After a lot of behind the scenes talking and discussion about whether the films with Ray Harryhausen’s animation talent should be put up on Keyframe’s database of animated films or not had finished, the decision was made that they could.

Anyway…

Harryhausen had worked on George Pal’s puppetoon films in the 1940s and set up on his own when the company closed due to the escalating costs of producing stop-motion shorts using Pal’s methods. He - Harryhausen - set himself up as a special effects animator for advertising and live-action flicks, producing beautiful animated creatures for the silver screen over the years, before computers would ultimately take over.

Yet to me Jason is - and has always been - a dull, plodding movie that survives thanks to those amazingly animated creatures and other assorted effects. This made me wonder about if older films were always better written, or if there was just enough good ones to ward attention away from the bad ones, or whether I just never really liked old fantasy films that played like Greek travesties, rather than tragedies. The fact of the matter is that whenever age you're in/looking at, out of the many stories written, they are bound to be a couple that are not as good as other ones, as well as those which are just terrible no matter which way you look at them: Though thankfully Jason is decidely not the later.

Like most films of this nature most of the characters are just fodder to be killed by the creatures that await them, outside of combat they row the boat and, well, that's it. Throughout the film I found myself somewhat indifferent to Jason’s plight, he going sailing across the seas to steal a fleece of a sheep so he can inspire/pay troops to overthrow the man who is currently sitting on what by rights is his throne.

I watched it to profile it and to review it, but while I enjoyed the battle scenes with the skeletons, hydras and other creatures from Greek mythology more than the story, which I thought was little to work with. Or it is not the tale itself that is the problem, rather the dialogue and performances given that marred my enjoyment of the film; that and the fact that the film seemed far too long and I was, at one point, wondering when it was going to end.

Then it did end, just like that...

It is true that Jason is an iconic movie, but in my humble opinion, it’s not a great one; at least not outside the animation anyway.

According to Tom Hanks, this is the greatest movie ever made. If that ain't enough reason... Just kidding, Hanks is sort of an idiot, but this is a great movie. Its got amazing sequences including a stop motion bronze giant, a hydra, and a famous skeleton army. These sequences have stood the test of time. Seeing movies like this and Clash of the Titans makes me wonder why they don't make a modern version of the Odyssey or other Greek classics.

One of the finest of the Harryhausen creations, Jason and the Argonauts is a charming look into the world of Greek mythology. It is the classic story of the hero Jason, his great ship the Argo, his crew of heroic Argonauts (including the great Hercules), and their quest to defy the gods (except Hera, who protects them) and attain the Golden Fleece, so Jason may take the throne of Thessaly. During their journey they encounter many fantastic monsters and foes, from the great metal giant Talos to the Harpies that torment old Phineus, from an army of skeleton warriors to the powerful hydra that guards the Fleece.

It is a long movie with a good deal of plot, character development, and simple, old-fashioned romance. But then again maybe it just seems longer to me because I've seen it probably thirty times. In any case Harryhausen's stop-motion animation is as good as or better than any you've ever seen, and any you're likely to ever see again, as the age of stop-motion is all but over. Sure, maybe the modern digital graphics can look shinier and smoother...but the gritty, muscular, carefully textured models that Harryhausen used are nothing to laugh at, and indeed hold a certain charm of their own.

This is a fun movie and I can think of nothing bad to say about it. Strongly recommended for all ages, for all time.