Swords, Sandals and Ray Harryhausen
With the upcoming release of Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 classic of the same name, it got me thinking about all the epic sword and sandal movies of the past. The old classics are some of the best movies ever made. They are full of great cinematic moments and full of the brilliant creatures that Ray Harryhausen created.
Harryhausen is a legend of the big screen and one of the greatest model animators of all time, if not the greatest. His name is synonymous with stop motion animation and it could be said that he carried the technique almost single handedly for many years. I remember when I was younger, watching movies such as the old Clash of the Titans and Sinbad and being fascinated by the myth and legend surrounding the stories, and, of course, Harryhausen’s animated monsters and mythical beasts.
With the advances in technology that we have had since Harryhausen’s era, we rarely see stop motion animation, which is a shame. Today we have CGI created monsters and sets. Whilst these new monsters and locations look amazing and truly lifelike, there is something about them that seems a bit shallow and life-less. The models of Harryhausen, although dated now, still carry a certain charm and a feeling that true effort and devotion went into the creation of such a fantastically detailed models.
As mentioned earlier, some of cinema’s greatest moments are found in the movies that Harryhausen was involved in. Who could forget the epic battle between Jason, his Argonauts and the Talos or the skeletons at the end of the movie? How about the truly scary scene with Medusa in the 1981 Clash of the Titans? These moments stick with audiences forever and that has definitely been the case with me.
Whilst I look forward to the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans, I know, even if it is good, that it won’t have the same profound effect on me as the original did.
Great news everyone, Jane has heard back from three of the Secondary school jobs that she applied to last week and she is going for interviews in a couple of days, fingers crossed. This would be her first teaching gig!