ALL SCI-FI

johnnybear · Mission Specialist Joined: 15 Jun 2016 Posts: 441

I never believed the plateau was big enough to contain all the creatures and people that were supposed to exist there! Unless it was from such a far distance that the dimensions were somewhat confusing? Even so...I still loved this film as a child!
JB

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 9:40 am Post subject:

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Excellent point, JM! Very Happy

All the "lost world" stories have to cheat a bit when it comes to the amount of square acreage their ecosystems occupy. A thriving population of prehistoric animals needs enough room in which to live and feed and breed and hunt.

However, the infamous Irwin Allen version of The Lost World in 1960 should get a little credit for expanding the livable area by including subterranean regions. The tribe of savages had an impressive living space in their conveniently well-lit caverns below the plateau's surface.

And these caverns included a "bone yard" and a volcanic region — which also had its own prehistoric beast, despite being a very inhospitable environment!

Say what you will about this disappointing version of Doyle's classic, it certainly didn't skimp on the imagination and the scope of the story! Very Happy

Also, we can't really be sure just how big Skull Island was, since we only see the side on which the villagers lived. It could have been larger than we realized.

Carl Denham's map, drawn by the captain of a Norwegian freighter (based solely on a description he got from a shipwrecked sailor) may not have been very accurate, especially concerning the portion of the island which the sailor probably never saw.

So, it's possible that Skull Island was much larger than the plateau in The Lost World.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sun May 16, 2021 12:57 pm Post subject:

According to Ray Harryhausen, "We got trapped in a management shuffle at Warner Brothers with TVOG."

The movie wasn't properly publicized and simply "dumped on the market."

Producer Charles Schneer "was not keen about the film" at all.
He felt that the subject matter and period did not have the same appeal as their other movies.

The flying Pterosaurs was mistakenly given bat's wings.

To save money on the budget, Ray would recycle the armatures from his other films and reuse 'em on succeeding films.

Gwangi's armature was originally used for the Ceratosaurus from "One Million B.C.; the Ornithomimus armature was from the Phororhacos from "Mysterious Island,"; and the Styracosaurus from "One Million B.C." found its armature inside the Triceratops.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun May 16, 2021 1:36 pm Post subject:

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Many Harryhausen fans might wonder why Ray didn't preserve his wonderful models. But the armatures were complex and time consume to make, so reusing them makes sense.

Besides, the sad fact of the matter is that the rubber deteriorates, so the models would have been in bad shape in few years anyway. Sad

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Krel · Guest

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun May 16, 2021 5:28 pm Post subject:

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Obviously we agree, since we both said the exact same thing. phrased just a bit differently. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 11:58 am Post subject:

I'm about 75% through viewing my brand new TVOG DVD.

Two plot points struck me for the very first time while watching this wonderful film.

There is a scene where Tuck finds out about Professor Bromley's arrangement with the gypsies to have them steal the eohippus. This will allow the prof to secretly follow the gypsies to the Forbidden Valley that the prof wants to explore for dinos.

Tuck is informed of the prof's plans in daylight.

Tuck wishes to alert T.J. about the professor swiping the little horse.

Next scene, we see him arriving at night just as the theft takes place.

Didn't he have all day to warn T.J.? What was the delay on Tuck's part?

Later on we see Tuck, T.J. and her riders enter the Forbidden Valley. They then shortly encounter Gwangi.

Instead of fleeing the valley, they decide to make camp in a cave.

How come? Wouldn't it have been wiser to ride out of the valley from the danger of Gwangi and any other large deadly dinos?

Now that they all know where the Forbidden Valley is located it seems that returning to civilization for more supplies in order for a longer exploration of the FV would make better sense.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 1:37 pm Post subject:

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Okay, Mike, please allow me to respectfully explain why all your assumptions are mistaken!

First of all . . . ummm . . . well . . .

Okay, you got me! Embarassed

I'm on record as NOT being a fan of this Harryhausen movie, and your careful analysis demonstrates flaws in the plot I've never noticed before. Rolling Eyes

For decades I've had my own objections to the premise and my own ideas about how I'd have done the story differently. Your comments demonstrate that this movie has more flaws than the number teeth in a T-Rex!

My chief objection is the idea that a modest valley in the Mexican landscape could shelter and preserve a prehistoric environment for millions of years! Such a valley should have looked more like this.

Skull Island is far more likely to do this than a shallow valley in Mexico. I mean, come on! Shocked

The producers of this movie (and so many other science fiction films over the years) were desperately in need of "science advisors" who could correct the flaws in the scripts and make their stories far more intelligent!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:41 pm Post subject:

I still enjoy this movie, Bruce, due to it being the RH film with the most amount of on screen stop~frame animation scenes.

The location filming is very scenic; the real Spanish town they shot in that stood in as a Mexican town lends an epic and realistic quality to the movie that would not have been possible on a studio backlot street.

The cast is wonderful; always been a fan of James Franciscus.
Always felt that he'd have made a fine captain of the Enterprise had William Shatner not accepted the role.

However, you are correct in with your critiques of the film.

The concept of having a valley that contains prehistoric dinosaurs that have survived millions of years isn't realistic given its limited land size.

Your 'Thinking Outside the Plot' ideas would be much more suitable. I like your ideas.

Pow · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:13 pm Post subject:

And didn't those cowboys (and lovely cowgirl) manage to make the huge wooden cage/transport for Gwangi back to the city in record time? They must have been carrying the right tools with them all along. Still unsure how they made and shaped those wheels. Movie magic strikes again.

Pow · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:11 pm Post subject:

"Ray was very unhappy, to say the least, about the way in which Gwangi had been promoted and distributed, to such an extent that he issued an unofficial warning to Charles Schneer that he would retire if another film received the same treatment. Charles was equally furious about the situation, so he completely sympathized with Ray's position."

Harryhausen: The Lost Movies.

Well I had read that Ray was displeased over the marketing and handling of VOG by Warner Brothers, however, I did not realize so furious that he threatened to retire!

He may well have just been so unhappy that he made this threat in a fit of pique at the time. I shudder to think if he had gone through with stepping away from making feature films, Gwangi might have been one of our final Harryhausen films!

Krel · Space Ranger Joined: 19 Feb 2023 Posts: 190

I can't believe that I didn't tell this earlier.

Ray Harryhausen told a story about how his Daugter fell in love with Gwangi, and after filming was over she claimed Gwangi for herself. She carried Gwangi everywhere, and even slept with Gwangi. Gwangi was her favorite doll and plaything.

One day he took his Daughter for a walk, and she put Gwangi in her baby carriage. As they were walking a woman stopped to compliment his Daughter. She then asked to see her baby doll. The woman bent over, looked into the carriage, saw Gwangi, and SNAPPED STRAIGHT UP! Shocked

She looked at RH, and told him that he was a horrible parent! Laughing

David.

Gord Green · Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 12:56 am Post subject:

Great story David! I had heard that before but had forgotton which movie creature it was about!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:34 pm Post subject:

Krel · Space Ranger Joined: 19 Feb 2023 Posts: 190

I would think that RH removed the armature from Gwangi, not just because it was an expensive mechanism, but also for the safety of his Daughter. It would make it lighter*, and also remove the chance of the armature breaking through the skin and injuring his Daughter.

David.

*I wounder how much a stop-motion armature for a Kong or Gwangi would weigh?