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| Stop Motion Titan |
You youngsters may not have heard of him, but he made some of the most amazing movies that ever graced the silver screen. Using his hands and imagination he brought monsters to life and shocked audiences across the world. His name has become synonymous with excitement, adventure, strangeness and imagination!
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| The Cyclops, 7th Voyage of Sinbad |
Ray's work spanned fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood to dinosaur colossi, strange alien beings to creatures of fantasy. Few other men have such a diverse resume, and even fewer have made so many movies that are so iconic.
He was self taught in the art of stop motion. Inspired like the rest of the world by the amazing film King Kong in 1933, the effects done by the amazing Willis O'Brian, he sought to pave his own path and did so with the help of his mom and dad, practicing in his house with limited resources. And yet he succeeded in his endeavor far beyond what most people ever hope. As time went on he got involved in full-scale movies and soon became not only a special effects genius, but a creative writer and movie maker in his own right.
Many of his ideas defied genre, like the legendary Valley of Gwangi, one of my personal favorites. And yes, much of my own work was inspired by him!
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| Valley of Gwangi, 1961 |
In fact, he indirectly helped spawn one of the greatest movie monsters of all time, none other than Godzilla! His classic The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, helped usher in the delightful craze of monster movies of the 50's which became a hallmark of the era. A producer at Toho films, Tomoyuki Tanaka, saw the American film and was spellbound, and determined to make something similar. In fact, his original working title was Big Monster From 20,000 Miles Beneath The Sea! Easy to see the influence there! The movie, which would be re-titled Gojira, would far outstrip The Beast in the long run, becoming one of the most iconic movies and monsters in cinematic history, but the seed of inspiration was still there.
| The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms |
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| Talos The Man of Bronze, Jason and the Argonauts |
The genius even dabbled in classic works and fantasy such as Greek mythology with Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts or the Arab tales of Sinbad the Sailor.
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| The Skeletons, Jason and the Argonauts |
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| Kali, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad |
As if this weren't enough already, he was a very accomplished artist with pen and pencil. Recently many grand pictures have arisen that truly show his skill in hand drawing.
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| Concept art of The Cyclops in 7th Voyage of Sinbad |
We are forever grateful to you Ray, and we will miss you, but we will always have your amazing creations. Happy Birthday Ray Harryhausen!
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