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Throughout the years, there have been countless monster movies made about nuclear radiation and nuclear waste. Some of the world's most popular movie franchises spawned from this incredibly niche genre, with monster movies going on to be popular for decades. Even today, monster movies still pull an incredibly large audience, with franchises like Godzilla and King Kong continuing to release films every few years or so. Still, the sorts of monsters that have made the biggest impact on this genre of kaiju-centric monster films are the ones born from the rise of nuclear power across the world.

Initially gaining popularity in the 1950s, these monster movies first rose to prominence out of the desire to portray the horrors of nuclear warfare. After the end of World War II, the terrors of nuclear war were fresh in filmmakers' minds, and so many of film's most iconic monsters were born. This golden era was only the beginning,...

Mill Creek’s latest disc collection gathers three Columbia Sci-fi faves and throws in a Blu-ray debut for a fourth. It’s a good selection: two giant Ray Harryhausen monsters, one marginal bad-taste Sam Katzman zombie epic, and a quirky Lou Costello comedy with Dorothy Provine doing a wholesome take on Allison Hayes’ biggest role. Do these encodings measure up to fancier editions? We give them a spin.

Sci-Fi from the Vault: 4 Films

Blu-ray

Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock

Mill Creek Entertainment

1955-1959 / B&w / 303 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 29.99

Starring: Richard Denning; Kenneth Tobey & Faith Domergue; William Hopper & Joan Taylor; Lou Costello & Dorothy Provine.

Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Sidney Miller

Disc collectors are now tempted weekly by plenty of interesting disc releases...

I loved old monster movies when I was a little kid. I couldn't get enough of bug-eyed mutants, lovestruck fish-men, and giant ants in the drains of Los Angeles. I especially got a thrill from enraged creatures rampaging through a city, so Ray Harryhausen's "20 Million Miles to Earth," "It Came From Beneath the Sea," and "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" were particular favorites. I just wanted the destruction to go on and on, and I always cried when the beast died at the end.

If Harryhausen is commonly known as the master of stop-motion animation, giving us such...

The post Securing Funding For the Original King Kong Was Almost As Impressive As the Film Itself appeared first on /Film.

It was 40 years ago, in June 1981, that Clash of the Titans, the last film to feature the stop-motion animation effects of Ray Harryhausen, was released.

Starring a then-unknown Harry Hamlin, along with veteran stars like Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Burgess Meredith, and Ursula Andress, the film was loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus (Hamlin), weaving in strands of other mythologies and legends and putting its hero into conflict with creatures like the Kraken, Calibos, Medusa the Gorgon and a two-headed dog named Dioskilos.

“Greek and Roman myths contained characters and fantastic creatures that were ideal for cinematic adventures,” wrote Harryhausen in his memoir, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life. “If some of the adventures were combined with 20th century storytelling, a timeless narrative could be constructed that would appeal to both young and old.”

Harryhausen was already a filmmaking legend by the time he began work on Clash of the Titans.

The always delightful Doctor Z hangs with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante while discussing a few of his favorite monkey movies.

Dr. Z – Tmtmm Pod Mentions

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Planet of the Apes (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Escape From The Planet of the Apes (1971)

Battle For The Planet of the Apes (1973) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

Schindler’s List (1993)

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021)

King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

King Kong (1933)

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Godzilla (1954) – Don Coscarelli’s trailer commentary

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Stalag 17 (1953)

In The Heat Of The Night (1967) – Michael Schlesinger’s trailer commentary

King Kong Escapes (1967)

Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932)

The Sorrow And The Pity (1972)

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

It Came From Beneath The Sea...

A never ending mission to save the world featuring Ron Perlman, Peter Ramsey, James Adomian, Will Menaker, and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Karado: The Kung Fu Flash a.k.a. Karado: The Kung Fu Cat a.k.a. The Super Kung Fu Kid (1974)

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Nobody’s Fool (1994)

The Hustler (1961)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Mean Dog Blues (1978)

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

Mona Lisa (1986)

The Crying Game (1992)

The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990)

Ridicule (1996)

Man on the Train (2002)

The Girl on the Bridge (1999)

Pale Flower (1964)

Out of the Past (1947)

The Lunchbox (2013)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Raw Deal (1986)

Commando (1985)

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

The Last Man On Earth (1964)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers...

