Too many to choose but bottom of the row are creatures that could easily have played by a human (Talos, Trog, the Minotaur boatsman), a waste of time that could have been spent on creatures that really need the Harryhausen treatment.
This! Talos for me. How he first comes to life was pretty creepy. And as adam says, Herrmann's music - i presume a tuba - was seriously eerie.
When he first turns his head, and the metal screeching sound with it, was absolutely unforgettable for me as a kid. Wonderful, terrifying stuff.
I'm scared just looking at that screen grab!
I think Talos was the height of realism for Harryhausen's work. The herky-jerky movements inherent with stop-motion animation were what one might expect from a mechanical giant, instead of being a distraction from one's expectations of a flesh and bone living creature. And thankfully, Talos had an Achilles Heel.
This! Talos for me. How he first comes to life was pretty creepy. And as adam says, Herrmann's music - i presume a tuba - was seriously eerie.
When he first turns his head, and the metal screeching sound with it, was absolutely unforgettable for me as a kid. Wonderful, terrifying stuff.
I'm scared just looking at that screen grab!
I think Talos was the height of realism for Harryhausen's work. The herky-jerky movements inherent with stop-motion animation were what one might expect from a mechanical giant, instead of being a distraction from one's expectations of a flesh and bone living creature. And thankfully, Talos had an Achilles Heel.
Agreed, so were the AT-AT's in Empire Strikes Back. I love those lumbering walkers and you just can't get that effect with CGI. Its the stop-motion that makes them special.
Too many to choose but bottom of the row are creatures that could easily have played by a human (Talos, Trog, the Minotaur boatsman), a waste of time that could have been spent on creatures that really need the Harryhausen treatment.
Too many to choose but bottom of the row are creatures that could easily have played by a human (Talos, Trog, the Minotaur boatsman), a waste of time that could have been spent on creatures that really need the Harryhausen treatment.
D.S.
As much as i love you Stu im afraid Talos wouldve been ruined as a man sprayed with paint! As stated above his stop motion was perfect for a bronze giant. Possibly harry's most effective work because as described by others...that cold look on an inanimate face is chilling as he turns his head down and moves nothing else.
Actually now Paul has brought them up, id like to say that second place for me is the children of the hydras teeth - the skeleton men.
Ah yes, the handling of Medusa. Hickling's nuclear bomb of a trump card!! Ha ha. Nothing compares to that. Not even bonking Gina on Solomon and Sheba!
Last night I had the chance to double check that my memory served me correctly about Medusa, as I attended a gig with the same friend who accompanied me on that visit to the Chesterfield theatre all those years ago. To my relief he confirmed that Ray let us all handle the armatures, and that one of them was indeed Medusa. PHEEEW! Why the hell we didn't take ANY photos I'll never know. My only physical records of the event are the flyer advertising it and my highly prized signed copies of his book Film Fantasy Scrapbook (2nd edition with colour Golden Voyage section) and the Intrada Jason and the Argonauts soundtrack cd cover (actually the bit under the disc so you see the autograph on removing the disc.
And it just so happens I really fancied Gina Lollobrigida in Solomon and Sheba. I was quite a small kid at the time (an awakening of sorts!), and somehow allowed to watch the film at grandma's (because it was biblical it was ok!). I thought she was VERY adult... what was it about rock hard?...
