The Hound Salutes: Ray Harryhausen Movie Review
Perhaps the best introduction to the work of special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen is the videotape (and disc) Aliens, Dragons, Monsters & Me (Midwich Entertainment, Lumivision, 1992). This celebration of Harryhausen's long career in stop-motion animation is based on an exhibit of his work at the Museum of the Moving Image in London. Also included are an affectionate analysis of Harryhausen's appeal by his friend Ray Bradbury and highlights of the best moments from his films.
The story is told in rough chronological order, beginning when a Los Angeles teenager saw King Kong and knew that his life had been changed. He started making home movies with models, and then short films. When World War II came along, he continued his work with Frank Capra's film unit and even made a propaganda film entitled Guadalcanal.
After the war, Harryhausen moved to features and found that his tastes in fantasy and science fiction weren't shared by the larger movie-going public. Though much of his black and white work is respected and studied today, such films as Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers, It Came from Beneath the Sea, and 20 Million Miles to Earth were relegated to drive-ins and double features in the 1940s and ‘50s.
But then he and his long-time producer Charles H. Schneer made the bold leap to color and myth, and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad became the sleeper hit of 1958. After it came The Three Worlds of Gulliver, Mysterious Island, Valley of Gwangi, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and several others, including everybody's favorite, Jason and the Argonauts.
Some were commercial hits; some weren't. All contain Harryhausen's wonderful creations – cyclops and griffins, metal giants and moon men, sword-waving skeletons and flying horses, and perhaps best of all, dinosaurs and dragons.
If they lack the crystalline clarity and intricate detail of more expensive computer-generated creatures that fill screens these days, they can still inspire gasps of wonder. Take a look at a kid watching Talos, the bronze giant, come to life in Jason and you'll see pure amazement. That's movie magic at its timeless best.
Harryhausen's work stands up to repeated viewings because even the worst of it – with silly plots and thin characters – contains visual surprises and flair. Ray Harryhausen has always pushed the limits of his craft while imbuing his creations with strong, recognizable personalities that equal their human co-stars. He made characters we care about, and that's the secret of all good films.