Library Classics... 'Valley of Gwangi', 'Jason and the Argonauts' and 'Clash of the Titans'

The Christmas holidays are a lot of things to a lot of people and one of the things it is for me is the ideal excuse to dig out some favourite movies, on DVD, and watch them while stuffing my greedy face with chocolate, Jelly Tots (a personal favourite) or anything else that happens to be at hand. I'm not fussy ;o)

I've loved 'Ray Harryhausen movies' since I was tiny (well, maybe not that tiny...) and used to watch 'Sinbad' movies on a Sunday afternoon. It was the first time that I had ever seen monsters that weren't cheaply djasonressed 'Doctor Who' extras and actually moved and interacted with the characters. I was enthralled and have been enthralled by Harryhausen movies ever since, even in these days of CGI. Damn, I feel old saying that but it's true. There' something about a 'stop motion' monster, and the way it's set against the human cast, that gets me every time so of course I was going to use Christmas as an excuse to get reacquainted with a few of these movies again :o)

A little 'Charity Shop Shopping', the other week, saw me find 'Jason and the Argonauts' and 'Clash of the Titans' while 'The Valley of Gwangi' came my way via Amazon. I tried the first couple out on my kids and I like to think that they saw the charm. Or maybe they were just humouring me so they could get back on their DS'... Either way, I got to watch the movies and they were just as great as I remember them being back in the day.


When I'm watching a Ray Harryhausen movie, it's always far too easy to let the plot go on auto-pilot and then re-engage with the movie when the first monster shows up. That was certainly the case with 'Jason and the Argonauts' and 'Clash of the Titans', both of which I've seen more than once. Watching them with my 10 year old daughter, who took a real interest in Greek Mythology at school this year, did make me pay a little more attention though and both of these stories are well told, it's not just the monsters that are worth sticking around for. I mean yeah, you can't really screw up 'Jason and the Argonauts' or 'Clash of the Titans' (well maybe the remake...) as the source material almost forbids it. The cast of 'Clash of the Titans' in particular... Again, almost impossible to make a bad film there with that much talent on the screen (they've got Ursula Andress and she hardly says a word...)

Harryhausen is the real star though, making the bronze statue of Talos and the Medusa (amongst many others) come to life on the screen. It can't help but look a little dated now but it still has that charm.

'The Valley of Gwangi' was a first time viewing for me but I'm calling it a 'Library Classic' anyway because, well... cowboys versus dinosaurs of course. You don't need to saw any more than that really and while the opening tale of a circus down on it's luck isn't exactly gripping, where the story goes next is just brilliant. While the influence of 'King Kong' is very apparent, the dinosaur action powers through any moments where you might think you've seen this all before. 'Gwangi' is just a great piece of pulp storytelling, hearkening back to a time when there was still a wild frontier of sorts and anything could be across the horizon. It's not just that though, Gwangi as a 'creature out of time' is strangely sympathetic (even while it's eating people) and you can't help but feel for it, just a little, by the end.

Some good movies then that will always remind me of Sunday afternoon escapes into fantasy and adventure (and school felt like it was years away but still came too quickly). You've seen them already but don't let that stop you from watching them again ;o)

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