Depending on how steeped you are in movie lore, especially
that of science fiction and fantasy, you may not be familiar with the name Ray
Harryhausen. If you are not it is simply
because it is a name that has fallen into obscurity as time has gone on and the
“big names” in special effects have changed.
If you know the name it is likely you know it very well. And, like me, you are saddened to hear the news
that today, at the age of 93, this pioneer of animation passed away.
On a personal level I have been a fan of Harryhausen’s work
since childhood, though I did not always know him by name. I marveled at the dinosaurs of 1 Million Years B.C. and Valley of Gwangi and the fantastic
monsters that plagued the cinematic voyages of Sinbad. It was not until Clash of the Titans that I really became aware of the man behind
the magic, an animator who was inspired by Willis O’Brien’s work on the
original King Kong and would one day
work with his muse and mentor on Mighty
Joe Young. From humble beginnings
using his father’s movie camera and a portion of his mother’s fur coat to
create a short film of a prehistoric cave bear to animated features produced
for U.S. troops in World War II through dozens of sci-fi and fantasy films
ranging from Earth vs. Flying Saucers
to The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Ray
Harryhausen brought the fantastic to life in a unique marriage of live action
footage shot on set or location and perfectly synched articulated animation
puppets.
I had the opportunity to meet this childhood idol of mine
one of the two times I had the good fortune to attend the Harvey Awards back
when they were a part of the Dallas Fantasy Fair. In that way that all of us who are fans get
when we have the opportunity to meet a favorite star I was terrified to approach
him. Only on the constant prodding of
Mrs. JediCole did I finally walk up to Mr. Harryhausen and his wife as they
waited for the elevator. This was in a
time when Jurassic Park had illustrated the boundless potential of CGI which,
in as sense, became all too often overused down the line. Struggling to make something coherent come
out of my mouth I could only manage to impart to him that in the budding age of
computer generated dinosaurs I would always have a special place in my heart
for good old Dynamation!
And this remained true in the years that followed. While the state of the art in CGI, which to
his credit Ray Harryhausen acknowledged as just another tool in the filmmaker’s
toolbox, continued to expand and astound movie goers, I could still break out Jason and the Argonauts or Sinbad and
the Eye of the Tiger and find that
they had never lost their magic. The
extraterrestrial Ymir, the Cyclops and the Roc that menaced Sinbad and his crew,
the destructive Kraken of antiquity, and the massive ammonite from Mysterious Island are all cherished
icons of my childhood that resonate as pitch perfect today as they did in my
youth. Indeed there will always be a
special place in my heart for Dynamation and the incredible artist who made it
the trademark of his craft. Farewell Ray
Harryhausen, thank you for bringing your own special brand of magic to the
movies!
Ray Harryhausen
1920-2013
To see more about the impression Ray Harryhausen made on my
life (as well as others), check out the following links to The United States of
Geekdom.
USG Episode 4: No Love for Bubo (A full episode dedicated to
the life and career of the award-winning filmmaker.)
JediCole’s Recommended Reading Special Edition (Featuring
information on an amazing book on Ray Harryhausen.)
The USG Memorial Tribute to Ray Harryhausen
The USG Memorial Tribute to Ray Harryhausen
1 comments:
Cam here, this couldn't had been a better tribute, Cole. This means a lot and just shows that this man was in many ways like Stan Winston where he tried to always help the special effects not only be groundbreaking, create original characters & help tell the movie's story but also just be memorable, plain and simple.
This was very well done!
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