Ray Harryhausen Film Discussion Thread

[LegendZilla]

since I’m terrified by octopi. A giant one would give me the shits.

I’m already terrified by you merely replying to me let alone this graphic image of a poor man being mauled by Satan spawn.

Just be thankful that Octopus are not naturally aggressive, but in actuality, intelligent, shy and curious. It’s giant, squid you should be afraid of.

[VoyagerGoji]

I’m already terrified by you merely replying to me let alone this graphic image of a poor man being mauled by Satan spawn.

Just be thankful that Octopus are not naturally aggressive, but in actuality, intelligent, shy and curious. It’s giant, squid you should be afraid of.

They’re very intelligent. That’s how they’ll become our overlords. Either that or the Crows take over.

[LegendZilla]

I’m already terrified by you merely replying to me let alone this graphic image of a poor man being mauled by Satan spawn.

Just be thankful that Octopus are not naturally aggressive, but in actuality, intelligent, shy and curious. It’s giant, squid you should be afraid of.

They’re very intelligent. That’s how they’ll become our overlords. Either that or the Crows take over.

Or Cockroaches, apes and dogs.

[JAGzilla]

Or elephants. They never forget... to kill.

[edgaguirus]

Just be thankful that Octopus are not naturally aggressive, but in actuality, intelligent, shy and curious. It’s giant, squid you should be afraid of.

They’re very intelligent. That’s how they’ll become our overlords. Either that or the Crows take over.

Or Cockroaches, apes and dogs.

I'm reminded of a story by Lester Del Rey called The Faithful. In it, dogs and ape do become the dominant races of the planet.

[o.supreme]

Greetings All,

Just wanted to preface this statement with, as much as I enjoy Harryhausen's films, I simply cannot afford to double or triple dip on everything. I've had them all on dvd for a while, and although the BRD's look nice they were not priority. However...

I went to watch One Million Years BC a couple of weeks ago. I have the FOX dvd, and it wouldn't play, it didn't appear scratched, not sure what the issue was, tried on multiple devices and computers, still nothing. Also incidentally, it appears to be one of the only Harryhausen films not available on digital streaming. So.... I looked up the Kino BRD on Amazon, 20 dollars, ok no problem...

I got it in the mail, and it really is nice, my first Kino release, and It seems like they do quality work. I had no idea there was an extended version of the film. I watched both. This is a rare occasion however where making edits and the pacing of the US version I think is better. Don't get me wrong, I love a good extended film. I can watch the 4 hour version of The Return of the King anytime and still find great joy in it. However, aside from a few extended effects shots, I don't think I really will ever need to watch the 100 minute version of OMYBC again. Just my opinion.I know this came out a while ago, just wasn't sure what the overall consensus was.

[UltramanGoji]

I'm in the same boat you were: I didn't even know there were different cuts of the film. I haven't seen it myself, either cut, so I can't answer the question on which is better. That's cool to know!

[H-Man]

I watched The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms with my 12-year-old daughter over the weekend. I still enjoy it a lot, although I don't find the middle portion draggy like a lot of people do. My daughter thought it was interesting. This closed out our 10-movie journey through the works of Ray Harryhausen, which she really enjoyed.

In October, I'm doing "31 Days, 31 Godzilla films". She said she'll be joining me for that.

[LegendZilla]

You know how I said that I think that there should be another Sinbad film modeled after the Harryhausen ones? If you people don’t mind, I would like to describe my pitch for such a film.

[Gigantis]

You know how I said that I think that there should be another Sinbad film modeled after the Harryhausen ones? If you people don’t mind, I would like to describe my pitch for such a film.

Well, alright, go ahead.

[LSD Jellyfish]

After talking a lot of poop last year, I really want to rewatch some of these with a new perspective.

[LegendZilla]

You know how I said that I think that there should be another Sinbad film modeled after the Harryhausen ones? If you people don’t mind, I would like to describe my pitch for such a film.

Well, alright, go ahead.

It will be an origin story for the character and the plot will revolve around real history. To be specific, it would tie in with the fall of the Ummayid Caliphate (661–750 CE) and the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE). Sinbad is the sole survivor of a noble family who was massacred by the Ummayid government for opposing them. After they are overthrown, he is left a wandering vagrant who finds his way to the newly-established city of Baghdad. Upon being arrested for snagging food, he his bailed out by a mysterious man and hired to go on a voyage to China.

[VoyagerGoji]

I watched 20 Million Miles to Earth just a few hours ago. I thought it was fine, nothing special.

[ROMG4]

After talking a lot of poop last year, I really want to rewatch some of these with a new perspective.

However, aside from a few extended effects shots, I don't think I really will ever need to watch the 100 minute version of OMYBC again. Just my opinion.I know this came out a while ago, just wasn't sure what the overall consensus was.