Animal horror is a genre. Think Cujo or Pet Semetary. The monster movie is also its own genre, like Cloverfield or Godzilla. But there's one sub-genre that blends the two, turning ordinary animals into giant monsters.

Related: The 10 Best Killer Animal Movies, Ranked

The earliest examples of these films are King Kong (1933), and Them! (1954), as well as It Came From Beneath The Sea and Tarantula, both being released in 1955. Since the genre's beginning, audiences have had an undying thirst for more. Some of the genre's creations are cinema-altering blockbusters that change the way we look at film, while others are nothing more than B-movie tragedies, destined to be forgotten forever. Here the 5 best (and 5 worst) giant animal horror movies in cinematic history.

Oh to be a child in the ‘50s; Saturday matinees, boxed popcorn and cheap soda, flung in the air as the latest nuclear tinged monster loomed over the screen, impartial in its destruction of the masses. That feeling of wonder and awe is definitely present in It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), a fairly pro forma Atomic blast heightened immeasurably by the effects magic of Ray Harryhausen.

Released stateside in July as the top half of a double bill with Creature with the Atom Brain by Columbia Pictures, It Came pulled in close to $2 million against a $150,000 budget, and critics were dismissive except for Harryhausen’s wizardry. I can understand the under evaluation, although I think there’s a little more besides the show stopping effects that helps It Came work.

But first, a radioactive retelling: Naval Commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey – The Thing from Another World) is taking the...

Scream Factory is looking to give you plenty of reasons to scream for joy this summer with their latest announcements of upcoming Blu-ray releases, including the Hammer's Frankenstein Created Woman (featuring Peter Cushing), three Universal horror movies from the ’50s, and the chilling supernatural film The Entity (which will include a new interview with Barbara Hershey).

Frankenstein Created Woman Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "It’s the year of Hammer Films for us as you can already tell and we have yet another one planned for the Summer. Frankenstein Created Woman (starring legendary star Peter Cushing) is being prepped in Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release!

Here are the early details we have at present time:

• National street date for U.S. only (Region A) is June 11th.

• Release will come with a slipcover (guaranteed for three months after its original release date).

• The newly-commissioned artwork pictured comes to us from Mark Maddox...

Nick Aldwinckle Oct 30, 2017

This month's round up of genre DVDs and Blu-rays features Ray Harryhausen, Willard, rats on the rampage and more...

The underappreciated ‘nature gone wild’ porn horror movie subgenre has a somewhat patchy history, with a viewer’s search more likely to end up in some SyFy channel Megapterranoshark Versus Crocosaur cul-de-sac than something of the calibre of a Jaws or Arachnophobia. Sharks, spiders and gators are all well served, though (alongside the glaring lack of a movie adaptation of Guy N. Smith’s glorious Night Of The Crabs books) rodents have had something of a raw deal.

See related 26 new TV shows to watch in 2017

Fear not, though, faithful readers: we’re not going to drift off into Stuart Little territory just yet (that’ll be next month’s Stuart Little IV: The Rattening), as this month brings with it not one but two seventies rat-themed monster movie classics (well,...

Since the early days of home video Ray Harryhausen’s films have been a lightning rod for companies eager to one-up the competition with bigger and brighter releases of the beloved animator’s work. Located in the UK, Powerhouse/Indicator is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with lavishly appointed blu ray sets each featuring three of his films. Though all these movies have been previously released through other companies, Powerhouse has upped the ante with fresh transfers and a broad slate of new extras.

The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Vol. One: 1955-1960

Blu-ray – All Region

Powerhouse/Indicator

2001 / 1:85 / Street Date September 25, 2017

Starring Kenneth Tobey, William Hopper, Kerwin Matthews

Cinematography: Henry Freulich, Irving Lippman, Carlo Ventimiglia, Wilkie Cooper

Film Editor: Jerome Thoms, Edwin H. Bryant, Raymond Poulton

Produced by Sam Katzman, Charles H. Schneer

Music: Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Bernard Herrmann

Directed by Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Jack Sher

It Came from Beneath the Sea...

