Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies (1990)

Before I loved giant monster movies, I loved dinosaur movies.  It started when I was a little kid enamored with Don Bluth's The Land Before Time, and despite some interruptions (like most kids, I didn't have much of an attention span) I managed to stay fond of dinosaurs right up until the Summer of 1993 when I was treated to seeing Jurassic Park in theaters.  That clinched it, and from that point on I was dino-crazy!  I had dinosaur toys, dinosaur bedsheets, dinosaur pajamas, dinosaur magazines, books, and, of course, videos.  

I discovered Godzilla in early 1994 and that began my life-long fandom of giant monster movies, but my first introduction to the genre beyond the Godzilla series came through a little video my Dad picked up around 1995 titled Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies!  

With a cover like this, who could say no?

The tape was a compilation of old dinosaur and giant monster movie trailers, filled with oodles of awesome stuff and movies I'd never heard of.  I loved the tape and watched it over and over religiously, exposing me to a world of rampaging city-smashing beasts that my 9-year old mind had not yet fathomed.  Here was where I discovered the work of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, caught my first glimpse of Gorgo, and realized there was more fun to be had beyond the seemingly endless adventures of Godzilla and his cohorts.  They were all here:  The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), King Kong (1931), Rodan (1956), Gamera the Invincible (1965), and many more!  So many fond memories, and so many movies that, even today, I've yet to see.

It was released by GoodTimes Home Video (the same company that released Godzilla vs. Megalon on VHS, amongst others), which unfortunately shut down back in 2005.  If you've got kids, though, see if you can track this one down.  It kept me hooked for years and helped establish a love for these movies that's lasted almost two decades.  I highly recommend!  ^_^