Cowboys wrangle dinosaurs in First Friday flick

April 22, 2003
For Immediate Release
For calendar & event editors; Images available
Contact: Jon Pishney (919) 733-7450, ext. 305

RALEIGH - Can’t choose between a Western and a science fiction movie at the video store? Visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and you won’t have to. This month’s First Friday film feature is The Valley of Gwangi, the curious tale of a cowboy who seeks fame and fortune by capturing a ferocious dinosaur (the Gwangi) and putting it in a Mexican circus. Paleontologists and gauchos alike can enjoy the movie and swap stories, as the Museum stays open late, from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 2.

This 1969 film features the imaginative special effects talents of Ray Harryhausen, a master of split-screen and stop-action animation. Because Harryhausen worked alone on stop-motion animation, completing a film often took as long as two years. The skeleton swordfight sequence in his most popular film, Jason and the Argonauts (1963), was a testament to his skill and patience. Harryhausen could get no more than 13 frames of film (one-half second of elapsed time) shot per day. A former Army training film animator in the Second World War, Harryhausen finally achieved film immortality with an honorary Oscar in 1992.

The Valley of Gwangi also features James Franciscus as the ambitious cowboy. Franciscus followed up this role with that of Charlton Heston’s would-be rescuer in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970).

First Friday runs from 5-9 p.m., with live music from Rock and Roll Summer starting at 5:30 p.m. The feature begins at 7 p.m. and is preceded by a film short from the A/V Geeks archives. Admission is free. Additionally, the Museum Store offers after-hours shopping, and the Acro Café serves up light fare, as well as beer and wine. The Special Exhibits Gallery, now exhibiting National Geographic Channel’s SuperCroc, also stays open until 9 p.m., with last tickets sold at 8:30 p.m.

The Museum is located in downtown Raleigh at 11 West Jones Street. Parking is available on the street and in surface lots along Wilmington and Edenton Streets. For more information, contact Steve Popson at 919/733-7450, ext. 379.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.

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