A Mixed Bag In A Big Box

By Darren Allison

‘I was there; I was in that picture, fighting the Cyclops on the beach, running from the dragon! I was enthralled. It's one of my strongest childhood memories.’ It’s very hard to argue with director John Landis’s vivid account of his earliest memories and the fantasy films of Ray Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer. They seemed to touch us all in an indelible manner and took us into a fantasy realm far beyond our imagination. Indicator has (for the first time in the UK) combined the three Sinbad adventures in one very handsomely produced package. It’s a magical box that has very little trouble in sending us on a journey, and back to a place called innocence…

The Seventh voyage of Sinbad (1958) was something of a revelation back in its day. Ray Harryhausen’s pioneering stop-motion...

March 21st is a big day for cult film fans, not to mention all you RoboCop enthusiasts out there, as Tuesday has a variety of horror and sci-fi offerings that you’ll undoubtedly want to add to your home entertainment collections. Scream Factory is releasing a pair of amazing Collector's Edition Blu-rays for RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3, and Kino Lorber is keeping busy with a trio of HD releases, too: Chamber of Horrors, Invisible Ghost, and A Game of Death.

Other notable titles making their way home on March 21st include Wolf Creek: Season One, Eloise, John Waters’ Multiple Maniacs, and Frankenstein Created Bikers.

Chamber of Horrors (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)

Newly Mastered in HD! Chamber of Horrors was based on the classic novel, The Door with Seven Locks by Edgar Wallace (King Kong, The Terror) - it was the second Wallace adaptation brought to the States by Monogram Pictures.

As a special exclusive for Daily Dead readers, we have Carl Kelsch’s new short film, For My Facebook, available to watch now. Also in today’s Horror Highlights: Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan Blu-ray / DVD release details, info on Europe’s 4K Uhd Blu-ray release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and a Q&A with Restoration director/co-writer/co-star Zack Ward.

Exclusive: Watch the Short Film For My Facebook: Press Release: “It all started with a funny image that popped in writer/director Carl Kelsch’s head: a play on words that yielded the final shots of ‘For My Facebook’ (To say more would spoil the ending). With only a few directing credits under his belt, he recruited jack-of-all-horror-trades Louie Cortes (Dir. of Attack of the Brain People, writer of Blood Slaughter Massacre) to do Sound. Kelsch, who also operated the camera, got input from Cortes on blocking and framing.

The most honest magicians never use the word “magic” – they’re illusionists; they make believable that which can’t possibly be, and that’s what Harryhausen was: a master illusionist who made us believe that his table-top constructions of fabric and clay and metal were massive, mighty creatures out of legend, out of fantasy, out of our nightmares. He was a master of stop-motion animation; moving his creations a fraction of an inch per frame to create the illusion of flying saucers toppling the Washington Monument (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, 1956), a tremendous octopus threatening the Golden Gate Bridge (It Came from Beneath the Sea, 1955), or an impossible prehistory of cave men battling dinosaurs (One Million Years B.C., 1966). When he passed, a generation of filmmakers who’d grown up watching his work at movie house matinees and Saturday night monster movie TV slots saluted him, acknowledging how his work had inspired them.

For the third week of August, there are a handful of great horror and sci-fi titles being released this week on DVD and Blu-ray including Jim Jarmusch’s stunning vampire love story Only Lovers Left Alive, Ti West’s The Sacrament, Scream Factory’s high definition release of Leviathan and much more.

Spotlight Titles:

Only Lovers Left Alive (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

The tale of two fragile and sensitive vampires, Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton), who have been lovers for centuries. Both are cultured intellectuals with an all-embracing passion for music, literature and science, who have evolved to a level where they no longer kill for sustenance, but still retain their innate wildness. Their love story has endured several centuries but their debauched idyll is threatened by the uninvited arrival of Eve’s carefree little sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) who hasn’t yet learned to tame her wilder instincts.

There are no movies more fun to watch than 1950s science fiction. The first of these films went from the sublime to the ridiculous, from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) to Cat Women of the Moon (1953). But they all had something for fans who couldn’t get enough of the exciting and popular new genre. The results were mixed but when they were good, they were very good.

Science fiction films of the 1950s have a well-deserved reputation for being cheesy

The first wave of films appealed mostly to the young who were growing up in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. The genre went from the books fans were reading to movies easily. The special effects were new and exciting for viewers who accepted that space travel was possible, there was life on other planets and there were fantastic things on Earth yet to be discovered.

