FUN VIDEOS: "Maksimok Takes On The Argonauts" (19 October 2007)

.


Hi All,

The above clip is one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite films of all time: "Jason and the Argonauts" made by one of the all-time great film directors of all time, Ray Harryhausen. "Jason" is a retelling of the classic Greek myth by the same name, a tale of adventure, heroes & monsters with what were at the time, the best special effects ever made. Ray Harryhausen, an amazing special effects guru, made stop-motion model animation famous. Here's a little bit about the technique:

Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is a general term for an animation technique which makes a physically manipulated object appear to move. The object is moved by very small amounts between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop motion animations, known as claymation, for their ease of repositioning. Software applications such as Stop Motion Pro, istopmotion and monkeyjam have made the technique popular among young filmmakers.

And if you've never seen a Harryhausen film before, by all means, go out and rent one, or better yet, buy one of the Harryhausen DVD collections now available. From "Jason and the Argonauts," "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," to "Clash of the Titans," there are some real film gems out there for someone never exposed to the wonders of Harryhausen.

And, by the way, my RPG / Miniatures game alter-ego, Master Necromancer Maksimok, would have done things the same as the necromancer in the above film clip, EXCEPT... Maksimok's skeleton underlings have a real thing for guys who wear skirts, from Greeks to Scots. I can't imagine the heroes doing so well against Maksimok's skeleton hordes. Booyah!

And a few links as is my wont:

Everything you ever wanted to know about the great Ray Harryhausen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harryhausen

Lots about "Jason and the Argonauts":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_and_the_Argonauts_%28film%29

More about the classic Greek myth of the Argonauts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauts

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).