Ray Harryhausen
1920 – 2013
A dashing hero steps from his boat onto a deserted beach, he
walks inland and discovers a temple. He approaches the door and quickly draws
his sword as he sees the creature that dwells within. The gorgon, half woman
half serpent, with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns man to stone. Bravely
he leaps in and the two are locked in combat to the death.
This scene and countless others like it, were the work of
special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose highly detailed models came to
life and thrilled audiences on the big screen since the 1940’s and have
influenced several of our most famous film makers.
Yesterday it was announced through the Ray and Diana
Harryhausen foundation Twitter and Facebook accounts the Harryhausen had passed
away. He was ninety two.
Over his forty year film career, Harryhausen would breathe
life into dinosaurs, aliens, giants, sea creatures and almost every creature from
Greek mythology but he is perhaps most famous for the famous scene in Jason and The Argonauts that seen the
eponymous hero battle an army of warrior skeletons, a scene which still holds
up brilliantly to this day.
By today’s standards his techniques were fairly primitive.
Original footage would be projected onto a screen, Harryhausen would then
animate his models frame by frame in front of the projection and re-photograph
the images. This is the reason that the image quality of the live action
footage visibly drops whenever his creatures take to the screen.
Primitive or now however, these effects work brilliantly and
still look amazing to this day. There are no computers involved in his films,
every creature is a real thing brought to life through sheer hard work and
determination.
While CGI may dominate the film industry today, his
influence is still felt, with everyone from George Lucas to Peter Jackson to
James Cameron proudly singing his praises and honouring his influence.
Harryhausen was one of films greats. He brought the magical
to life and made us believe in the impossible. His work took us to other worlds
and made us gaze at the screen in awe.
We have lost a legend, but the legends he brought to life
will live forever.
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