The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms DVD, 1953

One of the most influential sci-fi films of the 50s, this marked the beginning of a ground-breaking special effects career that would belatedly earn Ray Harryhausen an honorary Oscar in 1992. Required to produce convincing effects on a budget of just $200,000 Harryhausen used a new split-screen technique for inserting mythical creatures into real-world backgrounds to good effect.

All the fantastic creatures that populate today’s films are mostly, of course, computer generated (with the addition of some animatronics work), and the effect (in suc... more >

All the fantastic creatures that populate today’s films are mostly, of course, computer generated (with the addition of some animatronics work), and the effect (in such movies as Spielberg’s Jurassic Park epics) is astonishingly realistic. But there are those who lament the passing the days of the great Ray Harryhausen, whose amazing stop-motion animation created the rampaging beasts that inspired the youthful Spielberg and co. And if you need to be reminded just how good his work was, take a look at these films from the beginning and end of his career. Gwangi is not vintage Harryhausen, but is graced by a marvellous Jerome Moross score – and, of course, a wonderful Harryhausen dinosaur. < less

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