The 1966 film "One Million Years B.C." was one of those classic naff B-movies from Hammer Films in the '60s. Rerun endlessly on both Saturday afternoon and late-night TV over the next couple of decades, the film had something for both demographics: excellent dinosaur animation by Ray Harryhausen (unsurpassed until "Jurassic Park" came along three decades later), and an even more excellent animal-skin bikini that barely contained the ample charms of leading lady Raquel Welch.
Welch, maybe not so well-remembered today, was one of those actresses cast whenever a bombshell was needed. (Think of Megan Fox in "Transformers" and you'll get the idea.) But unlike contemporary Hollywood, "One Million Years B.C.' "s filmmakers understood that Welch's, umm, "special effects" could rival anything the animators could come up with.
Sorry if I'm coming off like a drooling, laddish "GQ" columnist or something, but watching director Roland Emmerich's kinda-sorta remake "10,000 B.C." the other day, I couldn't help thinking what a refreshing change a little sex appeal would be. As usual, with Hollywood's game-boy directors and fan-boy demographic, we get an orgy of digital effects, thrashing combat, and wanton destruction — but, alas, no bikini.