Jason and the Argonauts

[ChairmanAgnostic]

I was six when this movie came out. Then I thought it was stunning. The realism, the creatures, the nasty, mean vindictive gods (almost Olde Testament stuff), and the action. Everything a kid could enjoy. So, yesterday, 52 years later, seeing it was to be shown on TV, my partner and I decided, what the heck, let's watch.

Considering they only had 1963 technology, the special effects are still great, surprisingly so. Actually, the movie stands the test of time quite well, even for a sci-fi/Greek god/kids' adventure tale. It still entertains and almost makes you wish for the next episode.

Death, destruction, vindictiveness, hatred, love, sword fights, huge gods popping up out of the ocean, a giant bronze warrior - what is not to like? Not on my top ten list, but very watchable.

What is your favorite childhood movie?

[uriel1972]

1. 5 when Star Wars IV came out sooooooo...

You can guess.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. IV, V and VI were good, damn good.

I hate uno dos y tres.

Have you seen the latest one? What did you think?
(So nice to talk without politics bile rising up)

[uriel1972]

5. heh...

Have it on pre-order. Not gonna waste a cent watching it in a cinema. $14 drinks and all, in case it is not up to scratch.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

39. Let us know.

Honey and I are avoiding the crowds. Although a bond may be in order.

[Adrahil]

60. I was 11 when IV came out. I loved VII! See it! NT

[ChairmanAgnostic]

64. Tnx!

[lovemydog]

18. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

j/k

[uriel1972]

21. LOL you win....

absoulutely nothing

[Android3.14]

3. Day of the Dolphin

It was the first time a movie made me cry.

[FLPanhandle]

4. As a young boy, that movie gave me some serious nightmares.

I may have to watch it again now as an adult.

[GeorgeGist]

6. Auntie Mame.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

37. A great flick.

I played the kid (when he was about to marry) in high school.

[valerief]

47. I think that's STILL my favorite movie. Who wouldn't want to be the glorious Mame?

But as a child back in mid-century America, I think I favored the Busby Berkeley musicals on the teevee.

[Mojorabbit]

66. We watch it every Dec during the holidays! nt

[edhopper]

7. It was Harryhausen

and perhaps his best movie. He was a true cinematic genius. When it comes to stop motion, there is Ray and everybody else.
Talos, the skeleton fight, the hydra, all spectacular.
I was watching 7th Voyage yesterday, still wonderful.
Not sure which is my favorite, but Harryhausen was involved. It could be Mighty Joe Young or Mysterious Island or Beast from 20,000 Fathoms...

[villager]

27. I had occasion to interview the VFX Emmy winner for "Game of Thrones," specifically

...about the "Hardhome" episode, where there was much fighting with skeletal foes.

And though said foes are now "rendered" rather than modeled, as they were back in the Argonauts and 7th Voyage of Sinbad era, I asked if all subsequent "skeleton fights" don't exist in the shadow of Harryhausen, or somehow pay homage to him.

And he replied, of course they do....

[edhopper]

58. His influence

is expansive.

[randome]

8. Jason And The Argonauts is right up there on my list of all-time favorites.

Right alongside the original "Godzilla vs. The Thing". I remember watching that on our little black and white UHF antenna TV in the kitchen.

Good times.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Where do uncaptured mouse clicks go?[/center][/font][hr]

[Gloria]

9. Jason....saw it at the movies! I thought the guy who played Jason was a hunk!

Todd Armstrong was his name...Didn't do much after this movie though...

My fave teen movie, at age 13, was "A Hard's Day's Night"....I sat through 3 showings in row, underneath that glorious chandelier at the old Rivoli Theatre in town...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

40. Can't criticize your choice.

When I was 10, I saw Casablanca, and fell in lust once again. You know ten yr olds.

[Ferretherder]

10. Jason and his men fighting the skeletons...

... absolutely could not watch that sequence, as a child, that is, except peering through the cracks of my fingers, hands in front of face!
...one of my fave movies of all time.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

44. Great special effects.

Imagine what he could do with an iPad Pro and split screen.