Science fiction films...

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in May at age 92. The Ray Harryhausen Super-8 Tribute which debuted in May at Wonderfest in Louisville, played to a standing room only crowd at the Way Out Club in July, and played at the Contamination Convention in St. Louis in August will be returning September 6th to the Horrorhound Weekend in Indianapolis. The Ray Harryhausen Super-8 Tribute will take place there on Friday, September 6th from 4 to 8pm. This is the Four Hour version of the show that played at The Way Out (Wonderfest and Contamination only the got the two-hour version). Admission is free when you buy a pass to the Horrorhound Weekend.

The Horrorhound Weekend site can be found Here:

http://www.horrorhoundweekend.com/

The Ray Harryhausen...

'Though audiences remain uneasy with extreme violence, they're unmoved by violence on an extreme scale'

The Golden Gate Bridge first met its big-screen demise in 1955, torn apart by a giant stop-motion octopus in It Came From Beneath The Sea. This weekend it faces yet another aquatic foe: a fearsome "Kaiju" monster in Guillermo del Toro's hulking mess of a creature feature, Pacific Rim. But where the malevolent mollusc of the 1950s threatened only one life (a courageous marine biologist named John, if you were wondering), today's beast kills hundreds, indiscriminately, before the film has even reached its title card. Sixty years ago we agonised over John's plight; now we look on with blasé indifference as scores of Johns and Janes are flung helplessly to their deaths.

A certain dispassionate approach to mortality has been part and parcel of the action genre since its earliest days, when tight censorship controls...

[Editor's note: Please welcome our newest contributor to Slackerwood, Matt Shiverdecker.]

There's an incredibly diverse slate of repertory films in town over the next week, starting with the continuation of the Traveling Circus series from the Austin Film Society. You'll want to head to the Marchesa for Max Ophuls' Lola Montes, a gorgeous Cinemascope spectacle bursting with colors that will leap off the screen in 35mm, tonight and Sunday night (Elizabeth's preview). For those of you who recently watched HBO's Love, Marilyn documentary, you won't want to miss out on Tuesday night's Essential Cinema selection of The Prince And The Showgirl, also screening at the Marchesa in 35mm.

The Paramount's Summer Film Series continues to serve up an eclectic batch of films over the next week including Wim Wenders' Wings Of Desire and a digital screening of Truffaut's new wave classic The 400 Blows at the Stateside, both happening tonight. Also on deck, an Audrey Hepburn double feature Saturday...

The Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its opening on May 27, 1937, and it seems like Hollywood has been doing its damndest to close the thing down ever since. The nearly two-mile-long wonder that connects California's San Francisco to Marin County has been the target of many ruthless attacks throughout movie history, from the earthquakes that might one day actually destroy the bridge to your garden variety monsters.

There's plenty of the latter on display in Guillermo del Toro monster mash "Pacific Rim," which eschews the typical landmark stomping of Kaiju movies … with the notable exception of pointy-headed beast laying waste to the Golden Gate in the film's opening prologue. Guess the temptation was too hard to resist, eh, Guillermo?

1. 'It Came From Beneath the Sea' (1955)

The late stop-motion animation genius Ray Harryhausen created the Kraken-like giant octopus for this '50s creature feature, although budget constraints forced him to remove...

Review Ryan Lambie 8 Jul 2013 - 08:00

Giant robots and monsters clash in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. Here's Ryan's review of one of the year's more eccentric major films...

In essence, Pacific Rim is a bar room brawl writ large. Huge robots slug it out with colossal monsters, battering them with iron fists and pummelling them with whatever comes to hand - in this case, boats and cargo containers take the place of chairs and pool cues. It's a wild, chaotic film - made all the better by director Guillermo del Toro's visual imagination.

In the near future, a rift in the depths of the Pacific ocean begins to spew out a menagerie of Kaiju: vast, dinosaur-like creatures bent on destroying everything in their path. To this end, the nations of the world club together to build the Jaegers - equally humongous robots mighty enough to take on the Kaiju in combat.

