The Renderings Of Gwangi!


The Valley of Gwangi is likely the best cowboys versus dinosaurs movie of all time. I admit that a slim category. One of the things about Gwangi that I've mentioned before is the fantastic poster art by Frank McCarthy. To look at this captivating image you imagine Gwangi as large as Godzilla or any self-respecting Kaiju, and the melee of cowboys and horses running among ancient giant bones and flailing in the desert air as Gwangi swings his enormous tale suggests a truly epic movie.



It made for a fantastic poster.


It made for a great cover for a comic book drawn with somewhat less magnificence by Jack Sparling. \


And I recently got to thinking about the image again when I stumbled across this coloring book tie-in for the movie. That painting was truly epic in scale!



Amazon.com: The Valley of the Gwangi: James O'Connolly, James ...

So it's always been a mystery to me why my DVD copy of the film (which I'm deliriously happy to have) ignores the McCarthy masterpiece and instead uses artwork apparently done for a European poster presentation. There's no comparison despite the argument that the foreign poster is more accurate to the film itself.

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Comments

  1. Colin JonesMay 11, 2020 at 8:51 AM

    Yes, it's an enjoyable film and the Ray Harryhausen special effects are wonderful as always but the plot is just a remake of King Kong with dinosaurs and cowboys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rip JaggerMay 12, 2020 at 1:12 AM

      But just think how awesome any story is that has both dinosaurs AND cowboys in it. Amazing stuff!

      Delete

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