[pscot]

11. Song of the South

Disney's retelling of the Uncle Remus tales. Too un-pc for today's tender sensibilities.

[haikugal]

54. Zip pity do dah zip pity ...... I loved it as a child...

[Hekate]

68. Thank you -- I have not seen that since it played on the Walt Disney Show when I was a wee thing

Last edited Thu Dec 31, 2015, 01:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Yet I know the entire song by heart.

I'm sorry it fell on such hard times that it has been deemed unworthy of release since VCRs and DVDs made nearly everything else available. I have heard and understand the objections, yes, but as I say it's been probably 60 years since I've seen it.

Times changed; what once seemed innocent to my innocent eyes (the singing and dancing Crows in Dumbo) can make me wince now. I do have Dumbo in my VCR collection.

As far as I know, Joel Chandler Harris wrote down the stories of "Uncle Remus" as he remembered them, and as far as I can ascertain they are the real deal -- an American link to African tales of the Trickster. I downloaded the stories from Gutenberg this past year, but I have had an atrocious time with the Gullah dialect Harris tried to reproduce -- same hard time I have with dialects of England, Scotland, and Ireland as written in the 1800s -- because I have never heard them actually spoken.

Love seeing this clip and hearing the song again.

[trof]

79. I read "Uncle Remus" when I was a kid. 'Bimeby' stumped me for a while.

'bime-bee'? 'bih-meb-bee'? I finally figured out it was 'by-and by'.
'bime-by'

[femmocrat]

12. "Lady and the Tramp"

It is still one of my favorites.

[Wounded Bear]

13. Didn't they try to do a re-make on this?....

This is one movie that should NOT be re-made. The original, though dated by modern CGI standards, was a masterpiece.

Loved it then, will watch it now. And yeah, Harryhousen was a little bit of a genius.

[uriel1972]

14. I seem to remember it...

or was it Clash of the Titans /shrug dunno.

[Wounded Bear]

15. I know they did Clash...

was disappointed in that one, too.

[arcane1]

17. That was definitely not due for a remake!

[Wounded Bear]

20. It was a TV mini-series...

which is somewhat excusable, I guess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_and_the_Argonauts_(miniseries)

[uriel1972]

19. Google-fu turns up....

A 2000 tv mini-series. echhhh!

[Wounded Bear]

22. Yeah, just posted that myself...

Somewhat excusable, but highly unnecessary and not something I'd go out of my way to watch.

[arcane1]

16. The three Sinbad movies were my favorites, for much the same reason!

7th Voyage of Sinbad
Golden Voyage of Sinbad
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger

I was a Ray Harryhausen fanatic from the get-go

[brett_jv]

70. I searched for Ray H before commenting on this thread ...

So as to avoid being redundant ...

Basically, the ONLY truly great special effects in movies prior to Jaws and Star Wars ... were Ray's work, from what I've ever seen. He was THE GUY prior to the mid-70's.

[tabasco]

82. I knew about his great work but I googled him too

and learned that he was responsible for the effects in Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, the greatest flying saucer movie ever. I had thought he just did terrific monsters like the amazing creatures in Argonauts.

[arcane1]

90. That's a very good point! n/t

[spanone]

23. 1956...Forbidden Planet...stands up today! Great Movie!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/

[ChairmanAgnostic]

31. THIS!

Absolutely my fave.

[spanone]

34. this was my introduction into sci-fi....one of the best to this day!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

36. Agreed, plus the actress was really hot.

Especially for a kid whose sister played with Barbie.

[spanone]

38. Anne Francis..

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004282/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

also had Leslie Neilsen, Walter Pidgeon, Earl Holliman and ROBBY THE ROBOT.

