soldiers after watching it !

[@googleboy7]

One of my favorites.

[@DavidSmith-rc7hs]

Can You Find out what happened to the robots from chopping mall😊

[@johnniewoodard648]

I still watch The VALLEY of GWANGI at least once a month...oh I'm in my 60's. EDIT: Thinking about it I seem to watch more 50s and 60s movie than another era. Oh, When setting up My Movie Database, I added a Ray Harryhausen sub-genre.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Glad to hear it.

[@ElysiaFields19]

I never missed this movie when it showed up in the TV guide. The stop motion was great. Being a cowgirl, I just loved the whole crazy mix. I remember having that comic and years into adulthood I recall seeing a spread in a magazine, removing it and pinning up the pics on my bulletin board. This was just one of those movies that ticked all the boxes for me. I still have such a fondness for it and I always felt sick every time I watched Gwangi being destroyed. Now that I think back soooo many years ago, the Valley of Gwangi was the reason I hit the library and researched everything I could on Harryhausen.✨

[@MACBoricua]

I have to say I did not know about this classic movie; excellent info and yes, video of the others soon!!

[@78Mustang]

Saw it first run at the El Lasso Theater in Uvalde, TX❤ Got the Dell comic, too!

[@MoviesMusicMonsters]

Nice :-) but the question is, do you still have the comic book?

[@78Mustang]

@@MoviesMusicMonsters Happily I do!

[@BhutJolokias]

I must have watched that movie a dozen times over the years. I was trying to find it online a couple months ago.

[@nagasakee]

Dan there are two different Gwangi model toys for fairly cheap on eBay right now one from MTrade 4th Store for $120.35 and and XPlus Gwangii for $ 127.35 from Oasis-Sprout

[@jollyrodgers7272]

Hey Dan - it's Dan! Yeah, GWANGI was one of my favorite Saturday matinee films. This was one of my earliest big-screen crushes on Gila Golan (almost as hot as Raquel Welch). Some of my favorites in this genre include the best remake of KING KONG (1976), FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER (1965), and a slightly different genre, the cult classic THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8th DIMENSION (1984).

[@Victor-gi3dy]

Got to meet Ray Harryhausen a few times over the yrs ❤ he told me one the the actors on Sinbad & The Eye Of The Tiger had a hard time reacting to the creatures that were NOT there during filming & started to Cry. NO he didn't say who it was. !!!!!!!!!!😢😢😢

[@leetaylor3099]

Next to Jason and the Argonauts this is my favourite Harryhausen film. And the theme music is awesome.