Review of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) by Tony M — 11 Jul 2013

George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and James Cameron all had inspiration when it comes to wonderful filmmaking, and their biggest inspiration when making their films would have to be Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen was behind Claymation for many films, such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Clash of the Titans. But his most famous work is definitely Jason and the Argonauts, a favorite for many film buffs, with Tom Hanks declaring it to be "the greatest film of all-time". Is it the greatest film of all-time? No, but it's not as overrated as Citizen Kane.

In the time of Greek mythology, Jason (Todd Armstrong), the rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly, which was taken from him by the ruler Pelias (Douglas Wilmer), has his life saved from Pelias by the Greek goddess Hera (Honor Blackman, who would later charm all the men as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger). Hera decides to help Jason in his epic quest to search for the Golden Fleece, a powerful object which can help him reclaim the throne. Jason and his crew go through many challenges, such as a giant statue who comes to life, harpies, a hydra, and an army of skeletons.

Other actors in this film include Patrick Troughton as the blind prophet Phineas, Nancy Kovack as Madea, a ruler who helps Jason along the way, Niall MacGinnis as Zeus, and Nigel Green as Hercules.

First off, I must say that after 50 years, Harryhausen's claymated effects are incredible and still hold up really well, with the only effect feeling dated being the clashing rocks. I was impressed that the majority of the visuals feel like real creatures, especially the harpies, the bronze statue, and the hydra. But the highlight of Harryhausen's visuals would have to be the climatic scene where Jason and his men battle the skeleton army. The scene is thrilling, visually wonderful, and makes a great treat for young kids (and kids at heart, meaning old-time Harryhausen nuts).

The score by Bernard Hermann, known for scoring classic Hitchcock films like Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho, delivers really well here. In the Hitchcock films, Hermann delivered in the suspense that Hitchcock was most famous for. Here, he shows not only suspense, such as in the skeleton scene, but also adds an epic feeling to it.

Earlier, I said that this was not the greatest film of all-time, and I stand by to what I said. The problem with Jason and the Argonauts is that while the story has an epic feeling to it, the film's tone heads in a cheesy direction from tome to time. The majority of the crew, throughout the whole film, wear nothing but their underwear, and it's kind of creepy, and brings the film down with it. Other cheesy moments include the clashing rock scene, which was the only Harryhausen visual I was not that impressed with, and a long dancing ritual scene that probably should have been cut, and it comes out as embarrassing than entertaining. Also, the acting, especially Todd Armstrong as Jason, comes across as wooden and the film lacks a bit of character development in a lot of places. However, the Harryhausen visuals save the day, making Jason and the Argonauts a fun film to watch.

While the film suffers from some cheesy moments and a lack of character development, Jason and the Argonauts is a fun film to enjoy, with an epic Bernard Herrmann score and fantastic claymated visuals from Ray Harryhausen.