Ray Harryhausen

RH says in that doc that the unrealistic quality of old-timey effects heightens the dreaminess of film – of course he WOULD say this, and i don't think he's wrong – what he doesn't talk about is how quickly ALL effects become hokey, be it dynamation or Anaconda-era CGI (and yeah sure cf. CGI-Kong too, which already looks terrible hoho)

his colour palette is one of my favorites ever i think

A remake of Clash of the Titans due to be released on 2010 directed by The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier.[1]

Spy Kids 2 was basically a giant Harryhausen homage party. With some spy kids and a mad scientist played by Steve Buscemi.

"Island of Lost Dreams" = "Island of Harryhausen monsters"

Clash of the Titans was my favourite film for a chunk of my childhood. Was recently fairly astounded to learn it was made in 81, when I would've guessed ten years earlier.

it was one of the big last hurrahs for traditional stop motion animation.

Yeah, very glad to have caught it on initial release in the theater then too -- it was pretty heavily advertised, and I'm sure a lot of it had to do with Harryhausen's name.

Aw man. Ray's finally gone.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ray-and-Diana-Harryhausen-Foundation/125012827632564

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen
Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920
Died: London 7th May 2013.

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator.

bummer. in-laws worked with him in recent years, had nothing but great things to say about him

noooooooo

RIP

http://bavatuesdays.com/files/2011/05/clash_pers_medusa_mask.gif

I feel u, cyclops

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gX5zjF1qBlo/UVYmefILRuI/AAAAAAAAG_Y/WSoKaGbJlOs/s1600/sinbad1.jpg

man see u

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mefbtxfpVP1qg39ewo1_500.gif

Oh no! RIP Ray.

His motion got stopped

RIP. Definitely one of the most influential artists of all time.

RIP RH. I rewatched Clash of the Titans a few months ago, thinking it probably wouldn't be all that on a 4th viewing, but it was as fun as ever.

Voyage of Sinbad is pretty amazing too

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maxuldfi5z1r93xiko1_1280.jpg

Shit. I interviewed him twice, and he was awesome both times. He and Bradbury were hard-of-hearing brothers in arms.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkun9igm8w1qcay1ao1_500.gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kmjW73-v4#!

aw man, this made me tear up. such an amazing guy.

one of the last guys to understand how badass skellies with swords are, r.i.p.

The Medusa sequence in the original COTT is still one of the scariest, best paced sequences in a film of its kind.

there is something incredibly human/magical about stop motion animation, that CGI just can't replicate. rip

God knows the creatures were more animated than the humans in those films.

Harry Hamlin rowr

The Medusa sequence in the original COTT is still one of the scariest, best paced sequences in a film of its kind.

― A deeper shade of lol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:45 AM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTFM

It's got the texture of a dream, as when Medusa slithers into the opposite corner of the temple and Perseus can theoretically escape; but, no, he has to lure. A nice touch: his arm trembling with nervousness and the weight of the sword.

*he has to lure her back

Ironically, it was "Clash of the Titans" that capped and/or killed his career. He insisted on doing it all himself, it took forever, it did OK, but in then in the end the movie couldn't compete with the Phil Tippets of the world, who took the amazing things Harryhausen did and did more with them.

Man, the number of Saturdays I spent watching his movies ...

love how Titans was so scary and bloody and dark for an A-rated family film. way nastier and gorier than, say Gremlins two years later which was a '15'
over here.

I remember being gobsmacked by Harryhausen's movies as a kid. They'd show up on our local station's Saturday afternoon matinee sometime. I was seeing stuff normally done in cartoons...but it's real! there's people AND monsters and it's in color...but it looks kinda...old? They felt like dreams to me, I remember being excited when I saw Sinbad again after the first time because I was convinced I had imagined it.

I love thinking about all my favorite movie makers and effects people who got into movies because of him. His tree diagram would be huuuuuge.

They felt like dreams to me

otm

when i was a kid and slept in a bit on sundays, i would wake up, turn on the TV, and half the time there'd be a harryhausen movie on. RIP.

"Back in the early 80's Tom Baker made contact with Ray Harryhausen via a friend. Tom would stop over at Ray's place in Kensington, and both would get shitfaced on good brandy. Diana, his wife, banned Tom, after Tom weed in their fireplace."

omg

that is awesome

way nastier and gorier than, say Gremlins two years later which was a '15'

Eh, I dunno about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zReX7OpfZXY

I saw Clash Of The Titans at the cinema as a kid and it was a massive experience. It inspired me later to try and do my own animation on a Super 8. So many of his films blew my mind as a child.

films in LA for a week, Sat night in Jersey City:

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/the-king-of-stop-motion-ray-harryhausen-remembered

http://loewsjersey.org/images/pdfs/jun13b.pdf

have never seen this Beast ... wish he would rampage through contemporary Wall Street.

http://filmforum.com/movies/more/the_beast_from_20000_fathoms

^^^ just wached this. pre-godzilla! rollercoaster climax is good and there's a majestic bit early on where the monster attacks a lighthouse. as cool as the monster is (partic the tail movements) it's the debris that's really how-did-you-do-that.

now i just watched jason and the argonauts. skellies w swords are badass for sure but best in show is that amaaaaaaaaaaaazing titan statue who clambers carefully off his pedestal, leans against it for a moment getting his animated bearings, then comes implacably at our heroes and destroys the argo before hera clues jason into the service hatch on the statue's heel, which when pried open gushes steam and what looks like hydraulic fluid. his technicolor corroded-bronze skin is the greatest uncanniest thing--and the screeching when he moves!

I was watching Monster Inc. with my son last night, had never caught this shout-out before:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100616021853/pixar/images/0/0c/Harryhausens.jpg

happy 100th, ray