There's an extended edition of One Million Years BC? I had no idea there was such a thing that's pretty cool. Its too bad it doesn't add a bit more, but its really nice to see the extra effect shots weren't lost

It will be an origin story for the character and the plot will revolve around real history. To be specific, it would tie in with the fall of the Ummayid Caliphate (661–750 CE) and the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE). Sinbad is the sole survivor of a noble family who was massacred by the Ummayid government for opposing them. After they are overthrown, he is left a wandering vagrant who finds his way to the newly-established city of Baghdad. Upon being arrested for snagging food, he his bailed out by a mysterious man and hired to go on a voyage to China.

That would be pretty cool I like the idea of blending real history in with the story and connecting it to a significant event

[H-Man]

You know how I said that I think that there should be another Sinbad film modeled after the Harryhausen ones? If you people don’t mind, I would like to describe my pitch for such a film.

Well, alright, go ahead.

It will be an origin story for the character and the plot will revolve around real history. To be specific, it would tie in with the fall of the Ummayid Caliphate (661–750 CE) and the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE). Sinbad is the sole survivor of a noble family who was massacred by the Ummayid government for opposing them. After they are overthrown, he is left a wandering vagrant who finds his way to the newly-established city of Baghdad. Upon being arrested for snagging food, he his bailed out by a mysterious man and hired to go on a voyage to China.

Neat. You should write and publish that; the source material is public domain and abridged versions of the story are always in print. So there's some sort of market for it.

[Al Diplodocus]

Someone should make a crossover of all of Ray's works, made and unmade.

Also, one of my favourite unmade Harryhausen film was Skin and Bone, a comedy based off a story by Thorne Smith where a scientist who creates an alcohol-based substance that makes his skin and flesh invisible.


Concept sketch

Much smaller-scale then his usual work and a rare outright comedy from a guy who otherwise made giant monsters and fantastic creatures, but very interesting. I hear it was going to be given another try in the mid-80's, and I swear I read Tim Burton was going to be involved. This would have been right up the latter's ally, and it would be interesting to imagine if he directed this instead of Peewee or Beetlejuice.

[mikelcho]

Greetings All,

Just wanted to preface this statement with, as much as I enjoy Harryhausen's films, I simply cannot afford to double or triple dip on everything. I've had them all on dvd for a while, and although the BRD's look nice they were not priority. However...

I went to watch One Million Years BC a couple of weeks ago. I have the FOX dvd, and it wouldn't play, it didn't appear scratched, not sure what the issue was, tried on multiple devices and computers, still nothing. Also incidentally, it appears to be one of the only Harryhausen films not available on digital streaming. So.... I looked up the Kino BRD on Amazon, 20 dollars, ok no problem...

I got it in the mail, and it really is nice, my first Kino release, and It seems like they do quality work. I had no idea there was an extended version of the film. I watched both. This is a rare occasion however where making edits and the pacing of the US version I think is better. Don't get me wrong, I love a good extended film. I can watch the 4 hour version of The Return of the King anytime and still find great joy in it. However, aside from a few extended effects shots, I don't think I really will ever need to watch the 100 minute version of OMYBC again. Just my opinion.I know this came out a while ago, just wasn't sure what the overall consensus was.

The extended version of One Million Years B.C. was the unedited British version. One question: did the Kino Lorber Blu-ray have the edited Brontosaurus scene from the film as a bonus feature on it or not?

This Blu-ray sounds good. I'd like to get it along with Warner Archive's Blu-ray-R release of the unedited British version of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. Maybe I'd throw in the same company's Blu-ray-R release of Creatures the World Forgot just to complete the trilogy, but I'm not too sure about that one.

[edgaguirus]

Someone should make a crossover of all of Ray's works, made and unmade.

Also, one of my favourite unmade Harryhausen film was Skin and Bone, a comedy based off a story by Thorne Smith where a scientist who creates an alcohol-based substance that makes his skin and flesh invisible.


Concept sketch

Much smaller-scale then his usual work and a rare outright comedy from a guy who otherwise made giant monsters and fantastic creatures, but very interesting. I hear it was going to be given another try in the mid-80's, and I swear I read Tim Burton was going to be involved. This would have been right up the latter's ally, and it would be interesting to imagine if he directed this instead of Peewee or Beetlejuice.

And right up Harryhausen's alley. He was already well versed in animating skeletons.

[LegendZilla]

If they make another Sinbad film and model it after the Harryhausen ones, they should use creatures that ended up on the cutting room floor during the production of said films. For example, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger was supposed to include a Yeti, but it got swapped out with a giant walrus in the final film. Other good creatures to toss in would be that giant whale with an island on its back from actual Sinbad lore and maybe a Bunyip for Sinbad and his men to face if the weigh the anchor of the shores of Australia. If they end up in China for the film's final act, they could include the aforementioned Yeti, a Chinese Dragon and a Phoenix. One or more of those asian stone lion statues would be a welcomed inclusion as well.

As for a name for such a project, I think would be fitting to call it Sinbad and the Voyage to The East.

[Star Falcon]

There's a fantastic looking exhibition in Edinburgh, Scotland opening next weekend to celebrate his centenary. Large collection of all his creations will be on display. COVID-19 is obviously a major pain for just about anything right now, but hopefully everyone who's interested will get a chance to enjoy it whilst it is on.