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. The Ray Harryhausen Super-8 Tribute on July 2nd at the Way Out Club will be a great way to honor the stop-motion wizard who breathed cinematic life into the gargantuan, the mythical and the extinct. Harryhausen created countless memorable big-screen moments from sword fighting skeletons to swooping pterodactyls, and from 8pm to Midnight, we will distill his entire career into an amazing show with the Super-8 sound films condensed from his films. The Super-8 sound format cuts features down to an average length of 15 minutes and Harryhausen’s films lent themselves to this format beautifully. The digest versions of the Ray Harryhausen films are cut around the animation, so there will be so many Harryhasuen monsters...

What's better than filming the most beautiful landmarks in the world? Blowing them up. Edited by Avaryl Halley.

 

Movies Included (Click to Buy):

National Lampoon's European Vacation | Team America: World Police | Uhf | GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Godzilla | Marvel's The Avengers | Mars Attack | Armageddon | V for Vendetta | Disney's Aladdin | Batman Forever | Cloverfield | Deep Impact | Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers | 2012 | Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 | Richie Rich | Superman The Movie | Judge Dredd | Independence Day | X-Men 3 | Monsters Vs. Aliens | The Core  | It Came From Beneath The Sea | War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave | San Francisco | Superman II | Superman III | 1941 | The Day After Tomorrow | The Rocketeer ...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...

The most honest magicians never use the word “magic” – they’re illusionists; they make believable that which can’t possibly be, and that’s what Harryhausen was: a master illusionist who made us believe that his table-top constructions of fabric and clay and metal were massive, mighty creatures out of legend, out of fantasy, out of our nightmares. He was a master of stop-motion animation; moving his creations a fraction o

f an inch per frame to create the illusion of flying saucers toppling the Washington Monument (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, 1956), a tremendous octopus threatening the Golden Gate Bridge (It Came from Beneath the Sea, 1955), or an impossible prehistory of cave men battling dinosaurs (One Million Years B.C., 1966). When he passed, a generation of filmmakers who’d grown up watching his work at movie house matinees and Saturday night monster movie TV slots saluted him, acknowledging how his work had inspired them.

It might seem strange to outsiders that the death of a 92-year-old former visual-effects man for B-movies should attract so much media coverage. But to begin to comprehend the impact that Raymond ‘Ray’ Harryhausen has had on the movie industry you only have to look at the names of those directors who claim him as their inspiration: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, George Lucas, Guillermo Del Toro, and then there’s the special effects gurus like Stan Winston, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker and Rob Bottin.

What’s even more incredible, considering the profound influence that Harryhausen had on the generations of filmmakers that came after him, is that he only ever made 16 feature films. Yet all of them (okay, with the possible exception of The Animal World) are regarded as classics, not only of the fantasy genre with which he is associated, but in their own right.

Besides waiting for a favorite film to pop up on TV, what did movie buffs do before home video? That’s not a rhetorical question because I have the answer: Super-8 millimeter Films! I’m not talking about the kind our dads made of us on vacation in the 60’s and 70’s but the kind that were sold at stores and through mail-order that were condensed versions of popular feature films. Ken Films, Castle Films, and Blackhawk were just some of the distributors of these digest versions of famous movies. I remember the ads that ran in the back of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine advertising mini horror films and I collected them as a kid. The 200 foot editions ran about eight minutes and the 50 footers just three and they were all silent. I have fond memories of my friends and I huddling in my basement watching Revenge Of The Creature...

Ray Harryhausen dies at 92: Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years B.C. special-effects ‘titan’ Long before the computer-generated imagery of Jurassic Park, Avatar, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3, there were special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen’s painstakingly created stop-motion models, which graced dozens of movies from the late ’40s to the early ’80s. Earlier today, Ray Harryhausen died at age 92 in London, where he had been living since the early ’60s. Among his movie credits are Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC, and the original Clash of the Titans. Born in Los Angeles on June 29, 1920, Harryhausen became interested in cinema’s visual effects after watching Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1933 blockbuster King Kong, featuring stop-motion effects by Willis H. O’Brien. "I came out of the theater awestruck," Harryhausen would reminisce to the Chicago Tribune in 1999. "It was such a totally different, unusual film.

