Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Classic action

Special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen is perhaps the only technical person in the history of the film business to be treated as the primum mobile behind the films he worked on. In effect, to use the European cinema parlance- he was the auteur of his films; the directors were utterly interchangeable. In fact, the only constant through many of his classics was producer Charles Schneer. This is most evidenced in the 1963 action and fantasy classic Jason And The Argonauts, part of the five film DVD collection The Fantastic Films Of Ray Harryhausen, Legendary Monster Series put out by Columbia Pictures.
Technically, the film was directed by the notable non-notable director, Don Chaffey (most famed for his later One Million Years B.C.- with Raquel Welch, and directing a few episodes of the classic tv show The Prisoner), with a paper-thin screenplay by writers Beverley Cross and Jan Read. But....so what? Films like this utterly lack all pretense to being literate. There is nothing but quick moving plot, plot, plot, with a few tenuous scenes of character development early on. Yes, the film takes liberties with much of the mythos from Classical Greece- such as making Talos, the bronze statue, a Colossus, making Hercules a graying middle-aged man, and making the warriors summoned from the dead teeth of the Hydra, that Jason kills to get the famed Golden Fleece, skeletons, but this only enhances the camp effect. Plus, the breakneck sense of adventuring, plus the smug dalliances of the Olympic Gods from on high, perfectly echo the classical stories in their construction.
And, let's be honest, most of the great myths of yore were not known for realism nor character development, much less the nuances of narrative. Like the Harryhausen monster films- of which Jason And The Argonauts may be the best example (if only because of the complexity of the stop motion animation), the ancient myths were pure thrill rides, where people fell in love at first sight, swore vengeance over the deaths of people they barely knew, and generally were guided by folly and hormones. That a few of their tellers added a bit of sex, heavyhanded psychological development, etc., well....Perfect!.... The film does delve, however shallowly, into some deeper themes. As example, Jason is an Olympian agnostic, until Hermes delivers him to Zeus and Hera on Olympus. Yet, even there, he refuses Zeus's help. He believes that a belief in fellow men is more important. Even Zeus seems resigned to the fate that he and the rest of the Olympians are doomed to fade away once all men adopt Jason's attitudes. This, in turn, seems to be a spur to Zeus to throw extra dilemmas in Jason's path, even as Jason seems to advocate a limited belief in free will.
However, in such films, depth is a cherry on top, and there are, of course, things that make no logical sense; such as how do the sailors rebuild the Argo, after Talos destroys it? Where do their tools come from? Why would the Colchins need to depend upon seven skeletons to battle Jason's men when King Aeëtes has an army of hundreds or thousands? Yet, do such things really matter? Again, how many loose ends appear in myths from around the world? And the film's ending works because, again, it recaps the way the myths frenetically unwind, and then just end, often without morals. After all, now that Jason has gotten the Golden Fleece, his victory over Pelias is assured, and we don't need to really see that. After all, the film's title is Jason And The Argonauts, not The Revenge Of Jason. For, if it was, how the hell would he explain to the Argonauts his sudden fashion fetish for old time hockey masks?
September 13, 2008

Love the Skeleton Soldiers!

This is a great movie for kids. I remember seeing it in a kidde's theatre when I was young and it is still cute. Now I buy it for my 6th grade Ancient Civilizations class. The story of Jason having to steal the Golden Fleece is a Greek Myth and is told through stop-motion photography. I was entranced as a little kid and still enjoy it. September 2, 2008

A legendary adventure of monsters and mythology......

Before movies used CGI to bring fantasy to life, there was a brilliant, and painstaking medium called "Stop-Motion-Animation", where clay figures were posed and reposed ONE camera frame at a time, bringing life to an endless array of creatures and monsters, and Ray Harryhausen was the king of it all. Jason and the Argonauts is arguably Harryhausen's greatest showcase of his innovative genius. This is the age-old tale of Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, who is the rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly. To claim his birth-right, Jason must travel to the end of the world, and find the fabled Golden Fleece. A prize guarded by the deadly 7-headed Hydra. Jason's adventure takes him and his Argonauts across the sea, to various lands, where he must overcome such obstacles as fighting a 100 foot bronze statue, outwitting deadly harpies, and a climactic final battle with a grave-risen skeleton army of the fallen 'Children of the Hydra'. Filmed in Rome in 1961, and released in 1963, this is truly a masterpiece of cinematic magic, and a must-have for any fan of mythology, and classic fantasy adventure!! August 29, 2008

My search is over!

For years since a child, I have been searching for that movie that I once watched in a dark movie theater that terrified/entranced me with its music and "special effects" (which most kids nowadays scoff at, including my own) This movie, and its "cousins" the Sinbad movies, were the stuff of adventure/fantasy thrills of the youths from the 50's and 60's.I'll never forget my gasping at the giant iron soldier strolling upon the rocky beach to destroy the sailship trying desperately to escape its path.
Or the ships figurehead opening its eyes when talking to Jason. And now, I finally have this movie for my very own childhood memories! June 21, 2008

Reggie's Review

This is by far my favorite version of this classic. Has all of the mystery and fantasy, that is ideal for the entire family. May 30, 2008

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