Before he tackled Greek mythology in Clash of the Titans, Ray Harryhausen put his immense talents to work in Jason and the Argonauts. The movie concerns the Greek myth about Jason, and his quest for the Golden Fleece.The story itself is a pretty fun and entertaining adventure tale, but it is made even more awesome
thanks to Harryhausen's stop-motion creature effects. They're the true highlight of the film, and they don't disappoint, especially the climactic 4 plus minute battle between 7 skeleton warriors and Jason (plus two of the Argonauts). Aside from the effects, the other major show stopper is the score by Bernard Herrmann. It's not really like some of his great work he did for Scorsese of Hitchcock, but it's still some really rousing music that really fits a story filled with adventure, danger, and fantasy.This is really just a B-movie, but it's spectacular stuff that is very entertaining and extremely watchable. The acting is a little blah, but decent enough, given the circumstances. The film may be almost a haalf century old, but it has a very timeless and charming quality to it, and the effects are still really impressive, even to this day. In fact, this film is just impressive because it shows how far we've come with special effects, and a movie like this makes you appreciate the hard work and passion that it took in the pre-CGI days.Give this one a watch- it's really good, dopey fun.
August 3, 2011
