Jason and the argonauts critics consensus don chaffeys jason and the argonauts is an outlandish, transportive piece of nostalgia whose real star is the masterful stopmotion animation work of ray. Working on a hot tip from a goddess, jason todd armstrong has figured out that techwizard ray harryhausens man of bronze is steampowered, with a valve in his heel, in jason and the argonauts, 1963. Director don chaffey directed jason and the argonauts 1963 which is one of my favorite stopmotion animation mixed with live action scenes. The film stars todd armstrong as jason, along with nancy kovack, honor blackman, and gary raymond. Unfortunately, the score to jason and the argonauts was edited a bit in the final film, and with a mono mix combined with dialogue and sound effects, much of herrmanns complex orchestration and arrangement fell through the cracks. Jason and the argonauts picks up on this aspect more than any other film on greek mythology that i have seen. Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of thessaly. Jason and the argonauts 3d animation film official website.
The greek tale of jason and the golden fleece has been told for 3,000 years. To enable todd armstrong to attack taloss heel, we had a full size. At the same time, he ordered his army to burn his ship, argos, and kill the argonauts. The first great quest in greek mythology 2016 is a picture book written and illustrated by robert byrd. Whats the story on the eve of wwii, a group of treasure hunters think theyve figured out the location of the fabled sunken ship of jason and the argonauts, a vessel whose contents are believed to contain the mythical golden fleece. The golden fleece, which jason himself had to fetch, was hung up in a thicket, and guarded by a fearful dragon, thicker and longer than the ship of the argonauts. However, jason was able to complete the tasks with the help of medea. And certainly harryhausens special effects are the highlight of this film, which is generally based on the ancient greek myth of. She warns jason, and the argonauts flee the island. Dec 19, 2003 eventually we decided on jason and the argonauts. The film has been cleaned up significantly, with hardly any specs or splotches to speak of. Stopmotion uses a small model of, say, a skeleton where one single film frame is photographed, then the model is moved very slightly and another frame is photographed. Pelias played by douglas wilmer murders aristo, his halfbrother, to become king of. The other celestial inhabitants of mount olympus watch in amusement as hera.
His films have centred on history, but have also included travel, politics and cultural history. Jason and the argonauts is a 1963 film about the legendary greek hero who leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary golden fleece. Don chaffeys jason and the argonauts is an outlandish, transportive piece of. Jason and the legendary golden fleece ancient origins. Along the journey, jason is protected by the goddess hera honor blackman, and his crew includes hercules nigel green and acastus gary raymond, a saboteur planted by pelias. Jason retrieved the golden fleece and both jason and medea left together with argos and the.
Jasons quest to get the fabled golden fleece and bring it back to his homeland is a fabulous story of grit, compassion and revenge. The straight story of jasons exploits, told with magic and imagination and a minimum of studio trickery, might have been delightful. Jason and the argonauts 2000 movie trailer youtube. Jason and the argonauts was a film i had memorized line for line when i was a child the first vhs generation. Jason todd armstrong, rightful heir to the throne of thessaly, is spared from death through the intervention of the goddess hera honor blackman. The story is a heavily summarized version of argonautica, a greek epic poem about the myth and voyage of jason and the argonauts. The film opens as soldiers invade the city of iolcus. Immediately download the jason and the argonauts film summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching jason and the argonauts film. Michael wood discovers a story of heroism, treachery, love and tragedy that. Sonys bluray of jason and the argonauts is the finest presentation of the film ive seen, and i saw it twice when new. Ray harryhausen on making jason and the argonauts books. If you are a fan of bernard herrmand or the film jason and the argonauts this is an exceptional work that becomes more intriguing and complex after repeated listenings.
Indeed the story of jason and the argonauts is one of the most ancient stories that exist, one that has been retold and elaborated upon many times. Over the centuries many versions have been recorded, but the. Herrmann was known for incorporating many ancient instruments in his film scores one that is a good example is journey to the center of the earth. Jason and the argonauts have tons of adventures on the way colchis, like battling harpies and giants and stuff like that. The myth was a symbol for brotherhood and for cherishing a goal to ones heart.
Jason and the argonauts 1963 film pop culture wiki fandom. Todd armstrong, nancy kovack, and gary raymond star in this film. Sony has given jason and the argonauts a respectable 1080pavc mpeg4 1. The men pleasure themselves with the women while their ship is repaired except orpheus and atalanta and jason sleeps with the queen hypsipyle. It begins when jasons uncle pelias kills jasons father, the greek. Fans of ray harryhausens stop motion animation process will have a field day with jason and the argonauts, which harryhausen considered his best work. Jason and the argonauts 1963 film wikimedia commons. In the modern world, jason has emerged as a character in various adaptations of his myths, such as the 1963 film jason and the argonauts and the 2000 tv miniseries of the same name. Use what they have learned about jason and the golden fleece and the elements of a story to complete group projects where they retell the story of jason in a modern setting or choose a favorite. The film begins when the evil pelias dennis hopper usurps the throne of his. Atalanta discovers that the women have killed all the men on the island and are planning to sacrifice the crew. For well over three millennia, the story of jason and his fellow argonauts has enthralled the world. To read more about the history of jason and the introductions, visit.