Special effects pioneer inspired film-makers including George Lucas and Peter Jackson with 'sublime and fantastic' creatures

Stop-motion animation master Ray Harryhausen died Tuesday in London at 92. The Los Angeles-born special effects pioneer famous for his fighting skeletons and cowboy-fighting dinosaurs influenced generations of film-makers.

Harryhausen created complex and inspired monsters in his films including Mighty Joe Young, It Came from Beneath the Sea and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

His family said in a statement: "Harryhausen's genius was in being able to bring his models alive. Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray's hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right, just as important as the actors they played against and in most cases even more so."

Directors including George Lucas and Lord of the Rings' Peter Jackson credit Harryhausen with inspiring their work. Lucas once said there would be no Star Wars without Harryhausen,...

Special effects master on fantasy films including Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans

In 1933, the 13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at the cinema and was hooked – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre "stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done." It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen, who has died aged 92, was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. He created the special effects for fantasy films such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963), with its famous army of skeletons; and Clash of the Titans (1981).

He was born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen,...

When I think of Ray Harryhausen my mind immediately goes to 1981's Clash of the Titans. I was only four years old when it was released, but the movie lived on for years and still does to this day and I remember watching it over and over again. Today it saddens me to report Harryhausen has passed away at the age of 93. Harryhausen's work lives and breathes in today's films just as much as it did when he was creating stop-motion creature effects from the late '40s up until Titans in 1981 and his work has inspired legions of filmmakers from Peter Jackson and Tim Burton to Steven Spielberg and Sam Raimi. The way he worked was the true definition of animation and a life embodied by the phrase "where there's a will there's a way." The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation has issued a statement on their official Facebook...

He brought out dreams to life.

Raymond “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) died today at age 92, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering special effects work and a filmography that has deeply influenced writers, artists, and filmmakers for generations.

Dubbed by Starlog as “The Man Who Work Miracles”, he was one of the most influential movie makers who was himself inspired by Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion animation in King Kong. He took O’Brien’s efforts and improved upon them, branding it as Dynamation.

Although he resided in England for the majority of his adult life, Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. King Kong was the spark that set him on a course towards a career in film, meticulously creating miniatures that could be photographed a few frames at a time followed by the tiniest of movements, followed by more frames, until the model appeared to move across the screen. This...

London — When Ray Harryhausen was 13, he was so overwhelmed by "King Kong" that he vowed he would create otherworldly creatures on film. He fulfilled his desire as an adult, thrilling audiences with skeletons in a sword fight, a gigantic octopus destroying the Golden Gate Bridge, and a six-armed dancing goddess.

On Tuesday, Harryhausen died at London's Hammersmith Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for about a week. He was 92.

Biographer and longtime friend Tony Dalton confirmed the special-effects titan's death, saying it was too soon to tell the exact cause. He described Harryhausen's passing as "very gentle and very quiet."

"Ray did so much and influenced so many people," Dalton said. He recalled his friend's "wonderfully funny, brilliant sense of humor" and love of Laurel and Hardy, adding that, "His creatures were extraordinary, and his imagination was boundless."

Though little known by the general public, Harryhausen made 17 movies that...

Ray Harryhausen, the special effects master famed for such fantasy classics as Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC, Clash of the Titans and three Sinbad films, has died at the age of 92.

Los Angeles-born Mr Harryhausen died at his home in London on May 7, it has been confirmed.

Ray was known for his painstaking work using stop-motion animation to bring fantastical creatures to life on screen.

I was honoured to have the rare opportunity of an exclusive interview with Mr Harryhausen in 2010 following the release of a remake of Clash of the Titans.

Tribute was paid to the visual FX legend by Darren G. Davis, publisher at American comic book company Bluewater Productions, which has released a number of graphic novel sequels to Harryhausen's cinema classics.

In a statement, Darren G. Davis said: "Today we lost a master magician with the passing of Ray Harryhausen. Although deeply saddened by the loss,...

