Jason and the Argonauts (film): watch this only with the right mindset
I say that because it is pretty lame but was terribly ambitious at the time it was released. This movie came out in 1963 and had what was considered at the time to be a ludicrously high budget of $3 million. Unfortunately, despite their intentions of pushing the limits of special effects that existed at the time the movie managed to not make back its budget until years later.
I was not alive for a long time after this movie was created but did end up seeing it as a kid in the 80's. Certain scenes from the film still (kinda) held up in this time such as when they were fighting skletons or giant something or others.
i'm guessing that is Poseidon
Now before anyone gets too judgy-pants let us keep in mind that it was 1963 and there wasn't a whole lot in the way of CGI at the time. I don't think there were any computers outside of the ones they were using at NASA and those would all fit inside your micro SD card slot in your smartphone by today's standards. Therefore, when you consider that they had almost no technology to use, this film is pretty epic. They had to be extremely creative in order to pull these sequences off. The actors who were dealing with any of the mythical creatures had to be filmed fighting nothing and just guess where the claymation people would end up overlapping the second set of film that would later be put int.
That's pretty remarkable when you think about it and I would imagine it was unbelievable frustrating to deal with in the early 60's. Hell, it would drive us all crazy now even though we could probably snapchat a better film than this in an afternoon.
Basically, you should see this if you want a piece of history. The movie was largely well-received and it has become a cult classic that continues to pack late-night showings at theaters around the world for what can (and should) be considered truly revolutionary film techniques of the early 60's.
The film is based on Greek mythology and although it breaks from being exactly accurate on many occasions, it is widely regarded as being as accurate as can be expected given the film techniques that existed at the time.
If you go to watch this movie expecting it to be comparable to any sort of special effects that we have these days you will be disappointed. Go into the movie understanding that it was made OVER 50 YEARS ago, and you will be pleased and delighted at the film these guys were able to accomplish given the fact that they had almost no technology available to them at all.
That was one of my favorite movies as a kid in the 80s; I don't even dare watch it with a modern eye. I prefer to keep my warm and fuzzies intact!
i think that this strategy is the best one that people can have. I recently went back and watched Magnum P.I. ... one of my faves from my childhood and in 2 episodes i ruined it.
Man I know the feeling. We did that with MacGyver a few years back. I'm not even going to go near Knight Rider.
But that Mac Tornado Punch is still awesome. Apparently a 110 pound man can knock anyone out with it in one strike!
Hiii...gooddream
Great Post with Great Information.
The fascinating odyssey of Jason in search of the Golden Fleece. This is an adventure movie in the old style, with no pretensions, no pomposity... The genius and pioneer of the special effects Ray Harryhaussen gave us a handful of superhuman creatures who make things quite difficult for the brave Jason.
Some may think this special effects or the movie itself are obsolete. OK, now read this: the movie was made more than 43 years ago, Harryhaussen made them without computers or digital effects... so, show some respect!! In short: the movie is just fantastic.
I know this old film... Ah.... I go and look it one more time :)
lately, I notice that old movies are even better to look than the new film what Hollywood makes :)
when i was child this movie was my best intertainment but advantage of technology now a days it seems to me funny.
@gooddream watched this one about a decade ago, I thought it was decent. Don't be too harsh on them dear, like you said, it was 1963
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.
This movie reminds me that time does not pass in vain and that I already have some years jajajaj. It is always nice to visit you @gooddream this time, I do not come to invite you to see a post from mochima, but, to invite you to accompany me to a karaoke activity that I am organizing on a discord channel, I leave the address https://discord.gg/cwwQTN in case you accept to accompany me to move the energy with the music. One enjoys a different moment, and meets people from many different parts with different languages.
I leave you my best wishes and a big hug of good energy.
I went to an exhibit of the actual claymation figures used by Ray Harryhausen in the making of these movies, including these tiny little skeletons from this movie. They are SO small in reality, it's amazing.
My nephew loves Ray Harryhausen, the way he singlehandedly pioneered special effects at that point in history.
The story is straightforward boys own fare, with a little bit of layered Greek mythology on top as the movie cuts to the Gods on Mount Olympus, breaking up the action to comment on it, presenting the Gods as kinds of movie makers themselves.
One of the Gods is Pussy Galore from Goldfinger, which came out the following year, and in fact, the year before, she was in the UK cult series "The Avengers." Yep, Honor Blackman, who plays Hera is a British legend, and she's still alive in her nineties. I love Bond's response to her, when she tells him her name is "Pussy Galore:" Bond simply responds "I must be dreaming."
For British geek fans, this movie also has the second Dr Who, Patrick Troughton, as the old guy who is tortured by harpies. At the time, William Hartnell was still Dr. Who, but Troughton was more popular when he took over, and thanks to him, the show is still on air.
My favorite monster in this movie was definitely Telos, because the dude looked like a real statue, and there's something so freaky about a giant statue moving towards you. That's the stuff adventurous boys dream about. When they're not thinking about Pussy Galore, of course. :)
Okay, so that's something different bringing an over 50 years old movie into limelight by reviewing it, Although I prefer not to watch a mythology based film, but yes if you are up here rating this film 8 on 10, then I will surely watch it:)