[karajorma]

Visual effects master Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion wizardry graced such films as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, has died aged 92.

The American made his models by hand and painstakingly shot them frame by frame to create some of the best-known animated sequences in cinema.

His death in London was confirmed to the BBC by a family representative.

"Harryhausen's genius was in being able to bring his models alive," said an official statement from his foundation.

"Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray's hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22441567


I still think the skeleton battle from Jason and the Argonauts holds up pretty well even now.

EDIT : Just found this animgif of how he'd animate the skeletons.

[Lorric]

Oh yes, I know this stuff. So that's who he was. RIP. I predict I'll share the same opinion on the skeleton battle, but it's many years since I've seen it, let's see if I can find it on youtube...

There it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmRuJByoVs

It actually surprised me once it got going how good it was. Perhaps that was deliberate, with the slow advance when the skeletons first get moving, then they just charge in and attack with fluid motions, I bet that blew a lot of minds in it's day. It makes me want to watch that movie now, it looks like it's on Youtube in full...

It would be a well choreographed fight sequence even if it was all actors, no special effects skeletons, doing the fighting.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Oh...wow. I did research on Jason and the Argonauts two years ago, and I know just how much effort he puts in his work. Some additional details about that film I came across during my research:

During the Talos scene, not only did Harryhausen make a small clay figure, the production team also made a life-size foot for the unpegging scene.

Did you know that, during the skeleton fight, the actors were actually fighting with thin air? They had to memorise every move they made. During practice, they sparred with stuntmen, but on the final take, the stuntmen weren't there. The entire fight scene was choreographed by Harryhausen himself. That's why it's so impressive.

RIP, and well done for living a full life.