The fighting skeleton sequence from "Jason" is iconic movie magic.

It wasn’t that his stuff looked real, but that it looked awesome. Beautiful art. Better than real.

I dearly loved Mr Harryhausen's great films as a kid. At the age of 70 now, I still do. His like will never come again. ❤

I had the honour of meeting Ray Harryhausen back in 2002, when he received an honorary doctorate the same year I graduated from art college where I’d been studying theatre & film design. It was probably one of the most incredible moments of my life. Once I’d got my nerves under control, I told him that his work had had a huge impact upon myself & countless others on the course. A few years later in 2005, after I’d moved to London, I got to meet another of my idols...the imposing & utterly awesome Sir Christopher Lee (he was making an appearance to promote one of his heavy metal albums). He signed my copy of The Wicker Man & was more than happy to talk about that & his roles with Hammer Films.

I’m 38 and I still vividly remember nightmares I had as a kid about those skeletons. I absolutely love stop motion.

I think the stop motion jerkiness makes the monster more scary. It's an unnatural surreal visual that conveys something other worldly. The "fake" to me was an element that haunting mysterious creatures from another place unknown to mankind possessed. A magical element.

That scene with Medusa in Clash of the Titans haunted me as a child! One of the creepiest and dread-filled sequences in film to this day. There's something magical about stop-motion that cannot be duplicated by CGI technology.

Holy crap..the narrator is also a legend..Tom Baker (Dr. Who) who also stared in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. I met Mr. Harryhausen at a convention. Got to sit down at the lobby and chat with him for a little bit. Nicest man you would ever meet. He signed some stuff for me also. Such a great memory.

You know what's incredible is that according to the video he animated that skeleton after 20 years and look at how believable and smooth it turned out at the end! Harryhausen was a master at his craft. May he rest in peace.

Back in the day when special effects really were 'special'. As an impressionable little kid, I was mesmerised by Harryhausen's effects and even now, nigh on 4 decades later, I'm still thrilled watching these old movies.

Thank you, KZfaq algorithm, for suggesting this to us 8 years later! : )

I'm very glad my first movie-going experience was 1987's "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids", because watching stop-motion ants and scorpions fighting tiny humans next to giant Lego blocks on the big screen was like seeing magic for the first time. Inspired me to make my own stop-motion Lego movies as a teenager.

The man was an absolute genius!🤗👌👍

Harryhausen? It's impossible to get a reservation there!

I had the absolute privilege of sitting in on a lecture given by Mr. Harryhausen a few years ago in Vancouver. A truly amazing man. I could hype up how interesting his insight and commentaries were, but I think I'll share a rather weird detail instead: The man had the hands of a titan. Absolutely enormous. That always stuck with me, because you might think such beefy mittens might make it harder to produce such finely detailed and lifelike animation. Obviously this was not the case.

Never spent much time with my father but we always used to enjoy watching Jason and the Argonauts together, my father is an old fashioned sort of guy and we both had an appreciation for the artform, Thanks Ray

Watching any of the Harryhausen movies as a kid took me to another place that was magical.....kids today will never understand what seeing these creatures back in the days did to us and our imaginations!!!

He will forever live in our minds and our hearts, long live Jason and the Argonauts!!!!!!

I remember I was just a young boy when my father was watching Jason and the Argonauts on TV. When I saw that statue turn his head, that creeped me out for years. I still got a chill when I saw it here. Thank God for Ray Harryhausen. Without him, even today's films would be much less interesting.

2:09 I forgot how the first Terminator was bordering on being a damn horror movie lol

Rip Ray I grew up watching and loving your stop motion :)

I saw 7th Voyage of Sinbad as a kid when it came out, we were sure lucky to have a movie maker like him. Let's not forget the great music he had in a lot of his movies. Thanks for sharing.

It's great that this got made before he died. What patients he had. His concentration and inventiveness were amazing! 👀

I didn't realise until I saw the credits at the end that that was the voice of Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor Who, who was narrating. And it's fitting, because he played Koura in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (that's him at 24:25 in this), and it was this role that brought him to the attention of the Doctor Who showrunners and got him the part. Harryhausen was simply the greatest special effects maestro of all time. His influence was phenomenal. At the time he retired after Clash of the Titans in 1981, the Star Wars trilogy was in full swing, and stop motion played a massive part in those films- the Dejarik board from A New Hope, the Tauntauns, the space slug and the AT-AT's from Empire Strikes Back, the Rancor from Return of the Jedi, and I think they used a lot of it in the space battles of all three as well. I've seen a lot of the latest CG-heavy effects-based blockbusters from the last few years- the MCU films, the new Star Wars trilogy, the Monsterverse, but the stop motion marvels of Harryhausen still amaze me to this day. Medusa may be his greatest work, but I still have to cite the duel against Kali as my favourite.

Back when special effects were actually special! If it wasn't for Ray Harryhausen and Willis Obrian we probably wouldn't have Godzilla or Jurassic Park!

Ray Harryhausen - genius at work. I still think the skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts were easily as effective as the Terminator robot sequence at the end of that movie.Brilliant.

That is true movie art! The patience and discipline to create these models and animate them is amazing. His best work in my opinion is GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD.

Harryhausen's animation was so friking awesome at the time his work was produced! As a child, and as a teen watching his art in the movies, I was taken away to a realm where the incredible became real and alive. I will be eternally thankful for his contributions to the art.

I grew up watching these movies on Tv and Theater. I miss those days. Ty Harry! Ty for all you did.

This is so much more magical then most CGI these days.

Watching the stop motion at the theater as a 10 year old was magical.

The Medusa-scene frightened the shit out of me as a kid... i really couldn't sleep and got nightmares. Seeing it today, still gives me chills. Of course the effects are not more up to date, but the way the tension is built up, the atmosphere of this scene, the sound... in combination it is absolutely breathtaking work, still today!

This is painstaking work. I salute you Ray Harryhausen!

Ray's patience and love and dedication to his outstanding craft and talent brought us TRUE movie magic and really made us dream. You could basically taste the periods in which his movies were playing. And I will forever respect this man and his works. Watching his films as a kid and then later re-watching them as an adult is an everlasting experience that just always amazes you and leaves you speechless. Mister Harryhausen, you will be sorely missed. It has been a true honor to have you among us.

Ray transported me to those adventures, when I was a child I wanted to be in Clash of the titans... He is one of the great artist that led me to study cinema, and now teach it. Forever in his debt.

When I was a Senior in High School in 1983, My friend Doug and I did a FIVE MINUTE Short film "Return to Hoth" in my back yard. We started over Winter/Christmas Vacation and ENDED JUST Before we Graduated! But we DID Get an 'A' on our project for Film Class! We even added Sound and "Blaster Bolts"! It still exists SOMEWHERE in our High School's Film class Archives! So for a FIVE MINUTE Piece of short film... it took us almost SIX MONTHS of hard work! But DAMN it was SO COOL! And the "REBELS" Won this time! :D

My 10 y.o. daughter saw "Jason and the Argonauts" 3 years ago when she was 7, and she couldn't sleep for 2 nights; I saw it for the first time decades ago when I was 10 or 11 and could never forget it

RIP Mr. Harryhausen for brining childhood fantasy movies like "Jason and the Argonauts" alive. Also RIP Forrest J Ackerman (who I had the pleasure of meeting in the 80's). Incidentally Peter Jackson has most of Forrest J Ackerman's collection now of days.

Having grown up with Ray's flicks was so special. He truly created an alternate reality for kids of the 50's & 60's.

His stop motion work completely blew people away back in the day .Ray was a master at his craft

R.I.P. Ray F. Harryhausen 1920 - 2013. We will*NEVER* forget you ray, You have been such an incredible inspiration to us all, And you *ALWAYS* and forever will be a stop motion animation legend to us. For everything and all the spectacular films you and your dear friend Charles H. Schneer and most especially your life long idol Willis H. O'Brien have made in the past century, You 3 have such *INCREDIBLE INSPIRING MIND-BOGGLING and UNBELIEVABLE* talent! And that is what makes you all so very special to the world of cinema. And in conclusion, God bless you Ray, Thank you for all of the spectacular work you have done and created for us all, And we'll see you in heaven. 😇😇😇😇😇 3/11/2020.

I enjoyed seeing that. Especially Ray animating the skeleton!

35 years old and i spent so much of my childhood watching this legend's films on the weekends and the holidays. They're so magical and enchanting and enduring. Absolutely love'em.

I loved these movies growing up. I still watch 7th Voyage and Jason every once in a while

His work was amazing! Everything seemed so lifelike, so fluid and realistic. The characters moved and reacted, just the way you would imagine. I was always amazed.

He was the master & a lot of people don't even know who he is.

As a kid model builder I always thought the stop motion effects were the the best part of those B movies and Ray Haryhausen was the king. I watched his movies🐲 every Saturday afternoon.

my father told me a few times how those movies back then were like nothing else. they didn't know what cg was, so for them stop motion felt very real. i think that maybe my grandchildren will witness something even more realistic in the future, and talk about how cg and stop motion are "not real enough". times change.

THANK YOU RAY!!! For bringing to life so much of the imagery of our past. The Myths and Dinosaurs..... wonderful subjects.....Thanks again for making fine so many youthful memories!

I still think stop motion can be used today, especially to instill horror from the alien-like motion. It was effective in The Terminator and the cartoon series Courage the Cowardly Dog Show.

Ray was an amazing talent! I remember watching most of his films on TV as kid until, finally I got to see a double feature in 1981 with Clash of the Titans and Dragonslayer... That was one of the most memorable movie experiences of my life!

The skeleton battle will always be my favorite of his, but the fluidity of those Kali motions.. wow

I have been a Harryhausen fan since the mid 1960's, and have collected EVERYTHING he's made, including his children's story short. He will forever be the master of stop motion animation! He wrote the Stop Motion Animation Bible, which IS STILL the go to manual that is still used today.

In my youth there was Saturday morning cartoons and there were Saturday afternoon Sinbad or Jason And The Argonauts sometimes Kong vs Godzilla programming. Loved his genius thank you bud! 💯

Oh wow I think I watched every single one of those films such great memories!

I still get goosebumps seeing Talos stepping down from his plinth - scared the crap out of 6yo me back in the day! The empty eyes...

Man, what painstakingly detailed work.

Jason and the Argos just incredible saw it when it came out. Never forgot it RIP Ray

Love Harryhausen. So glad to stumble on this doc.

Even as a small child, I knew the animation in Jason and the Argonauts was hand-crafted. That didn't take away from the experience, it added to it. That fact alone made it seem amazing.

This watch was not only informative, it was refreshingly fun and a voyage through childhood. Thank you very much for the upload.

I do have to say, I might be a weird one but when a newer movie uses stop motion/Practical effects over digital I can't help but love it! It gives everything such an amazing look and you can feel the passion that the animator had for it when making it

I'm old enough to have seen the last two Harryhausen movies at the theater, but as a kid I was able to see "Jason and the Argonauts" at a Saturday matinee and it was mesmerizing. The Talos sequences in particular just took our breath away. During a trip to London in 1989 there was an exhibit at a film museum I attended, and it included pretty much all of Ray's existing models and armatures from his entire cinematic legacy.

Fascinating documentary of the man behind stop motion animation . Ray Harryhausen is a legend !

hail to the king Ray will live forever

Ray Harryhausen the god of special effects

Artist, Engineer, Historian, Teacher, Father, Leader, Veteran, Genius!

Have loved his work since I was a child! Because of him I would make a wide variety of monsters out of clay & spend hours playing with them!

The narrators voice is the narrator from the PC game, Hostile Waters. Fascinating.

A truly amazing talent

He was a genius, loved his movies!!

What a incredible ARTIST ! One man : building the subject, lighting, filming and moving frame by frame with hundreds of captions for a few seconds of action ! today's end credit's R ridiculous 1000's of people roll by with absolutely no meaning to the viewer !

This man deserved a Nobel Prize for his work. But the most humble people are the ones who are often overlooked.

The Valley of Gwangi is the movie that I loved

Wes Anderson has kept the tradition alive with Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs. The matted real animal fur is a direct reference to King Kong. The Lego Movies at least try and capture the feeling of stop motion fan films. It would be great for more directors to get the opportunity (budget and time) to make stop-motion films, I am sure there is an audience for it and creators that would want to use it.

What a creative and technical force Ray Harryhausen was - his place in movie history is secure !

Back in 1997 when it was revealed that director George Lucas announced he was working on what he called the prequels, I was collecting this magazine called Wizards and this particular issue was keeping updates on casting and bits of description on story details and one of those was about 'shape shifting battle Droids', I thought of the creepiness of the warrior skeletons.

Stop motion isn’t dead. Kobe and the Two Strings was 100% stop motion, was also amazing, and came out in 2016

Stop motion monsters still register as something that is actually there.

I grew up watching this mans work. There was something magical but at the same time terrifying about stop motion animation.

Ray is an absolute legend. These were the movies that had me on the edge of my seat as a kid! Can we just also mention Tom Baker (Prince Koura, Golden Voyage Of Sinbad/4th Dr Who) for his sublime narration on this video. Wonderful!

I hear Tom Bakers voice in the narration? Great!

His monsters scared me when I was a child... especially at how eerie they move

He made the unblievable BELIEVABLE! Gotta give Bernard Herrman's accompanying music a special nod too.

What got me in Jason was the matching. And zero edge line issues. Ray loves his multiarmed babes, but I'll take the hydra any day over them. Back watching Kong, his rex fight may still be the ultimate for me, because of the quality of it's light and size. Perhaps a certain softness related to film stock, lighting, and some filtering to soften. Of course the background and foreground elements are weaved in beautifully. It's a tremendous scene. However, I have all eight of the first edition cold cast skeletons on my mantle, and love 'em.

James Cameron made The Abyss yet stop motion animation was one of the most grueling experiences of his life.

I enjoyed the Christmas specials through the 1960s while I never tire of viewing Jason and the argonauts, I still get something new each time

I'm 47 years old and my favourite childhood movie was "Clash of the Titans" featuring the nail-biting scene with Perseus in Medusa's lair. I watched it recently and Mr Harryhausen's stop-motion work still stands the test of time. Absolutely phenomenal stuff! What a legend he was!

"we dismembered this crab and crammed in a mechanism" Ice Cold

The skeleton scene in Jason is perfect. The acting and music are prefect too.

It felt like dozens of times that I saw Jason and the Argonauts when I was a kid in the 60’s. My friend and I would imitate Talos when he came alive, jerky motion and all! That and of course, the skeleton battle. Oh, what a great time it was.

Ray was a huge part of my childhood...

RESPECT!!! LOVE YOU MISS YOU MAN REST IN PEACE AND PARADISE!!!

There is a person on KZfaq who speeds up his work to 60fps, and I would take stop motion and practical effects over CGI any day.

Ray had a sense of patcience that was other worldly...

Medusa from Clash of the Titans haunted my dreams as a child.

Jason and the Argonauts was great!

The original Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark used a lot of stop-motion, as I recall. Harryhausen paved the way, but Spielberg and Lucas took it to another level. I don't think the Star Wars movies got any better after CGI took over everything. I'd say the storytelling went downhill as soon as the technology made it possible to present ANYthing they could imagine. It's weird how things change. The elaborate stop-motion and later CGI were supposed to make it possible to FINALLY make sci-fi and fantasy films that didn't look cheesy. You could FINALLY do justice to the writer's vision. But they no sooner got that capability than the story became subservient to the spectacle, rather than the spectacle described in the text being fully realized, without compromise.

I loved those movies as a child and i still love them today. :D

I used to LOVE his movies when I was a kid. They'd usually come on tv on Sunday afternoons. His characters had real personality.