History Film / TheValleyOfGwangi

* TheLoad: T.J.

The idea had already been done years earlier in the movie "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" but "Gwangi" is the better known of the two. 'Gwangi' was originally conceived by Willis O'Brien, the man who did the special effects for the original ''Film/KingKong'' movie.

* ShoutOut: Later on, Gwangi appears not on the warpath and he scratches the side of his head, just as the Tyrannosaurus in ''KingKong'' did.

* SuperPersistentPredator: Gwangi kills other dinosaurs and an elephant but leaves them to go after humans. Maybe it really was evil... Or this was based on something that [[RealityIsUnrealistic happens with real-world predators]], Gwangi saw the movement of prey animals constantly, all around him, so he kept attacking out of confusion and fear. "Didn't I kill you already?"

* SuperPersistentPredator: Gwangi is always hungry and always eating everything he sees. Especially humans!

* ArtisticLicencePaleontology: Even Harryhausen himself seemed confused as to exactly what kind of dinosaur Gwangi was supposed to be.

* TheUnreveal: The movie never explains how prehistoric creatures (from various eras separated by millions of years to boot) had survived in the valley. [[RuleOfCool Does anyone really care about finding that out?]]

* ArtisticLicencePaleontology: Even Harryhausen himself seemed confused as to exactly what kind of dinosaur Gwangi was supposed to be.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: O'Brien's original idea for the film -to be titled ''The Valley Of The Mist''- had Gwangi captured in the Grand Canyon, and killed by being pushed off a cliff with a truck.

* YouFailPaleontologyForever: Even Harryhausen himself seemed confused as to exactly what kind of dinosaur Gwangi was supposed to be.

The idea had already been done years earlier in the movie "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" but "Gwangi" is the better known of the two. 'Gwangi' was originally conceived by Willis O'Brien, the man who did the special effects for the original Film/KingKong movie.

* CaliforniaDoubling/ {{Spexico}}: The movie was shot in Cuenca, Spain.

* CoversAlwaysLie: See that poster up there? The one with the green dinosaur? Yeah, Gwangi is [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife bright purple]].
** T.J. has red hair, not black.

* UsefulNotes/{{Roma|ni}}: As typical of the times, presented as superstitious, sinister, and TooDumbToLive.

* {{Redubbing}}: The actress playing T.J. had such a tick Israeli accent she had to be redubbed.
* ShoutOut: Inverted; The scene where Gwangi suddenly appears from behind a hill and snatches a running dinosaur using his mouth was copied later in ''Franchise/JurassicPark''.
** Later on, Gwangi appears not on the warpath and he scratches the side of his head, just as the Tyrannosaurus in ''KingKong'' did.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Gwangi kills other dinosaurs and an elephant but leaves them to go after humans. Maybe it really was evil...
** Or this was based on something that [[RealityIsUnrealistic happens with real-world predators]], Gwangi saw the movement of prey animals constantly, all around him, so he kept attacking out of confusion and fear. "Didn't I kill you already?"

* TheUnreveal: The movie never explains how prehistoric creatures (from various eras separated by millions of years to boot) had survived in the valley.
** [[RuleOfCool Does anyone really care about finding that out?]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: O'Brien's original idea for the film -to be titled The Valley Of The Mist- had Gwangi captured in the Grand Canyon, and killed by being pushed off a cliff with a truck.

* {{Jerkass}}: Tuck, Carlos, and the old Gypsy woman just to name a few.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Lope, by virtue of being the most honest character among the entire cast.

* InfantImmortality: The little boy survives both the Pteranodon attack in the middle of the movie, and Gwangi's rampage near the end. Pretty much anyone else who crosses the Dinosaurs' path aren't so lucky.

* DomesticatedDinosaurs: Attempted twice, succeeds with Eohippus. But fails with Gwangi.

* {{Roma}}: As typical of the times, presented as superstitious, sinister, and TooDumbToLive.

* SuperPersistantPredator: Gwangi is always hungry and always eating everything he sees. Especially humans!

* YouFailPaleontologyForever: Even Harryhausen himself seemed confused as to what Gwangi was supposed to be.

* StockDinosaurs: Allosaurus, Ornithomimus, Styracosaurus and Pteranodon are all stock.

'''''The Valley of Gwangi''''' is a 1969 American film about cowboys fighting an Allosaur (not a Tyrannosaur, though it is often mistaken for one). The film is known for its StopMotion Animation creature effects provided by RayHarryhausen.