R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen
Source: Dark Horizons
Legendary visual effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator Ray Harryhausen has died.
The multi-award winner was a major influence on many of the biggest film makers of today with the likes of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas and John Landis all citing his impact.
Over nearly five decades his work broke new ground and included such films as 1949's "Mighty Joe Young," 1955's "It Came from Beneath the Sea," 1958's "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," 1963's "Jason and the Argonauts," 1966's "One Million Years BC," and 1981's "Clash of the Titans".
Read more: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/27014/r-i-p-ray-harryhausen
That is the whole article but it also links to The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ray-and-Diana-Harryhausen-Foundation/125012827632564
Very sad news. RIP.
flamingdem
(39,313 posts)The best in the biz
niyad
(113,259 posts)HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts)Sad to see this icon go. RIP.
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)They wrote the script carefully so that it all fit together. It wasn't just a bunch of sword fighting.
Poor Kodo!
Scalded Nun
(1,236 posts)RIP to one of the greats. To the eyes of youth in the 50s/60s he was every bit as great as the computer graphics of today.
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)Poll_Blind
(23,864 posts)How impressive is that?
He was already a legend. His legacy will continue to affect cinema, even in the age of 3D animation, for decades to come.
He left one hell of a footprint.
PB
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)yesterday on IFC (I think). I loved his work.
blm
(113,043 posts).
dorkzilla
(5,141 posts)RIP Mr. Harryhausen. You were a pioneer! Without you, there'd be no Wallace and Grommit and I would be a much sadder person.
[link:http://moviecitynews.com/2013/05/every-ray-harryhausen-creature-in-chronological-order-438/|
Jimvanhise
(301 posts)Thankfully Harryhausen collaborated on an official autobiography Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life in which he revealed his history, moviemaking secrets and the many projects he was never able to do, in great detail. It remains an important book.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)PlanetBev
(4,104 posts)Say "hey" to George Pal for me.
Two greats, gone.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)RIP Ray Harryhausen
TeamPooka
(24,221 posts)He was amazing up to the end.
RIP Harry.
TlalocW
(15,380 posts)In, "Monster's Inc." Mike takes his girlfriend out to dinner at the HarryHausen restaurant, and in, "The Corpse Bride," the main character plays a piano in one scene, and you see it's a HarryHausen model from the nameplate.
TlalocW
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)blackspade
(10,056 posts)Aristus
(66,316 posts)When I was a kid, the local second-run movie house would play all of the Sinbad movies, the Hercules flicks, and "Jason And the Argonauts' on the weekends. 25 cents got you in; another 25 cents for a Coke, and 75 cents for a tub of popcorn.
I love those old movies. Being a curious kid, I quickly read everything I could get my hands on about stop-motion animation. And knowing the secret didn't detract from the magic at all. It inspired tremendous respect for the patience, skill, and tenacity the animator had to have.
Ray Harryhausen was more of an idol to me than any of the actors on the screen.
R.I.P., sir. You will be missed.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)I had a similar childhood local second-run movie house experience, except my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great aunt all worked there, and babysat me there, so I could watch the movies free. Pretty much all they showed there were Harryhausen flicks and blacksploitation
lunatica
(53,410 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)You felt like you were watching something unnatural.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)The swordfights with the skeletons had me hiding my face in terror!
Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)On par with the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.
Slick, modern-day CGI just cannot produce the kind of terror in young kids that these masters of cinema were able to.
A friend of mine met Ray Harryhausen. He was charged with taking Ray to lunch prior to his giving a presentation at a fan convention. Not knowing where to take him--and not having a lot of cash on hand--my friend took him to a restaurant called PoFolks, which I guess is kind of like Cracker Barrel. My friend was mortified and embarrassed about having to go there , but Mr. Harryhausen didn't seem to mind, and he was a joyful, friendly delight the whole time. He was a great guy and very encouraging to my friend, who was an artist who also wanted to go into special effects.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,393 posts)villager
(26,001 posts)Moondog
(4,833 posts)AnneD
(15,774 posts)Ray inspired several generations of film makers and special effects people. I have all his films and Jason and the Argonauts was my fav. This is sad news indeed. He was a wonderful all round good guy that followed his own drummer, much like Jim Henson.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)I'm going to watch a Sinbad movie or two tonight, and raise a toast.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)Prisoner_Number_Six
(15,676 posts)and it was animated by Ray Harryhausen.
R. I. P.
infidel dog
(273 posts)Thanks from all the Saturday matinee kids in the balcony!
tabasco
(22,974 posts)What a tremendous talent! Thanks for the memories, Ray.
D Man
(9 posts)So sad... There will never Be another.
chelsea0011
(10,115 posts)spiderpig
(10,419 posts)When we met we shared our love of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which we'd seen as 7 and 8-year-olds. We have a scale model of the Cyclops on our TV today.
We were in London in 89 when they had an exhibition of Harryhausen's work at the Museum of the Moving Image. Actual models that he used in his stop-action work. We bought a program that I've kept hidden for nearly 25 years just to torment Mr. Pig.
Maybe I'll bring it out today as a sign of respect for The Master.
Sads, but he had a long life and is revered by those he inspired.
tblue
(16,350 posts)He showed clips of his work. Wonderful! RIP.