Stop-motion and VFX pioneer Ray Harryhausen passed away in London today at the age of 92, according to an announcement on the official Facebook page of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation. The multi-award winner best-known for "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," "Jason and the Argonauts," "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad," and "Clash of the Titans," became a cultural legend and an inspiration to every filmmaker that has worked in animation and live-action VFX movies from the ’70s to the present. Among his accolytes are Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Phil Tippett, Nick Park, and John Lasseter. Inspired by the ground-breaking stop-motion work of Willis O’Brien on "King Kong," which Harryhausen saw at the Chinese in 1933 with his boyhood friend, Ray Bradbury, the aspiring model maker and animator began his nearly 50-year career on "Mighty Joe Young" with O’Brien in 1949. Later came "It Came From Beneath the Sea...

Visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, whose sci-fi and fantasy creations were brought to life in such films as the original Clash of the Titans and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, died in London today, according to his Facebook page. He was 92.

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Born in Los Angeles on June 29, 1920, Harryhausen pioneered the stop-motion animation technique (he himself was inspired by watching the original 1933 King Kong and started out by making stop-motion films in his garage), bringing rubber and clay to life and fueling the imaginations of young moviegoers for decades, reaching back to such matinee favorites as Mighty Joe Young (1949), It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955), Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1955), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Mysterious Island (1961) and the Sinbad movies. Although the multi-award winner never won any Oscars for his hugely influential work (even the stop-motion Tauntauns in The Empire Strikes Back owe a debt to Ray), the...

Today we've lost one of the great innovative filmmakers of our time. Special Effects legend Ray Harryhausen passed away today at the age of 92. The iconic effects master created groundbreaking techniques that helped bring his awesome creatures and monsters to life on the big screen.

He not only sparked my imagination with films such as Clash of the Titans and Jason and The Argonauts, but he also inspired Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, James Cameron and several other amazing filmmakers of our time. I've included one of my all time favorite scenes that he created for Jason and The Argonauts. I've also included a video montage tribute to his work.

Harryhausen will be missed, and our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Below the videos, you'll find a full statement that was released by the family of Harryhausen.

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen

Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920

Died:...

Extremely sad news for every film fan today, Ray Harryhausen has passed away.

He was the visual effects pioneer behind such amazing and classic films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, It Came from Beneath the Seas, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, and so many others. His work touched and influenced millions of people around the world. It inspired many to become film-makers and visual effects artist themselves.

When I was very young I watched Jason and the Argonauts for the first time. It absolutely blew me away. I loved it. Every creature he created for the film is iconic, from Talos to the Harpies to the Hydra to the skeleton warriors. All of them are absolutely amazing creations. To this day it remains one of my favourite films, and the final battle between Jason and his Argonauts with the skeleton warriors...

Ray Harryhausen, the visual effects pioneer who worked on classic films including "Mighty Joe Young" (1949), "It Came From Beneath The Sea" (1955) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) passed away today, according to a statement from his family. The American writer and producer was 92 years old.

Harryhausen first became fascinated with animation after seeing Willis O’Brien’s work in "King Kong," which he saw in 1933 with his childhood friend Ray Bradbury. The two soon joined a science fiction league together and became lifelong friends. Harryhousen's first major motion picture, "Mighty Joe Young," ended up winning anOscar for Best Special Effects in 1949.

One of Harryhausen's greatest achievements was his the creation of his own animation technique, which he called DynaMation. The purpose was to allow live action to be "split" so that a model could be appear to coexist and interact directly with the actors. The technique itself is far more complicated,...

We’re sad to report that Ray Harryhausen died earlier today at the age of 92. The announcement was made by The Harryhausen family and they’ve released an official statement.

To classic movie fans, filmmakers, and those in the special effects industry, Ray Harryhausen needs no introduction. For our younger readers, Harryhausen’s stop-motion work breathed life into incredible creatures and inspired countless fans and filmmakers to dream bigger. Please take a look at the official statement below to familiarize yourself with some of Ray Harryhausen’s achievements and read quotes from filmmakers that have been inspired by his work.

While everyone has their favorite Harryhausen movie or creature, it was Jason and the Argonauts‘ skeleton fight scene that brought my attention to his work at a young age. At the time, it was one of the most incredible scenes I had watched in a movie, and I made sure...

"Legend" is not a word that should be thrown around lightly when used to describe someone; yet, Ray Harryhausen is one of the few to whom it applies and then some. It is with a truly heavy heart that we report this absolute genius is no longer with us.

The news comes directly from The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook Page, where the following message was posted:

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous with luminaries Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park [having] cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.

Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw...