....http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1119475/?ref_=tt_cl_t8

[ChairmanAgnostic]

43. Ah, yes. My childhood dream.

[brett_jv]

71. At the Late Night, Double-Feature ...

Picture Show ...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

75. No, that is a time warp.

[kentauros]

48. I still love it today, especially the soundtrack!

Great "avant garde" music from Louis and Bebe Barron
I used to use the second one as "bed" music when talking during breaks when I had a radio show years ago. Some of the best sounds in the movie are from when they went inside of the Great Machine.

[spanone]

49. the special effects were incredible...pre-computer technology

[kentauros]

50. I agree.

And really, when a studio put money into a film's budget, effects were great. 2001 still has the best effects of almost any science fiction film made since then, at least for realism of known physics in spaceflight.

Forbidden planet did great things with matte-paintings and models, though there is a little bit of a wobble in the saucer when it lands. One thing that was well-done with it was a sense of large-scale once it's down and the stairs come down. It then looks like what you've seen inside really would fit into what you see outside. All too often, the outside scale doesn't match up with the interior scale of those sets. Unless it's the TARDIS

[spanone]

56. bwahahahahaaaa...yes the tardis!!!!

[kentauros]

57. And to get off on a DW sidetrack,

the best line in relation to that difference between interior and exterior dimensions was from the episode "The Snowmen" with a Victorian-era Clara Oswald. Upon seeing the interior and comparing it with the exterior, she said, "It's smaller on the outside!" The Doctor hadn't heard that one before and it confused him!

Clara: (Clara enters the TARDIS, for the first time) It's smaller on the outside.

The Doctor: OK That is a first.

[haikugal]

55. Oh yes... Wonderful movie!

I also loved the Harryhausen movies...I can't choose one.

[surrealAmerican]

24. Yellow Submarine

I was five when I saw it. It was totally lovable from a child's perspective.

[Coventina]

25. Picking a favorite is hard to do, although I might go with "Clash of the Titans" (1981)

I watched that movie so many times at the discount theatre that summer!!
$.25 for matinee showings!
Boy those were the days.....

(Man, I feel old!!)

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. Loved that movie as a kid

[countryjake]

28. The Red Balloon was probably my favorite when I was small.

Last edited Wed Dec 30, 2015, 07:59 PM - Edit history (1)

I only saw it once when I was a silly little kid but to this day, if I ever spot a balloon on the loose or tangled on something, I will always do my best to rescue it. I've got quite the collection of lost mylar balloons, one of which I shinnied up a pole to get, just like the movie, (it said, "Happy B'day!" with a big 10 on it) and I had helium put back in that one later, when my daughter finally had her tenth birthday. (she had watched me climb up to save it when she was a toddler)

A couple of others that came out when I was older that I still love as magical were "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" and "The Three Lives of Thomasina". I'll re-watch both of those anytime I see that they're on tv. Both are excellent for children.

For movies that were supposed to scare the bejeebus out of kids when I was young, I think that "The Giant Claw" was the one which affected me the most. While that dumb-looking monster bird did frighten me at the thought of it and I may have squeezed under the car seat (at the drive-in) when it was destroying buildings and trains and such, I was very sad by the end of the movie when they finally shot it down.

I also loved that "Jason and the Argonauts" flick and thought it was ahead of it's time, regarding the special effects with that battle scene.

[lovemydog]

29. Small Change by Francois Truffaut

aka L'Argent de poche.

It got me interested in cinema as an art form. I'm forever grateful that my dad took me to see it.

[tinymontgomery]

30. Just watched it yesterday

Flipping through the channels yesterday came across Jason and the Argonauts.

Liked the skeleton warriors they had to fight, nice technology.

Liked all those types of movies.

Also liked Abbot and Castelo movies.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

33. I had forgotten just how well they applied their special effects.

We both were entertained. Again, as children of all ages.

[mainer]

32. Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Anyone remember that one?

Used to be on TV all the time when I was a kid.

Also loved "Them."

What scared me most? The original, B&W "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

[ChairmanAgnostic]

35. Hell, yes, to both.

And body snatchers scared me quite a bit.

