The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen - Legendary Monster Series (1963)

"Jerky, Good Work-y"

Oh, how I loved these movies when they first arrived at local theaters. As a pre-teen, I watched them over and over. I watched them for the Cyclops, for the human skeletons coming up out of the earth, grown from planted teeth, for the dragons and monsters thrashing about. To see gigantic creatures pick up human beings and examine them for their possible tastiness--that was an amazing thing to be watching on celluloid! It did not bother me that the motion was a bit jerky--I deduced at the time that these scary studio creations had been posed and shot a frame at a time, and my feeble little mind had thought this was terribly sophisticated, as FX go. I still get a kick out of seeing them and re-makes of the same stories just do not do it for me. September 18, 2008

Monsters! Monsters! Monsters!

With most boxed sets, the DVDs are linked by an actor (like Errol Flynn), director (like Sergio Leone) or genre (such as noir). It is rare to see sets with something else in common, but this is the case with The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen. While I suppose it could be argued that these are related because they are fantasy movies, in truth, it is Harryhausen who unites them: there aren't many boxed sets which feature a special visual effects designer, but if there was to be one, it would naturally feature Harryhausen.

Sure, by today's standards, the effects in the movies in this set are rather crude, but in their era, they were pretty good. This is especially the case when you consider the effects in other giant monster movies of the time which usually featured a man in a costume crushing miniatures or a regular animal made large through obvious camera tricks. Of course, these effects were simpler to do than Harryhausen's stop-motion work, but the short cuts showed.

First in the set (chronologically) is The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, in which the hero must restore a beautiful princess to her proper size after she is shrunk to just a few inches. From the start, there's little skimping when it comes to the monsters; this one includes a cyclops, a dragon, a roc and a sword-wielding skeleton. This film (and the other two Sinbad movies in the set) are a reminder of a time when the stereotypical version of Arabian lands was one of romance and magic. It's obviously legend, but at the same time, a more charming depiction of this region than we see in more recent movies.

The second - and really the only disappointing one in the bunch - movie in the set is 3 Worlds of Gulliver - which adapts the Swift tale to have the title character stranded in lands where the people are either tiny (Lilliput) or giant (Brobdingnag) (the third world is England). There's little in the way of monsters in this one, other than a crocodile and a Brobdingagian squirrel.

Jason and the Argonauts is a loose depiction of the myth, with Jason assembling a group of heroes to steal the golden fleece and re-take the kingdom that was once his. Like a later Harryhausen movie, Clash of the Titans (not included), this one also depicts the gods (including Bond girl Honor Blackman as Hera). Besides the James Bond connection, there is also a Dr. Who one, with second Doctor Patrick Troughton in a small role. Oh, and there monsters aplenty, including a hydra, a giant animated statue and more malevolent skeletons. While this may be Harryhausen at his peak, it also is a problematic story, both because Jason's so-called heroism threatens to ruin another kingdom who has done him no evil, and because the story is left rather open-ended (was a sequel intended?).

A decade would pass before the next movie in this set, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, in which Sinbad battles an evil prince played by a future Dr. Who, Tom Baker. There's a little less in the way of monsters here, but there is a centaur and a ship's figurehead come to life. Baker is fun to watch as the prince who dabbles in the dark arts at great cost, as he attempts to obtain great power.

Finally, there is Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, which you might think featured an eye of the tiger (or some mystical gem with that name) but doesn't (although there is a saber-toothed tiger). Monsters include a troglodyte, a giant walrus and a bronze minotaur (called the minotaun). Similar to 7th Voyage, Sinbad is seeking to restore someone, in this case a prince transformed into a baboon. And again, there is both a James Bond and Dr. Who connection: Patrick Troughton returns in a bigger role, and Bond girl Jane Seymour plays the love interest.

The acting and writing in these movies are nothing special, but that doesn't make them any the less fun, plus if you're worried about what to show your kids, these are pretty harmless. With a few extras, this is an enjoyable set that lets you see the special effects of the 1960s and `70s at their pre-Star Wars best. May 25, 2008

The Greatest Special effects for the time.

I have always loved Ray Harryhausen's special effects. He really had to work to get all the movements with the stop motion camera. For the time when they were made, they were really impressive. I love all of the movies in this collection, especially Jason and the Argonauts. The fight with the skeletons towards the end is really something to watch. February 16, 2008

films of ray harryhausen

My grandson and my husband loved the movies, especially Jason and the Argonauts and the 7th Voyage of Sinbad. January 7, 2008

Great Memories

These were great adventure movies when I was a kid. It was great to share them with a new generation of video-game kids who thought these were really fun to watch. The skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts are still some of the most entertaining of all. Great weekend viewing! January 7, 2008

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