When movies became a leading venue for entertainment, creative directors spent a lot of effort into achieving special effects without the aid of computer rendering and digital action. They swiftly discovered that perspective was a great resource, and that very small things could be made to look very large (or vice versa, of course). There was no such thing as the high definition options that exist today, but there were other creative advances in filmmaking. With clever use of close-ups and toy models, even a small spider could crush villages. Thus was born that genre of camp and classics, movies of oversized primates, insects, and iguanas: the giant animal flicks.
There was another force at work, in these early films, that demonstrated common feelings of the time: Science was growing rapidly, but in many ways it was still not appreciated, and people were often not aware of its consequences. The satellites the public worried about then were Russian satellites possibly holding nuclear warheads, not satellite TV. In each of of the following, it is man's own greedy actions that bring the enormous (though often cuddly) brutes into disastrous encounters with mankind. Without further ado, the top 5 traditional monster movies:
King Kong - No other building-sized animal star is as iconic as King Kong. Making its debut in 1933, this was indeed the first of the giant animal movies. This one is a little different from many that follow in that science wasn't actually the culprit of Kong's size or belligerence. Rather it was a human’s search for money and glory that removed him from his natural environment. For a high-budget HD update, Peter Jackson's 2005 film makes an interesting comparison.
Them! - Along with Kong, this may also be considered an original of the field. It's the story of giant ants frightening the occupants of a town in New Mexico. As it turns out, atomic radiation is responsible the whale-sized ants, and it seems that they won’t be held at bay.
It Came From Beneath the Sea - The giant octopus that terrorizes San Francisco in this film is pathetically unreal by modern audiences used to flashy high definition effects, but the movie is still highly regarded for attempting â€" and succeeding â€" to demonstrate a sea monster raging war on a nearby city â€" the scenes all shot near a shoreline. Hydrogen bomb tests have made this huge cephalopod radioactive and driven it from its natural deep-sea home. A fun fact is that the film only had budget to create 6 tentacles, so the beast is never fully shown!
Tarantula - In this cinematic undertaking well-intentioned science has gone seriously awry. A scientist attempting to control world hunger creates a nutrient formula for animals - but it causes them to significantly overdevelop, and become hungrier than ever. This proves letal when the tarantula escapes and starts leveling the town. Mad scientists, blossoming romance, and one gigantic arachnid - what more could you ask a movie like this?
Night of the Lepus â€" Made in 1972, this movie glorifies the camp of its predecessors. Once again, the best objectives of science wind up causing a test subject - a rabbit in this scenario - to grow to uncanny size It also propagates like a, well, rabbit, and the researchers must take control of the situation before the whole Southwest is destroyed beneath their fuzzy little paws and murderous jaws.
Even with advances in technology this type of movie hasn't really changed so much over time. Movies like Godzilla show that the cautionary tales about messing with science are still plentiful. New cinematic adventures might have computer-generated brutes and HD bragging rights, but the enormous animal is still the biggest hit. Watch these classics on satellite TV and you won't be disappointed.
There was another force at work, in these early films, that demonstrated common feelings of the time: Science was growing rapidly, but in many ways it was still not appreciated, and people were often not aware of its consequences. The satellites the public worried about then were Russian satellites possibly holding nuclear warheads, not satellite TV. In each of of the following, it is man's own greedy actions that bring the enormous (though often cuddly) brutes into disastrous encounters with mankind. Without further ado, the top 5 traditional monster movies:
King Kong - No other building-sized animal star is as iconic as King Kong. Making its debut in 1933, this was indeed the first of the giant animal movies. This one is a little different from many that follow in that science wasn't actually the culprit of Kong's size or belligerence. Rather it was a human’s search for money and glory that removed him from his natural environment. For a high-budget HD update, Peter Jackson's 2005 film makes an interesting comparison.
Them! - Along with Kong, this may also be considered an original of the field. It's the story of giant ants frightening the occupants of a town in New Mexico. As it turns out, atomic radiation is responsible the whale-sized ants, and it seems that they won’t be held at bay.
It Came From Beneath the Sea - The giant octopus that terrorizes San Francisco in this film is pathetically unreal by modern audiences used to flashy high definition effects, but the movie is still highly regarded for attempting â€" and succeeding â€" to demonstrate a sea monster raging war on a nearby city â€" the scenes all shot near a shoreline. Hydrogen bomb tests have made this huge cephalopod radioactive and driven it from its natural deep-sea home. A fun fact is that the film only had budget to create 6 tentacles, so the beast is never fully shown!
Tarantula - In this cinematic undertaking well-intentioned science has gone seriously awry. A scientist attempting to control world hunger creates a nutrient formula for animals - but it causes them to significantly overdevelop, and become hungrier than ever. This proves letal when the tarantula escapes and starts leveling the town. Mad scientists, blossoming romance, and one gigantic arachnid - what more could you ask a movie like this?
Night of the Lepus â€" Made in 1972, this movie glorifies the camp of its predecessors. Once again, the best objectives of science wind up causing a test subject - a rabbit in this scenario - to grow to uncanny size It also propagates like a, well, rabbit, and the researchers must take control of the situation before the whole Southwest is destroyed beneath their fuzzy little paws and murderous jaws.
Even with advances in technology this type of movie hasn't really changed so much over time. Movies like Godzilla show that the cautionary tales about messing with science are still plentiful. New cinematic adventures might have computer-generated brutes and HD bragging rights, but the enormous animal is still the biggest hit. Watch these classics on satellite TV and you won't be disappointed.
