Ray Harryhausen passed away in May of this year.
Some of my favorite films were touched by his hand.
He was a master of stop-motion "animation" and even with computer animation and green screens and all the other "magic" that Hollywood has come up with...nothing can match the visceral feeling of his work.
Lately I've been watching some of his films.
I watched a documentary about him the other night (narrated by Leonard Nimoy!) and found out that he and Ray Bradbury were the best of friends since they were 18 years old.
Two great imaginations as best buds! Who'da thunk?
Here are some of my favorite Harryhausen movies...
Clash of the Titans
no...No...NO! Not the one from 2010 which was, quite frankly...AWFUL!
No...this one's from 1981 and was one of the first roles for Harry Hamlin. Professor McGonagall/Dowager Countess Violet Crawley...aka Dame Maggie Smith, plays the goddess Thetis and this is the one where Zeus/Sir Laurence Olivier says the famous line:
"Release the Kraken!"
I admit it...it doesn't have the best acting or the tightest pacing...so I fast-forwarded to the Harryhausen parts!
Medusa...with scaly skin, green glowing eyes and the Harryhausen touch...a final shake of her snaky tail as she dies!
First Men on the Moon from 1964
...and may I add that I love Lionel Jeffries! King Pellinore in Camelot and Grandpa in Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
The Selenites...crazy ant men on the moon!
and the best...my most favoritest...
Jason and the Argonauts from 1963
I LOVE the creaky, bronzey Talos who's defeated by uncorking his heel.
and these guys?...what Mr. Harryhausen was famous for!
Fighting Skeletons!
These guys still give me the creeps after all these years!
There's also the original Mighty Joe Young, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Three Worlds of Gulliver and Mysterious Island. Watch one this week!
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