Jason and the Argonauts | Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack

Jason and the Argonauts | Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack | Awesome Rewatch after A number of years

DVDs:

Jason and the Argo...

	Jason and the Argonauts Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack Sony Pictures, 1998 average customer review:based on 84 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

IT STILL "WOWS" ME!!!

Back in the late 1980's i remember driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit and seeing an old, boarded up movie theater. On the Marquee was "jason & the Argonauts". Now I don't know if the theater had been closed since the 1960's or if maybe they were having a revival but it gave me a smile everytime I saw it because this was one of my all-time favorite fantasy films. Jason, played by Todd Armstrong, is the rightful ruler of the throne of Thessaly which has been usurped. To win the throne Jason and his men must undertake a perilous quest to find the legendary Golden Fleece. It is based strong on ancient Greek myths as Jason and his crew do battle with Winged harpies, the seven Headed Hydra, and Talos, the gigantic iron Golem who somewhat resembles the Colossus of Rhoads. In fact Special Effects wizard Ray Harryhausen stated in reviews that the Colossus was the inspiration from Talos who in myth wasn't that large.

Perhaps the most famous segment is when King Aeetes uses the teeth of Hydra to bring to life several skeletons to battle Jason and his men. The meticulous animation in this part is legendary as the real-life actors battle seemlessly against opponents who were not there and were added in later. The time it had to take to animated all these skeletons moving and interacting with the real actors is mind-boggling. The same goes for the battle with the Hydra which harryhausen stated was particularly hard because you had to move the seven heads each a little bit in every frame and if he got distracted he'd forget if a head was moving back or forward. That attention to detail is just incredible.

It's not a great film in terms of the acting. Not much above, if at all, any of the sword and sandal films of that period. But it's Harryhausen's wizardry that really sets this one a part and makes it a classic.

for more information click here

Awesome Rewatch after A number of years

This is usually available for a better price than the Amazon one, but it is still good value here at Amazon. The interview with Harryhausen about this project is both enlightening, and entertaining. Landis definitely conveys the fans sense of enjoyment when talking with Ray... worth a watch for the interview alone.
The Film itself is fabulous in visual quality, and also in audio playback on a 5.1 sound system. Some shots show up the lesser quality of the source tape, however these parts are few and far between.The majority of the film is done superbly, and illustrate a way of film making that has been very absent from many films, and it definitely shows that lower budget does not have to translate as lesser quality.
For many people, I suspect they already know the story from this film, and the favorite moments will no doubt be ingrained from previous versions. The aspect ratio brings back more of the original, and instead of the TV edits, the fun of seeing this in it's fullness is great. I Hope to get more of the Signature series, and hopefully the work done by the masterful Ray Harryhausen will be so very evident.
My personal favorite sequence is the warriors brought back by the teeth of the Hydra, and the quality of the DVD definitely exceeded my expectations and my memory.
For those concerned about it, the film is very definitely a Family friendly film, and one I would highly recommend to all fans of films, and especially of the films that were made with such loving care, and acted with a passion for superb drama.
ENJOY

for more information click here

STILL A LOT OF FUN

Having seen this wonderful movie when it was first released, I was wondering how I'd feel about it 40 years later. JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is probably the best of the many movies Ray Harryhausen created the stop motion effects. From the giant Talos to the horrible harpies; the dreaded Hydra and of course, the skeleton soldiers, these effects are amazing, especially considering that Harryhausen did them all by himself. Director Don Chaffey almost sabotages his film with the overly long and unnecessary dance sequence with Nancy Kovack and sometimes even the special effects sequences are a little drawn out (especially the clashing rocks thing), but overall JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is still a classy, mesmerizing and enjoyable mythological journey. Todd Armstrong does well as Jason, and there's a lot of Britain's finest character actors in supporting roles: Laurence Naismith, Nigel Green, Honor Blackman, Michael Gwynne and Nial McGinniss to name a few. It's fun and in this CGI unundated world of ours, these amazing creations stand the test of time.

for more information click here

Wonders of Mythology

Jason and the Argonauts brings back memories of our childhood,when we studied all these adventures in school.Visualizing the heros of the times, with the actors of the day.
Did Hercules,Achilles,Hera,Aphrodite,Zeus really exist? Well it seems that they were a part of old history.
In this movie you see the titans, the monsters,beauty,ugliness and adventure all in one. It is different from the old version of the DVD,still wonderful to look at. Enjoy the DVD and you will understand why so many people like it.In other words it is a collectible. I have both versions and love it.

for more information click here

PRODIGIOUS PRE-CGI HISTRIONICS

Almost every modern special-FX auteur worthy of a magazine interview seems to draw inspiration from someone named Harryhausen. I decided it was time to let curiosity get the better of me and rent this DVD from, gulp, 1963.

Turns out it is an epic Greek adventure, with effects that must quite easily have made it the Lord of the Rings of the sixties. Only more creative, and let me tell you why.

None of its effects are CGI, we were using computers the size of living rooms at the time. No, it makes do with stopmotion action models instead. They're not half as bad as I had expected.

Forty years hence the antics of its protagonists Jason and Hercules may seem rather commonplace as the ilk of Xena the Warrior Princess shake a similar jig on our weekly television shows, replete with all the spicy camp humor, but what absorbs us are the characters of the film's mythic creatures that rise well above their inevitably pasty appearance.

Given the context the acting is pretty non-cheesy and breathes life into fairly tenable set designs. The pace rumbles along just fine, and there's even a stunning cameo from skeletons that defy the times they were created in. A dynamic yet unintrusive score rounds out the package rather nicely.

Shed your reservations about old-hat action adventures, this is a great rental not only for gratification of nostalgic urges but as a testament to how grand films can be made with very little props from technology.

for more information click here