THE VALLEY OF GWANGI
1969, Warner Bros., 96 min, USA, Dir: James O’Connolly

One of Ray Harryhausen’s most rarely screened gems, GWANGI stars James Franciscus as a brash young cowboy who stumbles across a hidden valley teaming with prehistoric life. Trouble ensues when Franciscus captures one of the lost dinosaurs and tries to exhibit it in a traveling circus. Co-starring Richard Carlson, Gila Golan, Laurence Naismith.


ULZANA’S RAID
1972, Universal, 103 min, USA, Dir: Robert Aldrich

When Ulzana (Joaquin Martinez) and a small band of Apaches escape from an Arizona reservation and begin killing settlers, a green cavalry lieutenant (Bruce Davison) is assigned to capture them with the help of a veteran scout (Burt Lancaster). The desert pursuit that ensues is both a tense tactical game and an unflinching look at how ethnic conflicts brutalize both sides. An underrated Western, expertly directed by Robert Aldrich (THE DIRTY DOZEN) from Alan Sharp’s intricate screenplay.


THE SEARCHERS
1956, Warner Bros., 119 min, USA, Dir: John Ford

John Wayne gives the performance of his career as Ethan Edwards, a deeply troubled Civil War veteran who heads off in search of his kidnapped niece (Natalie Wood) and becomes more obsessive and irrational as his journey progresses. Through Wayne's character, Ford explores the contradictions and dark side of the American frontier.


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