Creators: Ray Harryhausen

Creators

A growing list of influential artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Ray Harryhausen

This week, I've come back to the blogging game, and I couldn't think of doing a creators post about anyone other than Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), the father of special effects and stop motion animation.  The man is responsible for the state of digital effects we have today due to his own innovation and implementation of stop motion effects.  Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and so many others wouldn't have been inspired to create bigger without the movies the Harryhausen added his magic to.

But enough talk, lets get to showing off why Ray will never be forgotten.

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Now lets be clear, he didn't invent the process of stop motion animation.  Willis H. O'Brien invented the process for the film The Lost World (1925) and made famous in King Kong (1933).  Harryhausen was inspired by what he saw, and decided to get into animating.  What Ray did with stop-motion that set him apart was his ability to integrate complex creatures and actions into equally complex live-action sequences.  Mighty Joe Young was just the beginning.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms  (1953)

 

This one has one of my favorite Harryhausen creatures.  Who doesn't love a giant rampaging lizard.

It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)

You don't really need a plot for this one.  Giant octopus attacks San Francisco: GO.  Here we see Harryhausen's love of tentacled monsters first come out.  We'll see more of this later.

The Animal World (1956)

 Now here is a gem.  This sequence is full of old science and illogical anatomy, but Ray makes you believe those movements.  its in the details, the moving while remaining still that trick you into thinking its alive.

This brief clip was a test for one of his dream jobs, animating effects for a War of the Worlds rendition.  Sadly it never happened, but its still neat to see an animators fan art.  So lets move on from giant raidioactive monsters and get fantastic.

Earth Vs the Flying Saucers (1956)

No tentacles here, just spinning saucers.  Highly influential on Tim Burton, I must say.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

This is all kinds of Harryhausen awesome.  I love the movement of the cyclops the most.  Take a moment to realize that he had to think of these movements one frame at a time, at 30 frames per second. 

Mysterious Island  (1961)

Watch for the bee, its amazing.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

 Dynarama!

Now here is the most jaw dropping scene Ray ever did, in my opinion.  just enjoy it.

One Million Years BC(1966)

Dinosaurs and Raquel Welch: what more could anyone ask?

The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

 Gotta love Cowboys and dinosaurs. Watch that tail swish!

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)

Six armed sword fighting goddess... Take that General Grievous!

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Here we have arguably the most famous of his works.  Here we see Harryhausen, going out in style, by pulling out every trick he learned in his career: undulating snakes, flapping birds, jittery insects, graceful men, and twitching tentacles.  Here is the last example of his patented Dynarama, being put to good use.  I think his mind always existed in myth and fantasy; in the distant past or far into the future.  He lived through his imagination so we could expand our own.

Lets send him off right.  We'll miss you Ray.