Jason & The Argonauts

Product Information

Considering what has been achieved with a limited source, and the fact that the same limited source is on here as well, Sony's BD of Jason And The Argonauts gets a strong 7 out of 10. The added color detail of Blu-ray brings out hidden character in the main title artwork, and gives the green highlights on Talos' bronze skin more definition. Grain fluctuates as a result of the combination of elements - FX and live-action, matte-shots and the sandwiching of Dynamation - but it hasn't been horribly removed. Not in the slightest, but this is, hands down, the absolute best presentation of this film ever released on home video, even if it's still a touch flawed.

Several day-for-night scenes have seen various interpretations over the years and in their respective releases, but one sequence, in particular, serves to highlight this quality best of all, and is renowned for not having had the right colour on DVD before. Starring Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis, Honor Blackman, Nigel Green, Michael Gwynn, Douglas Wilmer, Jack Gwillim, John Cairney, Patrick Troughton, Andrew Faulds.He falls in love with the sorceress Medea (Nancy Kovack), but without the aid of Hera falls victim to treachery. Colors can be pretty rich and vibrant--especially the deep crimsons of the actors' cloaks and the greenery of plant life--and whites can look phenomenal. If it weren't for films like Argonauts, and artists like Ray Harryhausen, we wouldn't have films like Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings or Avatar. But far from making me biased towards this new edition and, especially, its hi-def transfer, this probably made me less forgiving and more critical.

The entire Harpy sequence in the Greek ruins, as well as an earlier sequence in which Jason is taken to speak to the Gods, were supposed to have taken place at night, and a day-for-night appearance resulting from lower f-stops was intended.Although some attempt to stretch out the soundfield has been made and the engineers have been unable to resist throwing in some steerage and surround, it has been done tastefully and, as far as I am concerned, quite effectively. People like historian Bob Burns, directors John Landis, Frank Darabont and Joe Dante (who looks more and more like Tony Slattery every time I see him! These all-time classic adventures, each featuring pioneering special effects by filmmaking legend Ray Harryhausen, are presented here in stunning restorations. Obviously, and a little regrettably, this otherwise fine feature becomes a little too sweet with sugary praise and adulation .

Niall MacGinnis' Zeus, for instance, can sound brighter and louder when you flick to the mono track, but the lossless variant supplies some nice subtle echoing to his voice that works better, I think. Since he can't outright kill Jason for fear of stirring the wrath of the gods, Pelias figures the next best thing is to send Jason on some deadly wild goose chase for the mythical Golden Fleece.It is true that Harryhausen approved the Criterion transfer but it is so long since I've seen it, myself, that I cannot remember how it looked - which only complicates the matter further. The dailies are Ray's uncut animation takes as he first saw them back from the lab; Jackson reports that 95% of the shots were animated in one take only. But I found no smearing or evidence of the digital removal, so no worries there, except for the die-hard fans who believe that “everything from the original print should be preserved, warts and all”.

Talos had me frozen with fear and the Hydra and the skeletons were sights my eyes could not believe. Also available in the "Ray Harryhausen: Ultimate Collection" which includes "It Came from Beneath the Sea", "Earth vs the Flying Saucers", "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "The 3 Worlds of Gulliver", "Jason and the Argonauts", "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad", "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger". Given the vintage of the film, and the nature of the processes involved in its production, this is a terrific transfer from Sony and Columbia. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras – including audio commentaries with the great Ray Harryhausen himself, a Jason and the Argonauts commentary with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, new interviews with SFX maestro Hal Hickel and genre-film expert Kim Newman – this collection is strictly limited to 6,000 units. In this version, Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) learns from a seer that he is destined to overthrow King Aristo of Thessaly, but he will lose his reign to one of Aristo's offspring.Also included are trailers that were missing from the indigenous releases of 7th VOYAGE (a nice 3-minute one, narrated by Katherine Grant! But the best part is the energetic score composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann ('Citizen Kane' and ' Psycho') and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.