Review of Jason and the Argonauts (1963) by Olli H — 25 Mar 2012

"Jason & The Argonauts" tells the legendary tale from Greel mythology. Jason (Todd Armstrong) is just a baby when his home in Thessaly was invaded and his father the king and his sisters were slain by Pelias (Douglas Wilmer). After 20 years Jason returns to claim his kingdom from Pelias but he decides that only an act of miracle will make his people flourish under his rule, so he sets on a quest to find the fabled Golden Fleece. At the same time on Mount Olympus Zeus & Hera, who acts as an guardian to Jason, both start to pay serious attention to Jason and his quest...

As an Greek tale of Gods, Heroes & Monsters, "Jason & The Argonauts" is a class A entertainment. It even had Hercules in it! And though some parts were cleared with use of good old movie magic, like the romance issues, the movie shines through because of the masterful special effects from Ray Harryhousen. The stop-motion technique has been made familiar nowadays by "Robot Chicken" for example but back in the day is was some tough shit. From the bronze giant Talos, to the seven-headed Hydra and finally to the actually really awesome skeleton army fight, the technique proves that it still works greatly.

Bottomline is that "Jason & The Argonauts" is a classic tale of a classic legend, that I actually wouldn't mind to see remade but only if they would still use stop-motion instead of CGI. Just to honor Mr. Harryhousen and his excellent work.