Harryhausen Forever
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week we celebrate the great stop-motion effects master Ray Harryhausen, with some lively wine pairings to go with each film.
Clash of the Titans, from 1981, was the final movie to feature Harryhausen’s work. It was the beginning, however, of a great internet meme. When Zeus ordered Poseidon to “release the Kraken,” he gave a caption to innumerable pix of everything from vengeful gods to yawning kittens. A hockey team also took Kraken as their name. Not a bad getaround for a giant cephalopod.
Some of Harryhausen’s previous work, from Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and 20 Million Miles to Earth, was recycled for Clash. Its opening weekend box office wasn’t too far off the mark set by the number one film that week, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders had legs, though, which is more than we can say for Harryhausen’s Medusa.
We’ll skip the Kraken Underwater Wine Bar in Montenegro. If you’re looking for bargains, don’t hold your breath. Silent Sea Cabernet Sauvignon allows you to stay on terra firma while enjoying the big squid on the label. $35.
https://www.totalwine.com/red-wine/cabernet-sauvignon/silent-sea-cabernet-sauvignon
1953’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms showcases some of Harryhausen’s best work. Atomic testing causes a prehistoric dinosaur to be released from its prison of ice. You can imagine the destruction. In fact, if you’ve seen 1954’s Godzilla you don’t have to imagine. It’s pretty much the same thing. It’s one large, rampaging monster wreaking havoc with every step. Some say Beast was the inspiration for Godzilla, and that’s easier to believe than anyone’s assessment of the monster as a “hoax.”
The critics may not have liked the movie as a whole, but they lavished praise on Harryhausen for the special effects. The roller coaster scene used the Cyclone Racer in Long Beach, CA as the ill-fated wooden amusement ride.
Napa’s Del Dotto Vineyards has a Cabernet Sauvignon for those who figure they just haven’t been paying enough for wine. It looks like The Beast goes for around $500 a bottle, which is about $450 more than I can stand to pay for a good Cab. Also, you have to be a VIP member to get it. Check the magnum they have for $915. It comes in a box with bars on it. I would not expect a restrained flavor profile here.
Harryhausen called it quits with dinosaur monsters in The Valley of Gwangi. If you want to imagine a movie pitch to end all movie pitches, this has to be the one. It’s a 1969 monster-sci-fi-western, which likely gives it sole occupancy in that genre. Somehow, cowboys versus dinosaurs didn’t spawn a river of spinoffs and sequels.
Plot-wise, if you follow prehistoric horse tracks into a place called the Forbidden Valley, you probably get what you deserve. Gwangi is the prehistoric monster, who operates as the head honcho of all the other ~sauruses that swarm about. In the time-honored horror tradition of monster deaths, it’s fire that does him in.
Dino Raw is a Riesling from Weingut Strub in Germany. The label depicts a character that owes more to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson than the bag of dinosaur toys I played with as a kid. Don’t let the $38 price tag scare you. We can’t all shop at Trader Joe’s.
Randy Fuller
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