Cheap Jason and the Argonauts (DVD) (Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack) (Don Chaffey) Price

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Customer Reviews of Jason and the Argonauts

Until the advent of CGI, it was considered by most to be the epitome of the art of F/X and to many (myself included), it's still one of the best. Ray Harryhausen pulled out all the stops when making this film and it shows! The movie itself has a tried and true plot, good acting and excellent production values. The special effects by Harryhausen, even using todays computer generated effects, have seldom been equalled, much less surpassed.

If you can only own one Ray Harryhausen film, THIS is the one to get. If you have a choice, buy the DVD. You get a number of special features, such as the Harryhausen Chronicles, and you get to see the film in widescreen (worth it alone). Even if you aren't a fan of Harryhausen, I'd still get this movie. It's a classic story told in a way that everyone from 6 to 66 can enjoy. And, there are always those spectacular Harryhausen special effects!!

A magical film that conveys a real sense of wonder.
Don Chaffey was obstensibly the director of this movie but the mark of effects meister Ray Harryhausen is seen in almost every frame. Indeed, Harryhausen designed most of the major effects sequences for the film before a script had even been written, and as such "Jason" is almost pure Harryhausen from start to finish.

A master of drawing character from his latex and steel creations, Harryhausen's work on this movie transcends most CGI animation work done to date and even rivals the computer character creations seen in "The Phantom Menace". While maybe not as technically polished as the Star Wars creations are, Harryhausen's creatures have a real sense of character and life that does much to allow the viewing audience to suspend disbelief.

Due acknowledgement must also be given to composer Bernard Herrman for a stirring score that contributes greatly to creating the "sense of wonder" that is so prevalent in this movie. His trumpeting horns in the giant statue "Talos" sequence does much to lend a sense of massive scale to the sequence.

The skeleton fight near the end of the movie will perhaps be most famous sequence ever made by Harryhausen. The "Pharoh's undead army" sequence at the end of Universal's "The Mummy" is a clear tribute to Harryhausen's "Jason" skeleton sequence, and even with the flawless compositions and fluid, natural movements seen in "The Mummy" somehow don't quite compare to Harryhausens skeletons.

"Jason and the Argonauts" is a magical, wonderful movie, to be popped into the VCR along with the "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" for an evening of real family entertainment.

The fight against the triviality!
Mircea Eliade defined the triviality as the absence of physical tension in the human being.
If we agree this concept ; then the argonauts represent the fight against the triviality. Notice for instance the greek meaning of Argos: the white ship. And the white color means purification.
The seek of the golden fleece means the search for the triumph of the truth ; since the gold symbolizes spirituality and the fleece innocence ; the circle is completed.
Besides the mission has one last goal: to fight against the dragon and exterminate it ; because the fleece is its prisoner . The dragon symbolizes the perversity ; so if you want to access to the sublimity . you must to kill the dragon.
This movie is a winner. Ray Harryhausen inspired to many film makers , specially a teenager called Steven Spielberg who confessed this confidence to James Lipton in The actor's studio .
The mythical monsters are the magnificient background all along the movie. A film conceived as family entertainment but loaded of smart clues , who teachs us the huge wisdom who lives beneath the underestimated term myth: wrong choice as you know.
Great special effects ; and from all standpoints a cult movie since its release.!