Yeti - Il gigante del 20° secolo

I saw this movie while I was in the Navy. For free. In an outdoor theater, which was lucky, because otherwise I would have had to batter down a wall to get away from this dog. This is the only movie I have *ever* walked out on, it was so bad. Several years later I saw it on TV and managed to get thru the whole thing. I still have nightmares. This waste of film stands out in my personal experience as the single worst movie I have ever seen.

If you watch this thing, do yourself a favor and don't ask too many questions. Just sit back and enjoy this train wreck for the campy schlock it is. I think this movie would be even better if the people making it hadn't taken it as seriously as they did. Some of the other reviews have gone into more details, but I don't think that's necessary. This thing has to be experienced to be believed. Give it ten minutes and you'll know whether you can stand the rest of it. For B-movie fans, it's a rare and amazing treat. For the rest, it will be a hideous, head-shaking, mess that will have them constantly asking "WHY??" Watching this with one of them will make the movie even more fun. No one will be the same after watching this. It's a little like taking a reality-altering drug.

"Yeti - Giant of the 20th Century" is more than just a film. It's a phenomenon. And rather than just be watched, it should be studied and analyzed!

Being one of the worst movies ever made, and simultaneously also being one of the most popular crowd-pleasing movies at festivals, is quite an accomplishment. Sitting through this two-hour "experience" evokes a truckload of sentiments and impressions, varying from massively entertained onto deeply annoyed. "Yeti" superficially appears to feature all the characteristics of a raw and gritty euro-exploitation flick, but deep down it desires to be seen as an endearing and Disney type of family movie. Every aspect is shamelessly copied from somewhere else. The music is a rip-off of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, the script recycles the plot of the "King-Kong" movies, the young-kind-and-his-dog element comes from "Lassie", and the Yeti himself blatantly imitates Tina Turner's mega-mullet haircut.

The grandchildren of megalomaniacal business tycoon Morgan Hunnicut discover a completely intact but deep-frozen Yeti that apparently drifted from the Himalayas to Northern Canada over the course of a few million years. After a lengthy thawing process, which inexplicably includes hanging underneath a helicopter in an oversized phone booth, the loudmouthed Hunnicut comes up with the brilliant idea to transport the Yeti to New York for a sensational commercial stunt. Meanwhile, the furry giant fell in love with Hunnicut's 16-year-old niece (the big perv!) and evil business competitors attempt to destroy it by turning off the air-conditioning. So cruel!

The highlights - or lowlights if you wish - are too numerous to list. Beautiful Antonella Interlenghi makes the creature's nipple hard, there's a romantic interlude featuring a fishbone, the Yeti turns a skyscraper's elevator into a toy, and the titular primitive dude's height changes continuously. The last half hour is so exaggeratedly sentimental and sappy that it nearly ruins all the fun, and the "miraculous" return of Indie is a twist that even Disney would find too childish.

I can understand Italian producers wanting to cash in on the publicity Dino De Laurentiis' remake of KING KONG generated, but seeing the end results here I am utterly perplexed as to why these particular Italian producers thought they could make a passable clone with such little money and lack of technical know-how! How bad are the effects? Well, in many cases when you see the giant yeti (the size of which keeps changing throughout the movie!), you can *see through him*, because of the cheap way the effects artists combined two separate shots! The shoddy effects also add to such already bizarrely hilarious moments like the fish skeleton and the shot of the yeti's nipple (you read that last one right!)

As you can probably guess, this is a remarkably goofy film, especially since it seems aimed at a family audience because of two child characters central to the action, as well as the scientist character acting somewhat clownish. What's surprising is how violent the movie is, with several graphic deaths (not all caused by the yeti!) At least these scenes help wake you up, because despite all the incompetence, it all becomes pretty tiresome quickly. Some Canadians may be interested in how it was extensively shot in the Toronto area, and even taking place there instead of being disguised as an American location. Though upon watching it, they'll soon see why they haven't heard of it before! If you want to see a more successful Italian movie shot in Canada (and also taking place there!), check out "Strange Shadows In An Empty Room", which was shot around the same time.

YETI deserves the 8 star rating because it is the one of the greatest bad movies ever made. I saw it at a midnight screening in L.A. and people were roaring and cheering at the insanity - this movie is one of those cinematic trainwrecks where you think it cant get any stranger and THEN IT DOES! The millionaire who funds the project to thaw the Yeti looks like Chris Penn and John Goodman both poured into an ill-fitting suit - the guy playing the scientist is one of the worst actors to ever appear on screen - and yes, there is a mute boy (who sorta kinda looks like a girl) and he's mute ever since he survived a plane crash that killed both his parents (hmmm- maybe therapy for the kid??). Then this hottie Italian girl is seen by Yeti (once he thaws - which takes FOREVER) -- and he is instantly in love with her - what is one of the most hysterical things about the movie is that this giant Yeti makes "bedroom eyes" at her - it's like a large Barry White trying to seduce a groupie. In fact, once the large Yeti picks up the hottie and has her against his chest - she accidentally touches the Yeti's nipple and yes, the film takes the time to show his large grey nipple GET HARD!!!! Yikes of all YIKES! Plus there's a collie dog in it because the Italian producer must have heard that American audiences like dogs and he sorta kinda tried to get a Lassie - there's also this insane scene where the Yeti eats a giant fish - keeps the large fishbone and uses it to comb the Italian girl's hair "Gee, thanks Yeti - now my hair is smooth and smells like dead trout. You're the best." This film is more bizarre than something Ed Wood could have ever dreamt up. If you are a fan of classic cinema crap - seek this baby out.