Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Arrow Films
June 28, 2016
Reviewed by Jess Landry
Though some may not be familiar with the name, the influence of Ray Harryhausen is one that still ripples in the films of today. Harryhausen was the king of stop motion effects; his most popular titles including 1981’s Clash of the Titans, 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts; and 1953’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
The team behind this documentary speaks to the who’s who of genre cinema on the impact of Harryhausen on their own work, from James Cameron to Guillermo del Toro, from John Landis to Steven Spielberg. The documentary includes insight from the man himself, with Harryhausen speaking directly about his own processes and how he got his start in film.
Special features include an audio commentary with director Gilles Penso, producers Alexandre Poncet, Tony Dalton and Timothy Nicholson; a thirteen minute featurette called “A Treasure Trove,” which showcases Harryhausen’s most well-known works that were featured at the Myths and Legends exhibition at the London Film Museum; full interviews with Edgar Wright, Peter Lord, Rick Baker, and Simon Pegg, plus interview outtakes from the many interviews done for the documentary. “A Message to Ray” is two minutes long and has a few notable names doing just that – delivering a personal message to Ray. Also included are a handful of deleted scenes; behind-the-scenes footage from the set of Sinbad; a Q&A from the Paris Cinematheque that runs eighteen minutes (in French with English subtitles); another Q&A with the filmmakers (and Harryhausen, too!) this time at the London Gate Cinema. Wrapping up the list is the trailer for the documentary and a trailer reel of all of Harryhausen’s work.
For fans of Harryhausen and his legacy, this documentary on the special effects titan is a definite must-have.
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