In my childhood, Creature Features played every Saturday night. I was paid to sit with neighbors's kids, and they had a great TV. Loved CF.

[mainer]

41. Body Snatchers gave me nightmares as a kid

the perfect metaphor for alienation from those you love.

I also remember "On the Beach" and "World Without End" (I think that was the title.)

On the Beach made me depressed for a year as a kid because I assumed nuclear annihilation was coming.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

42. The one that scared me the most was 5 days in May?

I think that was the title.

[edhopper]

62. If you mean the one

with Kirk Douglas,

Seven Days in May.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

63. An odd number. But yes.

[NBachers]

45. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

[ChairmanAgnostic]

52. Ah, yes. Good one.

[shanti]

46. the thief of baghdad

with super hunky steve reeves, 1961, i believe. lots of shivers and excitement, and included a flying white horse, people turning to stone, and of course, the blue rose. i loved it!

[HERVEPA]

51. Check out "Jason and The Arguments"

[Martin Eden]

53. My favorite childhood movies ...

I was born in 1957.

My first favorite movie when I was very little was Babes in Toyland (loved the marching toy soldiers). Subsequently, as I grew older ...
Wizard of Oz
Mary Poppins
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Sink the Bismarck!
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
The Treasure of Sierra Madre
(plenty more after age 20)

I definitely liked Jason and the Argonauts!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

59. GREAT collection.

Bogie was rather . . . . unique.

After I grew up (ahem), I was 19 and watched Mary Poppins on shrooms. You get a whole different perspective that way.

[Martin Eden]

61. I saw some great movies on psychedelics

I was tripping the first time I saw The Third Man (zither music was out of this world).

First time I ever did acid I went with my buddies to see a triple feature of Marx Brothers movies.

Also tripped to Fantasia and A Clockwork Orange.

Never saw Mary Poppins in that state, but I can imagine. Jason and the Argonauts would certainly be a trip.

[brett_jv]

72. My first shroom trip ... 1982 ... Pink Floyd The Wall, original run at the theater ...

In the year or two after that, tripped at the Midnight Movies at Sunvalley in Concord for such classics as Eraserhead, Heavy Metal, Rocky Horror, Song Remains the Same, and Dawn of the Dead ... and The Wall, multiple times. Those were the days, man.

[Action_Patrol]

65. The Day the Earth Stood Still

Just watched Jason with my 5 year old tonight. He loved every second.

[kentauros]

67. And interior sets of the ship designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright. While the sound-effect of the ship and Gort all done by theremins

[brett_jv]

73. I heard that Michael Rennie was Ill the Day the Earth Stood Still ...

But he told us ... where we stand.
And Flash Gordon was there in Silver Underwear
Claude Raines was The Invisible Man ...

[uriel1972]

81. oooh oooh I know this one!

Science Fiction, Double Feature,
Doctor X will build a creature,

[kentauros]

69. Two British sci-fi films that I remember as favorites:

Quatermass and the Pit ("Five Million Years to Earth" USA title)

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (have this one on DVD)

Both were well-written and -acted serious science fiction. I always found it interesting that British science fiction movies took things more seriously than American studios, like they were more interested in telling a good story than just having a good box-office showing.

[brett_jv]

74. My stepmom messed me up with creepy shit when I was a kid ...

Put it this way, by the time I was 12 (this was in the 1970's) I'd seen all these:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Night of the Living Dead
The Birds
Psycho
Homicidal
Sybil
Carrie
Rosemary's Baby
The Exorcist
The Omen
Jaws
Burnt Offerings
The Sentinel
The Hills Have Eyes
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Legend of Hell House
Baron Blood (the death of the dude in the spiked coffin traumatized me for years)

That was just a smattering of what my tender eyes saw at a young age.

But the creepiest one of all, one that truly freaked me out ... was a movie called The Other (I believe it was an early book by Thomas Tryon). Shit gave me nightmares with it's utterly creepy weirdness.

