To regain his rightful place as the King of Thessaly, Jason must traverse deadly seas to the land of Colchis where a Golden Fleece of magical powers is housed. Assembling a crew of the toughest men around, and aided by the Goddess Hera, Jason and his Argonauts set sail unbeknown that perils await at every port.
Directed by Don Chaffrey and featuring some of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen's best work, Jason And The Argonauts is still entertaining families over 50 years since its original release. For sure it's got a "B" movie heart, and no film in this genre is without a high cheese quota, but it's technically one of the genres best and for daring do shenanigans it has no peers. The gorgeous Meditteranean photography courtesy of Wilkie Cooper (Dynamation 90) goes hand in hand with the boisterously mythical score from Bernard Hermann, while Chaffrey's direction of the human aspects is solid and safe in preparation for Harryhausen's magic to move in and take over.
The cast may not cover themselves in glory, and yes at times some of them are a touch wooden, with only Honor Blackman (Hera) and Nigel Green (Hercules) seemingly able to grasp the sense of fun that is meant to be had. But really it's a minor itch, for when you have a big quest adventure containing harpies, a hydra, a giant bronze statue intent on destroying all, clashing rocks, angry gods and a brilliant Harryhausen skeleton army - well it's all good really isn't it! 9/10
Directed by Don Chaffrey and featuring some of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen's best work, Jason And The Argonauts is still entertaining families over 50 years since its original release. For sure it's got a "B" movie heart, and no film in this genre is without a high cheese quota, but it's technically one of the genres best and for daring do shenanigans it has no peers. The gorgeous Meditteranean photography courtesy of Wilkie Cooper (Dynamation 90) goes hand in hand with the boisterously mythical score from Bernard Hermann, while Chaffrey's direction of the human aspects is solid and safe in preparation for Harryhausen's magic to move in and take over.
The cast may not cover themselves in glory, and yes at times some of them are a touch wooden, with only Honor Blackman (Hera) and Nigel Green (Hercules) seemingly able to grasp the sense of fun that is meant to be had. But really it's a minor itch, for when you have a big quest adventure containing harpies, a hydra, a giant bronze statue intent on destroying all, clashing rocks, angry gods and a brilliant Harryhausen skeleton army - well it's all good really isn't it! 9/10