tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post7056520601153536005..comments2024-03-29T00:32:33.920-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Jason and the ArgonautsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61588653552266162942009-04-01T08:18:00.000-04:002009-04-01T08:18:00.000-04:00Jason and the Argonauts is my favorite Harryhausen...<I>Jason and the Argonauts</I> is my favorite Harryhausen film. It was my son's (8 years old) until he watched <I>The 7th Voyage of Sinbad</I>, which is now his favorite.Thoth Amonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00172210835575382770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86826566071722721142009-03-31T10:43:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:43:00.000-04:00There is this common saying in modern film making ...<I>There is this common saying in modern film making that states: Before CGI we couldn't do this stuff.<BR/><BR/>It is bull.</I><BR/><BR/>I couldn't agree more.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48475565385946155522009-03-31T10:41:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:41:00.000-04:00Ha! Got you beat: I saw "Jason and the Argonauts" ...<I>Ha! Got you beat: I saw "Jason and the Argonauts" and "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" at a drive-in. Can't get no more old school than that! ;D</I><BR/><BR/>Nice! I only ever saw a few films at drive-in theaters and I'd like to do so again someday, just to get a better sense of what the experience was like.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-74640423495721102272009-03-31T10:35:00.000-04:002009-03-31T10:35:00.000-04:00The skeletons & other monsters of Harryhausen ...<I>The skeletons & other monsters of Harryhausen just have a real, solid feel to them that's absent from most CGI monsters.</I><BR/><BR/>Perhaps unsurprisingly, I agree.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56860030250323932862009-03-30T22:17:00.000-04:002009-03-30T22:17:00.000-04:00James wrote:Ray Harryhausen was my patron saint as...James wrote:<BR/><BR/><I>Ray Harryhausen was my patron saint as a boy.</I><BR/><BR/>Any creature that appeared in a Harryhausen movie is the model for how they are in my D&D games. Could we settle one thing here and now. Hydras don't have legs. If a slugs body was good enough for Harryhausen, its good enough for me.leadjunkiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18315365767527043985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71041637551205515282009-03-30T17:23:00.000-04:002009-03-30T17:23:00.000-04:00Just in case anyone is under the misapprehension t...Just in case anyone is under the misapprehension that Ray Harryhausen <I>was</I>, er, he still <I>is</I>. Still making movies, even.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368676086759298705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44501108409566099822009-03-30T14:39:00.000-04:002009-03-30T14:39:00.000-04:00There is this common saying in modern film making ...There is this common saying in modern film making that states: Before CGI we couldn't do this stuff.<BR/><BR/>It is bull. I too recently picked up Dragonslayer to see if it really was a cool as I remember it being, and was just blown away by it again! <BR/><BR/>In regards to Harryhausen, there is a really nice box-set that you can pick up. Any boy who didn't race outside immediately after watching one of those films to have sword-fights with sticks is just abused in my opinion.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57894736668809479222009-03-30T14:28:00.000-04:002009-03-30T14:28:00.000-04:00Ha! Got you beat: I saw "Jason and the Argonauts"...Ha! Got you beat: I saw "Jason and the Argonauts" and "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" at a drive-in. Can't get no more old school than that! ;Dtrollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42002225362383496222009-03-30T14:27:00.000-04:002009-03-30T14:27:00.000-04:00About 5 years ago I was in Berlin on a long weeken...About 5 years ago I was in Berlin on a long weekend with some friends and we went to the Film Museum located at the Sony Centre. Not much idea of what would be on display there so we were blown away completely to walk into one hall and discover that some of Harryhausen's personal collection was on show AND IT INCLUDED THE ORIGINAL SKELETONS!<BR/><BR/>They looked a bit battered, but one was set up showing you how he animated them a frame at a time and we just stood there grinning stupidly at each other because HERE WERE THE ORIGINAL SKELETONS!Coopdevilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16219253658967958289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21010856974751495482009-03-30T13:22:00.000-04:002009-03-30T13:22:00.000-04:00Interesting. Now that you mention it, I recall tha...Interesting. Now that you mention it, I recall that around about the age of fifteen I hunted down just about every "fantasy" film (including films like <I>El Cid</I> and <I>Spartacus</I>) I could lay hands on (which largely meant scouring the weekly program listings for the four television channels we had available.<BR/><BR/>I had dim memories of the clashing rocks and harpies, having seen the films at an age before I could really comprehend them, and was constantly on the lookout to have those memories reignited by watching the films again.<BR/><BR/>I was not alone in this pursuit, my friends would largely watch the same films (especially if I recorded them). This was definitely tied to my love of <I>Dungeons & Dragons</I> (imagine my amusement and delight when I discovered <I>Hawk the Slayer</I> for the first time, and disappointment that his adventures were not continued). However, it was really a "chicken and the egg" sort of affair, with <I>Star Wars</I> being one of my earliest memories and introduction to fantasy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05646247954542936623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26910764685275750172009-03-30T12:28:00.000-04:002009-03-30T12:28:00.000-04:00Ray is easily one of the Patron Saints of Adventur...Ray is easily one of the Patron Saints of Adventure! I must have watched this movie (and all the Sinbads) two-dozen times as a kid. It was one of the first times I remember seeing a true 'fantasy' come to life!Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997164906328234122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60745051719047950912009-03-30T11:49:00.000-04:002009-03-30T11:49:00.000-04:00I've worked with a group here in the Bay Area that...I've worked with a group here in the Bay Area that puts together film festivals, and our first big one was in 2004, the "Dynamation Celebration". I put together a "Ray's Greatest Moments" slide show that ran before and between the films, and we had guests from today's SFX industry like Phil Tippet, who still love and are inspired by Ray's work. We had a display of original Harryhausen figurines and screened really gorgeous prints of "7th Voyage Of Sinbad" and (I think) "Earth vs The Flying Saucers". Seeing these on the big screen is wonderful, and we had a huge turnout. People still love this stuff.Robert Saint Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16063044279947754807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43520860648650350572009-03-30T11:35:00.000-04:002009-03-30T11:35:00.000-04:00I love Ray Harryhausen. He's perhaps the only movi...I love Ray Harryhausen. He's perhaps the only movie person I'd ever care to meet. He seems like a normal and amiable gentleman, unlike the bizarro types so common in Hollywood.<BR/><BR/>Of Harryhausen's movies, Jason and the Argonauts is my favorite. I'd love to try a PC party with a total number of 50 (just like the Argonauts) some day.<BR/><BR/>My favorite part of this movie is that with Talos. When Hercules and Hylas enter the valley of Talos, and when Talos first moves, is awe-inspiring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22257067057667164492009-03-30T11:07:00.000-04:002009-03-30T11:07:00.000-04:00Coincidentally, I rewatched 7th Voyage of Sinbad f...Coincidentally, I rewatched 7th Voyage of Sinbad for the umpteenth time this last weekend: the Cyclops from this movie has always been my model for what "real" RPG monsters should be like, as well as those glorious skeletons. (Isn't it a shame skeletons are such cheap monsters in most RPGs? I've never felt they got their due for the horrific abominations they are.)<BR/><BR/>I don't recall ever seeing these films in the theater, except for maybe the latest, even though I'm older than you. For me, they were a treat on the Sunday afternoon "TV matinee," which also rans those 50s sci-fi films I so love. <BR/><BR/>You're so right that these primed an audience, as it were, making them ready for F&F and other FRPGs. Between these and reading so many wonderful stories by Tolkien, Howard, Lovecraft, et al., picking up the dice seemed the most natural thing to do.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57632333092086785932009-03-30T10:21:00.000-04:002009-03-30T10:21:00.000-04:00Hi ya James,Ray Harryhausen was a genius. Both my ...Hi ya James,<BR/><BR/>Ray Harryhausen was a genius. Both my daughters have been exposed to his wonderful skills and they both agree that his skeletons are by far the spookiest of the bunch.<BR/><BR/>And, like you, I was also lucky enough to see all of those films in a theatre as a child. Nothing like watching that iron golem creak across the big screen!Gamer Dudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05006232842482959060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-74045269334494838842009-03-30T09:15:00.000-04:002009-03-30T09:15:00.000-04:00Oh, I agree, we need to give our kids the kind of ...Oh, I agree, we need to give our kids the kind of classical education we received if we're going to develop more roleplayers. In recent months, I've bought and had my kids watch: The War of the Worlds & Day the Earth Stood Still (both from the gloriously paranoid 50's), Forbidden Planet, Jason & the Argonauts, Dragonslayer, and Ladyhawke. I had forgotten about the old Sinbad movies. I'll have to hunt those down as well as Valley of the Gwangi and Rod Taylor's Time Machine.Balrog62https://www.blogger.com/profile/10524223991891502964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31383799491637897962009-03-30T08:47:00.001-04:002009-03-30T08:47:00.001-04:00Very cool. :) My son owns most of Harryhausen...Very cool. :) My son owns most of Harryhausen's work on DVD, & loves it. Jason & the Argonauts is one of my personal favourites -- I've always loved those skeletons. I still find claymation critters to be at least as scary as those created by modern CGI techniques. The skeletons & other monsters of Harryhausen just have a real, solid feel to them that's absent from most CGI monsters.Ian Sturrockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07449065244623947284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-28653264292061493342009-03-30T08:47:00.000-04:002009-03-30T08:47:00.000-04:00I probably ought to see that one of these days. th...I probably ought to see that one of these days. the extent of my Harryhausen literacy is his dinosaur stuff.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps not coincidentally, my games always have at least one opportunity to fight a dinosaur. (Another of the vast number of reasons I am as fond as I am of Eberron.)<BR/><BR/>V word: Suntsmod<BR/>Definition: A type of clay high in chalk, commonly found in the province of Sundt, from "Sundt's Mud".Rachel Ghoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765944479141792643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9149638501570472212009-03-30T07:36:00.000-04:002009-03-30T07:36:00.000-04:00I bought a copy of Jason and the Argonauts on DVD ...<I>I bought a copy of Jason and the Argonauts on DVD this weekend and watched it with my nine year-old daughter...I see no reason why my children should be deprived of the "classical education" I received when I was their age.</I><BR/><BR/>Best kind of father that. It's what me and my Dad used to do on Sunday afternoons, and it's what I want to do with my own (as yet hypothetical) sprogs. :-)Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com