Looking back though, I loved all that stuff, that's why I watched it. Then in the years after as a teen I loved stuff like Halloween and Phantasm and NOES and all that, and read all the Koontz and Stephen King books as they came out.

Guess I'm an odd bird but the kiddy movies were never really 'my thing' cept when I was REAL young.

Of the more 'normal' movies though I loved Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and all the Roger Moore James Bond flicks ... Oh, and the Sinbad flicks, and the original Clash of the Titans ...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

84. heh, that is some list.

I took someone who I thought was the girl of my dreams (teen hormones were out of control) to see the Exorcist. My dad let me borrow his car. We sat through the movie, and she was so scared she left nail marks in my arm. Anyway, it was dark, and suddenly, nothing electronic worked in the car (it was brand new). NO horn, no radio, no headlights. It did start, and I slowly made my way to her home to drop her off. The instant she left the car everything popped on with no action on my part. The headlights, the radio (LOUD), the windshield wipers, even the horn.

The look of fear she gave me as she ran inside will stay with me forever.

[brett_jv]

86. Oh that's awesome ...

You get another date?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

87. Only in my dreams.

She was a stunning beauty.

Funny, I ran across her recently, or her photo, where she teaches school. She is still a stunning beauty, 40 yrs later

[dorkzilla]

76. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Mom dropped my big brother and I off at the theater to see this film, I think I was 9 or thereabouts. I will never forget the thrill I got from watching the figurehead on Sinbad's ship coming to life. Harryhausen was a true genius. The film also introduced me to Tom Baker who went on to be the first Dr. Who I really watched.

[raouldukelives]

77. Loved all those movies as a kid. Still do!

Creature Features, Universal monsters, Hammer flicks. Good stuff. But yeah, Jason and anything Ray did was light years ahead of anyone else.

They truly are art. I think the majority of his stop motion effects were one shot deals. There was no going back and no budget to re shoot. Organic art in action.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

78. Here's the thing...

...when I was 5-10 I didn't much watch movies. I guess I was a bit short on attention span. I saw a few Disney comedies like Flubber and Mary Poppins but they didn't stick out as wonderful. I got into movies as a teen. Here's the breakdown:

Monster movies:
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
>>> (This was the first time I heard the phrase "there's a fungus among us" when I told a friend about the movie. I'm also a confirmed Jerome Bixby fan.)
Forbidden Planet
>>> (This and Star Trek TOS started a life long sci-fi addiction.)
King Kong (The Fay Wray original)

Comedies:
Young Frankenstein
Kelly's Heroes

Cult movies:
Vanishing Point
>>> (and yes I absolutely had dreams about Gilda Texter)

Thrillers:
Three Days of the Condor
>>> (started me on spy movies and liking Max von Sydow)
The Exorcist
>>> (Max )

Crime:
The Getaway (the Sam Peckinpah original)
>>> (I'm a Sam Peckinpah fan.)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

83. Loved those on your list. I don't understand why

3 Days of the Condor was not more popular. Rarely replayed, but quite gripping and realistic in a way that stays with you.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

88. I'm not sure either

Perhaps it happened this way...
"...You may be walking. Maybe the first sunny day of the spring. And a car will slow beside you, and a door will open, and someone you know, maybe even trust, will get out of the car. And he will smile, a becoming smile. But he will leave open the door of the car and offer to give you a lift."

And my favorite line about the CIA, the government and all the rest of it: "Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?"

I thought Spygame was close to being a sequel.

Thanks

Have a great New Year!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

89. Same to thee!

And agreed about Spygame.

[kwassa]

80. The War of the Worlds

original version with Gene Barry, not the weaker Spielberg remake. Great special effects. Gave me nightmares for weeks.

I love Jason and the Argonauts, too. I instantly thought of the skeleton battle.

Samson and Delilah, with Victor Mature, especially went he knocked the city down at the end. Hedy Lamarr!

and all the Johnny Wiessmuller Tarzan movies, which I watched endlessly on TV.

[PufPuf23]

85. No one (yet) has mentioned Swiss Family Robinson nt