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By: Martyn Pedler
Date: 4th Apr 07
Format: Cinema
Mood: Smarts
What:
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Where:
'Freaky Friday' at ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square, Melbourne
When:
Fri Apr 6, 10pm
Watch the trailer:
Instead of a trailer, here's a montage of all Harryhausen creatures (in chronological order, no less)
One of the many confusing aspects of the current hype around the movie 300 is its rating: "CONTAINS COMPUTER-GENERATED VIOLENCE”. Has classification ever depended on the method of simulation before? Soon,we'll see "CONTAINS ADULT THEMES CREATED USING THE STANISLAVSKY METHOD”. You can keep your CGI Spartans, because this Friday, it's allabout 'Dynamation’.
This week, ACMI's late-night 'Freaky Friday' screening is the 1963 classic Jason And The Argonauts, featuring the creations of legendary animator Ray Harryhausen. Hiswork has given gravitas to giant octopi, prehistoric birds, and angrydemigods, and his painstaking stop-motion technique allowed these monsters to interact with real human actors. It sounds curmudgeonly – like saying music these days is just noise – but it’s undeniable that Harryhausen’s creations have a certain, intangible soul, and it’s something that computer animation is still struggling to capture.
The humans’ performances don’t stand a chance next to living statues, flying harpies, and a many-headed hydra. Doesn't everyone owe it to themselves to see Jason And The Argonauts epic skeleton-swordfight on the big screen at least once before they die?