Now that Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' is about to hit DVD, what are everyone's favourite giant monster films? I'm talking about 'giant creature loose in the contemporary world' style flicks, so no films such as '7th Voyage of Sinbad' or 'Jason & The Argonauts' ( excellent as they may be ).
My list:
1: King Kong ( 1933 ). Not much to be said really - a genuine classic of the cinema and a major inspiration to decades of subsequent monster movies.
2: Godzilla: The original 1954 Japanese cut. A superb piece of work, suitably dark and gloomy and a rare example of a film that dwells on the death and destruction caused by the rampaging beast.
3: Gorgo. Essentially a British version of Godzilla - think a guy in a monster suit laying waste to a minature London. It's silly in places but I adore this film. The effects are surprisingly good, especially the rampage itself which takes up the final third of the film.
Best line - "No, atomic weapons are out of the question in any built up area."
4: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Some great stop motion work from Ray Harryhausen and an engaging storyline that keeps events at a credible level. There's a lot of classic scenes in here, particularly the destruction of the lighthouse. Look out for a young Lee Van Cleef.
5: THEM. Another classic, and an inspiration to dozens of 'giant bugs' flicks. The full size ants, while a bit stiff at times, are suitably creepy.
6: Tarantula. The best of the post-THEM giant bug movies, this is a nice, atmospheric piece of work from Jack Arnold. Aside from one or two shots where one of the tarantula's legs goes transparent, the effects are excellent. There's a great line uttered by a spider specialist on being asked what would happen if a tarantula was to grow to an enormous size - "Then expect something that's fiercer, more cruel and deadly than anything that ever walked the Earth"
The line is followed by a shot of the massive spider creeping across a desert highway, a telegraph pole falling into the sand. When I saw this when I was 8 I thought it was the best film ever made
Clint Eastwood turns up as a fighter pilot near the end.
7: The Lost World. I'm talking about the 1920s silent version here. The scenes of the Brontosaurus on the loose in London was the template from which 'Kong' followed.
8: The Valley of Gwangi. An underrated dinosaur/western, this is one of my favourite Harryhausen's. The finale, with the allosaurus burning to death in the Mexican cathedral, is stunning stuff.
9: Q The Winged Serpent. Great low budget flick from Larry Cohen. The climax atop the Chrysler building is as effective as the ending of 'Kong'. The stop motion serpent, while not as good as a Harryhausen job, is pretty decent.
10: Mothra vs. Godzilla. There were over 20 Godzilla movies, but this 1964 production is my favourite of the bunch.
Movies I've never seen but which I'd love to: Rodan ( original Japanese cut ), War of the Gargantuas, The Giant Behemoth, Mothra.
