RIP Ray Harryhausen

[Jay 46,245]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=103886

[JoeinAR 1,957]

there are giants, and then there are GIANTS.

This man was a GIANT. Ray is a legend, his work beyond extraordinary. He brought imagination to life.

we are all fanboys because of men like him.

RIP Ray,

[publicist 4,650]

And many a sunday was filled with that:

RIP Ray...

[Incanus 5,890]

RIP Mr. Harryhausen.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

I might have a mini marathon of Ray's films tonight,

Mighty Joe Young,

The Beast from 20000 Fathoms

20 Million Miles to Earth

Clash of the Titans.

Wish I had Mysterious Island, probably my favorite of his works.

[scallenger 665]

He will be missed, but also remembered.

I wish more of his movies were on BluRay. There are some I really want to buy still.

[filmmusic 3,270]

I have only seen:

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Jason and the Argonauts

Mysterious Island

and of course I love them and prefer them much much more that heavy CGI recent films.

Can anyone reommend what to watch next?

[Uni 307]

It's amazing how many pioneers in the area of visual effects have passed on in the last year. The Oscar memorial tribute featured several others.

The Third Age is over. The Fourth Age—that of pushbutton filmmaking—has come. . . .

- Uni

[indy4 160]

RIP! I'll be honest, I thought he was already dead. Bt still, very sad to see the passing of such a visionary.

[Damien F 2,080]

Sad to see the passing of such a major player in the industry. His work is far more impressive than the CGI-fests of Transformers, for example.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,110]

Another legend that inspired me to get into visual effects and animation.

Rest in peace sir!

A nice little interview with Ray.

The Third Age is over. The Fourth Age—that of pushbutton filmmaking—has come. . . .

I would say unkind things to you...but this is not the thread.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

I have only seen:

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Jason and the Argonauts

Mysterious Island

and of course I love them and prefer them much much more that heavy CGI recent films.

Can anyone reommend what to watch next?

See my list of films above, Clash of the Titans isn't very good, it was produced at a time where visual effects were really very good and it's were not up to par.

Mighty Joe Young is quite terrific, it's a b movie with some fantastic effects. Joe climbing up the burning orphanage is magnificant. It was magnificant then and now.

I love old 50's monster films and Beast from 20000 Fathoms is a terrific b film about a frozen radioactive dinosaur making it's way from the Artic to New York, it's attack on NYC is terrific fun. While it appears to be an Americanized retelling of Godzilla, but it's not. It beat Godzilla by a year.

20 Million Miles to Earth (available on Blu) isn't as good as beast but the Ymir, a creature from Venus, is very cool, late in the film it battles a stop motion Elephant, it's a decent movie.

of course Mysterious Island, which you've seen, is the cream of the crop, great story, great effects, and great surprises. I want it on blu but it's rare and out of my price range.

[Smeltington 2,011]

I got to see Golden Voyage of Sinbad in 35mm last year and really enjoyed it... RIP Ray.

[Omen II 1,300]

RIP Ray Harryhausen, a true legend of the cinema. Even if they are not Ray Harryhausen's best films, I find the likes of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Valley of Gwangi and First Men in the Moon all very enjoyable. It's easy to bash modern CGI but somehow those stop-motion monsters remain, for me, more believable than most of the modern computer-generated beasts.

Was I the only one who felt really sorry for Minoton when he was crushed to death in that rockfall in SATEOTT?

[mrbellamy 8,244]

RIP Mr. Harryhausen.

Sadly, I've only seen Jason and the Argonauts of his films, and not since I was a child. I think I'll take another look at it this week, as well as seek out his other films in the coming months.

[scallenger 665]

Wow, check this article out, posted today as well, by artist William Stout:

http://www.williamstout.com/news/journal/?p=2888

It was my dear friend Richard Jones (Richard produced a wonderful documentary on the life and work of Ray Harryhausen) who suggested that Ray and I should collaborate on a sequel to The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

We intended the film to be a capper to Ray’s career. Ray had retired, so we weren’t expecting him to go back and animate again. Instead, our plan was to hand the animation of each creature off to an acolyte of Ray and his work, using the best people in the business. Ray would be the overall Special Effects Supervisor. This would allow each team to create a stirring homage to Harryhausen. We were also sure that each artist would try to outdo the others in their attempts to honor Ray, making for a competitive creative process in the most positive fashion and spirit possible.

I got together with Ray and asked for a list of all the creatures he ever wanted to animate but that for some reason or another (usually budget) he never got a chance to bring to life. I then wrote a screenplay incorporating all of these creatures (and a few more) into The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad – Return to Colossa. We’ve been looking for that elusive studio green light ever since. When that happens, perhaps a new generation of nine-year-olds will be inspired to wander down their own Harryhausen-influenced path of fantastic creativity.

[Ollie 1,375]

I've been a huge fan of Ray Harryhausen since I was a small lad.

I can remember seeing most of his films on the big screen at some point in my childhood, in fact any chance I had I went to see them, even if it meant repeated viewings.

I've collected books, models, toys and the fantastic music that accompanied most of his films. I have all of his movies on DVD. I would take any of his stop motion animation over CGI.

He brought so much joy to my childhood and even into adulthood.

Rest in peace Ray Harryhausen.

[Pieter Boelen 1,032]

Sorry to hear it. It was quite an achievement to have films be remembered purely for the person who did the special effects.

[Naïve Old Fart 13,025]

This is sad news, indeed.

The passing of Mr. Harryhausen marks truly the end of an era in cinema special effects. Folks such as Mr. H., A.D. Flowers, Glen Robinson, Albert Whitlock, L. B. Abbott, and even younger masters such as Dennis Muren, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, and Brian Johnson all worked with real elements, photographed with real light, by real cameras; not this plastic crap.

In this M'Digital age, when any fanboy (or girl) can create fake images on their laptop, that sort of experience, and pure craftwork, can be neither forgotten, replicated, nor replaced.

R.I.P., Mr. H. - your place in cinema history is well and truly assured!

(just don't mention the cameos in "Spies Like Us", or "Beverly Hills Cop III"...)

[Muad'Dib 2,059]

Can't believe he's gone, he was one of my idols and one of my dreams was meeting him in person.

But at least we'll always have his awesome movies that CGI will never be able to beat. Here's to you, Ray! May you keep animating in heaven.