They sailed home by the erythraean sea, and arrived in lemnos. Feb 09, 2014 some people say casablanca or citizen kane. This classic tale tells of a heroic figure jason who must travel to far away lands and face many unearthly like perils to obtain the greatest treasure known to man at that time, the golden fleece, which is a skin of a sheep ram that is made of golden wool and is. Characters who appear in the story of jason and the golden fleece. The film ultimately omits the story of medea killing and dismembering her own. Fortyseven years can dim ones memories but i know i was aware that certain parts of the film looked dusty read. Jason and the argonauts is a 1963 british columbia pictures fantasy greek. Jason and the argonauts 1963 movie mistakes, goofs and. Although it becomes readily apparent that jason london was picked due to his good looks rather. Jason and the argonauts 1963 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. All the wonderful goingson in jason and the argonauts are the result of ray harryhausens famous stopmotion animation techniques. Jason and the argonauts film by chaffey 1963 britannica. When he saves pelias from drowning, but does not recognise him as the man who had.
Apr 01, 2020 jason and the argonauts, american fantasy film, released in 1963, that loosely retells the greek myth of jason and features some of the most notable special effects devised by stopmotion animator ray harryhausen. Jason must overcome several obstacles before reaching his goal. After saving the life of his royal fathers usurper, pelias douglas wilmer, whom he fails to recognize, jason todd armstrong is encouraged by the conniving murderer to begin a quest in search. Aug 06, 2016 jason and the argonauts 3d animation film official website. Jason appeared in various literary works in the classical world of greece and rome, including the epic poem argonautica and the tragedy medea. Following the encounter with the harpies, the story moves on to the. Jason s quest to get the fabled golden fleece and bring it back to his homeland is a fabulous story of grit, compassion and revenge. The movie is a fun adventurous one, with lots of spectacular moments and fights. However, medea again helped jason and, as a sorceress, she put a spell on the dragon so that jason could get the golden fleece from the tree were it was hanging.
Jason and the argonauts is a 1963 angloamerican independently made adventure. When they arrive on the island of talos, the bronze giant, hercules and hylus find the statues atop huge plinths. Its a complete mess, even a disaster in some totally unforgivable ways, but i cannot name another adventure movie in the whole long annals of. In doing so, pelias hopes for jasons death to thwart the prophecy that he will reclaim the throne. We hope you enjoy this exciting story retold in modern english. Jason and the argonauts, also known as jason and the golden fleece is a 2000 tv movie directed by nick willing and produced by hallmark entertainment. Jason and the argonauts is a 1963 independently made americanbritish fantasy film, produced by charles h. When the work was complete, jason threw a stone at one of the men. For the most part, the casting of this movie is superb. On the long ocean voyage aboard his ship, the argo, jason overcomes many perils. Jason accepts the quest anyway and assembles the most starstudded team of heroes greece has ever seen to go on the quest with him aboard the magical ship, the argo. Ray harryhausen on making jason and the argonauts books the. Character analysis by stanford, harvard, and berkeley phd students. Pictures fantasy greek mythology feature film starring todd armstrong as the titular.
Although it becomes readily apparent that jason london was picked due to his good looks rather than his acting talents, he is nonetheless adequate. And certainly harryhausens special effects are the highlight of this film, which is generally based on the ancient greek myth of jasons search for the golden fleece. It is a classic story of betrayal and vengeance and like many greek myths has a tragic ending. It is based on the greek myth of jason and the argonauts. The movie is about the quest for the golden fleece. A man sent on a mission by the gods united all the heroes of his time and took off to fulfil his destiny. One of the most legendary adventures in all mythology is brought to life in jason and the argonauts, an epic saga of good and evil. This is the story of jason in mythology for a grade 10 english project i. Jason and the golden fleece is a 1963 angloamerican independently made adventure mythological fantasy film produced by charles h. The result was a powerful and dramatic score that still holds up today as an excellent example of film music. With derek jacobi, olivia williams, angus macfadyen, dennis hopper. Ray harryhausen recalls the battles behind the scenes of jason and the argonauts. Greek mythology is done up brown by the specialeffects expertise of ray harryhausen in jason and the argonauts. Working on a hot tip from a goddess, jason todd armstrong has figured out that techwizard ray harryhausens man of bronze is steampowered, with a.
However jason was able to complete the tasks with the help of medea. Written by beverley cross and jan read, based on the argonautica apollonius rhodius. Jason and the argonauts, american fantasy film, released in 1963, that loosely retells the greek myth of jason and features some of the most notable special effects devised by stopmotion animator ray harryhausen. The special effects were the creation of stopmotion animation expert ray harryhausen.
The film begins when the evil pelias dennis hopper usurps the throne of his halfbrother, aeson. Welcome to the storyline page of jason and the argonauts by. As a mere boy jason, the heir to the kingdom of ancient greece, witnesses the murder of his father at the hands of his ruthless uncle, pelias. In doing so, pelias hopes for jason s death to thwart the prophecy that he will reclaim the throne. The synopsis of the film takes place in ancient greece and is a retelling of the greek fable of jason and the golden fleece.
I say jason and the argonauts is the greatest film ever made. It is famous for its stop motion sequences created by ray harryhausen who also produced the film. Jason succeeded by a stratagem in slaying the dragon, and on his return he secretly carried away medeia with him. Tom hanks, 64th academy awards ceremony jason and the argonauts is a classic, wellregarded film adaptation of the classical legend, famed for the breathtaking stopmotion animation by leading filmmaker ray harryhausen. Jason and the argonauts recounts the greek myth of jason todd armstrong, who is aided in his quest for the golden fleece by the goddess hera honor blackman. The story of jason and the argonauts part 3 scott stoll. This 2000 production recounts a famous tale from greek mythology. And certainly harryhausens special effects are the highlight of this film, which is generally based on the ancient greek myth of jason s search for the golden fleece. Media in category jason and the argonauts 1963 film the following 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total. The story revolves around the hero jason todd armstrong.
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