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Cowboys, Dinosaurs & Evolution - A tribute to Ray Harryhausen

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


"The Valley of Gwangi"* (1969) is considered one of the most notable prehistoric-monster-movies of all times - this fame is based on the unusual story (adapted from a script by special effects pioneer Willis "King-Kong" O'Brien) but more so on the stunning creature effects featured in the movie and produced by special effects legend Ray Harryhausen - who passed away today aged 92.

The movie combines the western-genre with the classic monster-movie of the sixties and seventies - however the movie was released at the end of the golden age of monster-movies and the public had almost lost interest in this genre. The particular storyline of "The Valley of Gwangi" was intended to attract fans of monster-, but also adventure-, catastrophe- and western- movies.


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Ray Harryhausen will be remembered for his many stop-motion creatures crawling, stomping and running through countless adventure, science-fiction and fantasy movies - in the years 1938 - 1940 Harryhausen worked even on a "science-movie" - called "Evolution", featuring -what else - prominently stop-motion dinosaurs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qWnXsGjYwS8

*This image is the cover of a videotape, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, etc. and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the video or the studio which produced the video in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of video covers qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law.

My name is David Bressan and I'm a freelance geologist working mainly in the Austroalpine crystalline rocks and the South Alpine Palaeozoic and Mesozoic cover-sediments in the Eastern Alps. I graduated with a project on Rock Glaciers dynamics and hydrology, this phase left a special interest for quaternary deposits and modern glacial environments. During my research on glaciers, studying old maps, photography and reports on the former extent of these features, I became interested in history, especially the development of geomorphologic and geological concepts by naturalists and geologists. Living in one of the key area for the history of geology, I combine field trips with the historic research done in these regions, accompanied by historic maps and depictions. I discuss broadly also general geological concepts, especially in glaciology, seismology, volcanology, palaeontology and the relationship of society and geology.

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