It sure took me a spell, but at long last I got to see Full Moon's release of director/animator Dave (Puppet Master/Caveman) Allen's The Primevals. Man, oh man, did it ever exceed my expectations. I mean, I figured it would be good, but whoa!
I now have the honor of presenting the 2023 release on a 120", outdoor screen, coupled with 1977's Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, on June 11 (Wednesday), commencing 8:30 pm, at 685G+Q7 Hamilton, NJ (near Veteran's Park), in the niche adjacent the Hamilton Ramp. (Both movies will be beamed from searing Blu-rays.)
The Primevals was scripted by Allen and Randall William Cook and stars Juliet (Beyond the Door) Mills, Tai Thai, Richard Joseph Paul, Robert Cornthwait, Kevin Mangold and Walker Brandt, who embark on a quest to locate Yetis beyond the realm of ice and snow, which just so happens to be where belligerent, extraterrestrial, lizard-men roam. Both the yetis and lizard-men were rendered by Allen's skillful hands. Indeed, it may have taken him and Full Moon decades to get the production finished, but as implied, the remarkable results more than compensate for the wait.
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is beloved by many, produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Sam (The Executioner) Wannamaker and written by Beverly (Clash of the Titans) Cross, with stop-motion effects by Willis O'Brien's prized disciple, the legendary Ray Harryhausen.
The adventure stars Patrick (The People That Time Forgot) Wayne as the titular hero, who's joined by Patrick (Doctor Who/The Omen 1976) Troughton, Jane (Somewhere in Time/Battlestar Galactica/Live and Let Die) Seymour, Taryn (The Count of Monte Cristo 1975) Power, Damien (Twins of Evil) Thomas, Kurt (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) Christian and as the villainous Zenobia, Margaret (The Informers/The Counterfeit Constable) Whiting.
Eye of the Tiger is also packed with fascinating creatures, including the amiable Trog, bug-eyed ghouls, a giant walrus, a cursed prince/baboon, a sabretooth tiger and the Minoton (performed in a few non-animated shots by Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew).
Though held in high regard, I still feel that Eye of the Tiger doesn't get the mass respect that it deserves, and perhaps the same can be said of the striking Primevals, which in the very least, deserved a national, theatrical release. At any rate, the two pictures go well together, not just because of their grandiose animation, but their comparable, snowy sequences.
To me, this double feature is a match made in fantasy-adventure heaven, and if you don't believe me, join the event and see for yourself. It's free-of-charge, with lawn chairs supplied (but feel free to bring your own for assured comfort).
BTW: Please, email my wife, Donna Gale, at bizarrechats@gmail.com by noon, June 10 (Tuesday), if you plan to attend, so that we might get a better idea of how many chairs to bring. (And oh, in the inconvenient event of rain, we'll reschedule and update you from there. It was a tad tricky getting permission to schedule this event, but if we did it once, I'm confident we can do it again.)
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