A DAY WITH RAY HARRYHAUSEN

Thurs May 6, 2004

left: Jason and the Argonauts

We're pleased to welcome to the Walter Reade one of cinema's master special effects artists, Ray Harryhausen.

Harryhausen attended a screening of King Kong when he was 13, and the rest has become cinematic history. After teaching himself the basics of stop-motion animation, Harryhausen eventually began working in Hollywood. It was with two mythological adventure tales, THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, that Harryhausen's signature style truly came into its own. Integrating live actors with meticulously designed creatures brought to screen life through a process called "Dynamation," Ray Harryhausen authored some of the most haunting, most dreamlike images ever to grace the screen.

Mr. Harryhausen will appear on stage at the Walter Reade after the 6:15pm screening, followed by a signing of his new book, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life in the Walter Reade lobby. The book, co-authored by Tony Dalton and published by Billboard Books, is in bookstores now and can also be purchased at the Walter Reade at the time of the signing. Special thanks to Tony Dalton and Columbia Pictures.

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS
Don Chaffey, 1963, U.K.; 104m
Hoping to claim the throne stolen from his father by the evil Pelias, Jason accepts a challenge to find the mythical Golden Fleece. If Ray Harryhausen had only worked on Jason, that alone would have been enough to assure his place in film history. There are so many wonderful, memorable moments, but perhaps none more effective and haunting than the justly celebrated sword fight against a troop of skeleton warriors.
preceded by the East Coast premiere of
THE STORY OF "THE TORTOISE OF THE HARE"
Ray Harryhausen with Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh, 2002; 12m
Harryhausen began shooting this film in 1952, but was forced to abandon it. Fifty years later, he finished the film while keeping the same style and feel as the original footage.
Thurs May 6: 1:30 & 6:15

THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD
Nathan Juran, 1958, U.S.; 87m
The film begins as Captain Sinbad, his royal passenger Princess Parisa, and crew are blown ashore by a violent storm to the island of Colossa. There they meet a sorcerer, Sokurah, whom they save from the clutches of a giant Cyclops. But Sokurah has schemes of his own; after shrinking the Princess, he tells Sinbad the only cure is a potion made from the egg of a Roc, a giant, two-headed bird - thus setting in motion a series of fantastic battles and adventures, all ingeniously rendered by Harryhausen. A spectacular box-office success, no other film more firmly established the "Harryhausen style" in the minds of moviegoers; Harryhausen would in fact return to the character of Sinbad for two later films as well.
Thurs May 6: 4 & 9:15

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