Search - The Valley of the Gwangi on DVD

MPAA Rating: G Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1969 DVD Release: 10/21/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Fantasy, Western, Prehistoric Fantasy, Hybrid Western

When a traveling Wild West show comes to town, the natives are frightened by a one-foot-tall horse that is believed to be a bad omen. The superstitious natives try to return the horse to The Valley of Gwangi to avert disaster. Tuck (James Franciscus) and T.J. (Gila Golan) try to help archaeologist Bromley (James Naismith) find the tiny equine in the valley, but they unleash a prehistoric giant monster in the process in this implausible adventure feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

James Franciscus - Tuck
Gila Golan - T.J.
Richard Carlson - Champ
Laurence Naismith - Prof. Horace Bromley

The Valley of Gwangi (1969) was buried on its original release, owing to a management change at Warner Bros. That was a great pity, as few people ever got to see the film in theaters. It was one of special-effects designer Ray Harryhausen's finest films -- and one of his most daring, as it's now possible to appreciate. The movie was available briefly in a decent edition on laserdisc, but until now it has never gotten its real due. The transfer, in the non-anamorphic, letterboxed aspect ratio of 1.85:1, is stunning, recapturing all of the color and detail that original prints must have shown in the relatively few theaters to which they were distributed. The movie tells the story of a turn-of-the-century Wild West show that crosses paths with prehistoric mammals and dinosaurs in a hidden valley of a remote section of Mexico, and the wondrous discoveries they make and disastrous results that ensue. Based on an idea originally developed by Willis O'Brien, it plays sort of like King Kong moved south of the border, though with a couple of clever twists and supported by a decent cast (except for Gila Golan, who is pretty enough, but also dubbed about as badly as any actress in a modern movie). James O'Connolly's direction is about as good as that of any of Harryhausen's non-Columbia titles. The 96-minute movie has also been given a whopping 31 chapters, all well chosen and spaced, and is supported by a delightful short, "Return to the Valley," in which Harryhausen recalls the film's production and its origins as the work of his one-time mentor, O'Brien, and current effects experts from Industrial Light and Magic express their continued awe of the film and admiration for Harryhausen. The disc also contains the trailer for this movie and the three other Harryhausen and O'Brien movies, including The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms and The Black Scorpion, although not, of course, the biggest O'Brien movie that Warner Home Video now controls, King Kong, which, as of October 2003, is still missing-in-action on DVD. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide