Film & Water #125 – Jason and the Argonauts Audio Commentary

THE FILM & WATER PODCAST

Episode 125: JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

Rob welcomes back Cory Drew to do a “live” audio commentary for one of Cory’s favorite films, Ray Harryhausen’s JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS!

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13 responses to “Film & Water #125 – Jason and the Argonauts Audio Commentary

  1. My 4-year-old nephew has rewatched a few Harryhausen scenes, especially those involving skeletons. As an adult, however, it’s gotten harder to root for Jason when he willfully travels to a foreign land specifically to rob them of their holy relic. I do enjoy the Sinbad adventures, especially the Seventh Voyage and Eye of the Tiger.

          1. Even more impressive, he recognized Troughton, who didn’t get as much play in the US as Pertwee and Baker. Heck, many of his episodes are lost! Troughton also shows up in several Hammer films, like The Gorgon (some Harryhausen connective tissue there) and Scars of Dracula.

            Chris

  2. I love this movie and have seen it so many times that I followed along in my heads easily. A couple of things.

    Talus is a bone in the foot, perhaps a hint at his weakness? That metal on metal sound does sell the whole thing.

    I always identified with Hylus. Uses his brains to get on the team, The only hope I would have of joining.

    The Triton scene is my favorite non-‘stop motion’ sequence because it is sold in two different ways. One, the real actor in the tub with the toy boat. Two, The actors on the boat with rear projection of the giant man. Worked well.

    And yes, Jason is pretty nondescript. Maybe so the average viewer could identify more??

    1. Yet another thing that Anj and I agree on! The films of Ray Harryhausen! Excellent information about Talus! Thanks Anj!

  3. Hi Rob and Corey,

    I really loved your Jason and the Argonauts episode. I’m a life-long fan of the films of Ray Harryhausen. I watched them on TV throughout my childhood and can remember seeing the Sinbad films on the big screen in the 1970s.

    Ruth and I were lucky to see almost all of Ray’s films on the big screen at the Carolina Theatre in Durham a few years ago when they had a Ray Harryhausen Film Festival. Three full days of Ray’s movies with interviews and documentaries shown in between the films.

    The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation is attempting to save Ray’s wonderful models. You can make a charitable donation online. Peter Jackson is a huge fan of Ray Harryhausen and presented him with his lifetime BAFTA award and has made a large donation to the foundation.

    If you’re interested, Ruth and I joined Randy Andrews on an episode of Soundtrack Alley a few months ago to discuss the film and soundtrack. It’s episode 36 from July 2017.

    By today’s standards, Ray would have been credited as a co-director for his films because he did direct large parts of all of his movies and was on location during all filming to coordinate the actors so they could be matched to his miniatures later.

    However, the complicated rules of the day meant he was unable to be credited as a director. Several people in the industry have said that if Ray worked more in Hollywood instead of the UK during his career, those rules would have been changed sooner. Instead, the rules weren’t changed until the next generation of directors who grew up watching his films began making their own movies and brought renewed attention to Ray Harryhausen.

    I highly recommend the documentary Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. It was filmed a couple of years before Ray Harryhausen passed away and features interviews with Ray, Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, and many others. It was released in cinemas in the UK in 2011 and was finally released here in the US on Blu-ray last year.

    Thanks for another great episode!

    Darrin

  4. Great commentary to accompany an incredible movie. I was big into Greek mythology back in elementary and middle school. Jason and the Argonauts probably was my favorite myth, because it’s a veritable who’s who of Greek heroes. While listening to this episode, I got to wondering if the original myth might not be the first recorded heist story, where the protagonist gathers a team of specialists to steal the MacGuffin?

  5. Great episode! I haven’t seen this one in several years. A few years back when TCM played it, my kids watched the end with me with the skeletons and thought it was cool, so it still works. Of course they do have an appreciation for older movies thanks to their parents, but still, a win.

    This could totally be the basis of a new cinematic universe, but it seems whenever one studio greenlights a film of this type, another decides to try and get their’s out first, and both get left in the dust. Like the Hercules movies from a few years back with The Rock and the beefy guy from Twilight.

    This movie inspired one of my best high-school art pieces: a barbarian battling an army of skeletons. My teacher wouldn’t let me do too much super hero art, but this was close enough for me, and it appeased her with its classical trappings.

    Chris

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