The Harryhausen Chronicles!
Happy Friday. Here’s something you didn’t expect to watch:
Get set for The Harryhausen Chronicles, a 1998 documentary about Ray Harryhausen’s life and work.
This video was suggested by Brew Berry, who adds: “This Friday is June 29th, and would have been Ray Harryhausen’s 98th birthday. I personally plan to release the Kraken (rum) and toast his memory while watching several of his best movies, as well as this. The Harryhausen Chronicles has the added bonus of being narrated by Leonard Nimoy. This version has subtitles, but they aren’t too obtrusive, and it’s the best online copy I could find that wasn’t chopped into segments.”
Sounds good to me!
The Mysterious Monsters! (1975)
Reader Kirk O. suggested this video a long while back, and it seems pretty perfect for a Thursday night:
The Mysterious Monsters is a 1975 documentary about Bigfoot and his maybe-real pals. Hosted by Peter Graves. This sounds so up my alley!
Captain Pollution, Baby.
Before posting that article about Captain Pollution, I had no idea that there were so many… erm… bad feelings about Captain Planet. Looks like a lot of folks found the messaging way too preachy, but for me it was just another random cartoon with a bunch of freaky monsters to halfway pay attention to while I read back issues of WWF Magazine. Good ‘nuff!
No matter how you felt about the series as a whole, I still contend that the Captain Pollution episodes — especially the first two, which are combined in this video — are pretty fun. From the first season, it’s the Mission to Save the Earth two-parter, which introduced everything from the “Rings of Destruction” to Captain Pollution himself. Give it a shot!
Mako: The Jaws of Death!
This one sounds so promising that I hate to bury it on a Tuesday night, but oh well…
Suggested by Ginyu Recoome, get set for Mako: The Jaws of Death, from 1976.
But wait, it gets better: This is an old USA Network broadcast hosted by Commander USA, with all of the original commercials!
MAN. That sounds perfect.
Here’s the movie synopsis, swiped from YouTube:
“During the Vietnam War, US soldier Sonny Stein is saved from a pursuing enemy by a Mako shark. He begins to appreciate Makos after that. After the war, Stein finds work in the Philippine Islands as a marine salvager. A Filipino shaman gives him a medallion that helps him develop a telepathic rapport with Makos. Once back home in Florida, Stein decides to become Makos defender. A shady scientist who wants to research the sharks and a strip club owner who wants to use the sharks in a stripping act try to get Stein to use his powers to help them with their plans.”
Enjoy!
