RIP Ray Harryhausen

I knew I shouldn't have got out of bed this morning....



Going back to bed and watching the best of Harryhausen.

The Harryhausen Chronicles

If you love Ray Harryhausen, and who doesn't, you should check out The Harryhausen Chronicles. This short but informative documentary from 1998 was directed by Richard Schickel from Time Magazine.  It features interviews with such luminaries as Ray Bradbury (a lifelong friend of Harryhausen) and George Lucas. 

The film examines Harryhausen's childhood, and the one event that shaped his life, seeing King Kong for the first time.  Thanks to the support of his parents and his own incredible work ethic, Harryhausen was able to make a name for himself in Hollywood, even working with his idol, Willis O'Brian on Mighty Joe Young.  The documentary features all of Harryhausen's masterpieces, including my favorites Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.  The thing I found really fascinating about this documentary however was the shots of his early animation and test footage.  I had no idea that he had made a series of "fairy tales" that became his calling card.  Here is his last one, begun in 1952 and finished in 2002!  Enjoy, and check out this documentary!

Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!

Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!  I love you and your scary stop-motion creatures!  Enjoy this compilation, set to the music of Tito Puente:


Check out his official website for more goodness: http://www.rayharryhausen.com/index.php
Man is 90 years old!!!

Clash of the Titans....

vs.



Clash of the Titans scared the S-H-I-T out of me as a little kid. I mean, Laurence Oliver is SCARY!!! It also made me fall in love with the work of one Ray Harryhausen (although his fighting skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts gave me the most nightmares.) This trailer for the remake, despite it's attempts to make it look like 300 with monsters, is pretty impressive. It doesn't look like a crappy CGI fest like The Mummy remake or the upcoming, oft-troubled Wolfman redo. Plus, it has Sam Worthington, who could kick Harry Hamlin's ass any day.