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Post by valdemar on May 9, 2013 0:55:17 GMT
I wasn't sure where to put this, and it's a bit late, but I'm always a little behind on the news. Anyhow, I was greatly saddened to hear of the death of one of the GREATS, and I don't mean that lightly, of fantastic cinema. His body of work goes back to assisting another master, Willis O' Brien, to the superb [and yes, it is better than the CGI remake, which was good, but a bit soulless] 'Clash Of The Titans'. Medusa is still skin-crawlingly scary, and the phrase "Release The Kraken!" has passed into popular culture. Ray was the real deal - he produced exquisitely detailed artwork to illustrate his ideas; these were then realised in a tiny studio/workshop at his home, here in England. I love the story about the giant crab from 'Mysterious Island'. A real crab was purchased at a large London shop, humanely dispatched by a lady from one of London's museums, emptied out, [the contents presumably enjoyed by Ray and his wife] and fitted with an armature for filming.
My introduction to his work was the peerless 'Jason And The Argonauts', when I was a small boy, and, like many small boys who watched it, was scared shitless by Talos. The screech as he turns his head to look at Hercules and Hylas still brings me out in goosebumps. How could it be SO tall? And yet, when Jason loosens the plug in Talos' heel, and the ichor pours out, you feel a pang of pity for the dying giant. That's what made Ray Harryhausen's work so great: humanity. It was imbued in his creations, and you felt for them. Even the evil ones.
Ray was a genius, whose work thrilled and entertained millions, and, even today, still does so.
His influence simply cannot be understated - the fantasy greats of today - Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, and even Nick Park cite him as an inspiration.
Many thanks, Ray, for making my jaw drop all those years ago.
You will be missed.
R.I.P.
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Post by erebus on May 11, 2013 12:41:50 GMT
Its truly sad that this great man has passed away. I among many others here was astounded by his work as a small boy. And Talos stood out for me too. The cyclops in the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad blew me away. But for me his triumph was Medusa in Clash of the Titans. A fabulous creation. To have each of those little head snakes writhe and hiss, and such a fearsome creature. I still have a great many of his films on dvd and watch them with awe. They still blow the special FX garbage away to this day.
And I have a collection of his creatures too in model form. The Cyclops, Talos, Centaur, Ymir, Dragon from Seventh Voyage, Minaton and the Griffin.
Another great has gone. RIP.
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Post by andydecker on May 12, 2013 9:54:57 GMT
This is another sad loss. I guess my generation was really influenced by him. Back then seing a movie like 7th voyage of Sindad inspired awe and a longing for more. For me it is the Cyclops and of course the Kali coming to life. At the time of Golden Voyage`s release I immersed myself into Howard for the first time, and this was how I envioned all the monsters out of the stygian darkness.
The faceless teams of todays FXlers can never hope to achieve his influence.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on May 12, 2013 13:46:53 GMT
This is another sad loss. I guess my generation was really influenced by him. Back then seing a movie like 7th voyage of Sindad inspired awe and a longing for more. For me it is the Cyclops and of course the Kali coming to life. At the time of Golden Voyage`s release I immersed myself into Howard for the first time, and this was how I envioned all the monsters out of the stygian darkness. The faceless teams of todays FXlers can never hope to achieve his influence. Utterly agree with your comment about envisioning monsters in that way. It's a measure of how great an influence he was that he affected the inner mind to that extent. |
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Post by Knygathin on May 12, 2013 20:52:55 GMT
He was perhaps the last of the true romantics.
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Post by ripper on May 14, 2013 12:36:13 GMT
I was very sad to hear that Ray had passed away. In my childhood, before the advent of the video recorder, a TV screening of one of his films was always eagerly anticipated. I think my favourite of his films is Jason and the Argonauts. It was the first RH film that I saw, and the part where Jason and his crew fight the skeleton warriors always thrilled me. We would talk about a RH film for days in the playground. RIP Ray and thank you.
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