Ray Harryhausen, a master of stop-motion animation and a true movie great, has died. He was 92. Born in Los Angeles in June 1920, Harryhausen's enthusiasm for the burgeoning form of animation was sparked by a viewing of Willis O’Brien’s King Kong as a wide-eyed 13 year-old. Two years later and he could be found crafting his own homemade animations, prototypes of the models he would quickly come to perfect in Mighty Joe Young (1949), It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955), 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957) and The Valley Of Gwangi (1969).Three Sinbad movies delivered classic monsters like the Cyclops and Homonicus, Jason And The Argonauts (1963) brought skeletons and Talos to the screen, while Clash Of The Titans (1981) delivered Medusa and unleashed a Kraken. All memorable; all maintained for posterity by the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation.Harryhausen's magic captivated young viewers like Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, all of whom are...

Stop-motion and special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen died today in London. He was 93.

Harryhausen was first entranced by stop-motion after watching Willis O'Brien's creations in 1933's King Kong. He dabbled in home movies before going on to create model animation for sci-fi films over the next 46 years. Harryhausen was particularly known for creating monsters, dinosaurs, apes, and other creatures that actually interacted with the actors of the films. His first feature was Mighty Joe Young in 1946, and he went on to do the special effects for films like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, It Came From Beneath the Sea, One Billion Years B.C., and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. One of his most famous scenes was in Jason and the Argonauts, in which Harryhausen created seven living skeletons that fight with human actors.

Jason and the Argonauts skeleton fight

Over the years, Harryhausen has received a number of awards,...

It is with a heavy heart that I relay this news. We have lost a hero of monster kids everywhere. Ray Harryhausen, the visual effects and stop-motion legend, has passed away today. The man with the unstoppable imagination and unparalleled love of movie-making and dinosaurs will be missed, but never forgotten. There won’t be another like him. Here is the family’s statement:

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen

Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920

Died: London 7th May 2013.

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.

Harryhausen’s...

Wow – I had planned a Harryhausen-themed Super-8 show but had put it off until the summer. Wish I had scheduled it for tonight. This is a shock and big news though I guess anyone who’s 92 should be expected to pass at any time. I’ve been a life-long fan of Harryhausen and will plan on writing a detailed tribute here soon.

From the The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook page:

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen

Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920

Died: London 7th May 2013.

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man...

Some very sad news has come in today in that the legendary master of visiual effects, a pioneer in his field, and one of the most influential effects designers in film history, Ray Harryhausen, has passed away at the age of 93. Come inside to check out the information straight from the man's family.

I'm not going to lie, when I say this has probably ruined my day. I'm far for the first (and nowhere near the most recognizable) filmmaker to say that Harryhausen was one of my primary influences in getting into film in the first place. Considering that I went to college for, and my specialization is, post-production and special effects, this was a man I've looked up to most of my life.

His films remain amongst my all time favorites and ones that I continue to view on a regular basis. His pioneering techniques in stop-motion animation helped...

Special effects legend and inspiration for many of today's most innovative directors, Ray Harryhausen has passed away at the age of 92. The iconic effects wizard created groundbreaking techniques that brought giant and horrifying monsters to life on the big screen for the first time.

Directors like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and James Cameron count Harryhausen as one of their key influences.

The family of Ray Harryhausen released a full statement, which you can read after the jump!

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen

Born: Los Angeles 29th June 1920

Died: London 7th May 2013.

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited...

Legendary visual effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator Ray Harryhausen has died. The multi-award winner was a major influence on many of the biggest film makers of today with the likes of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas and John Landis all citing his impact.

Over nearly five decades his work broke new ground and included such films as 1949's "Mighty Joe Young," 1955's "It Came from Beneath the Sea," 1958's "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," 1963's "Jason and the Argonauts," 1966's "One Million Years BC," and 1981's "Clash of the Titans".

Source: The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation...

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations. Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw Willis O’Brien’s creations in King Kong with his boyhood friend, the author Ray Bradbury in 1933, and he made his first foray into filmmaking in 1935 with home-movies that featured his youthful attempts at model animation. Over the period of the next 46 years, he made some of the genres best known movies – Mighty Joe Young (1949), It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955), 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957), Mysteriuous...