Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Movie Review)

  It’s a rare case when a special effect’s artist gets top billing for a movie, but in the case of Ray Harryhausen, he was in a league of his own merit. For genera fans of fantasy and stop-motion wonders, it’s Ray Harryhausen’s name that a movie would be associated with. For over fifty years, he was a pioneer in creature effects, and also served as producer for a number of adventure fantasy epics. Some of his bigger titles included the “Sinbad” movies, “One Million Years BC”, and one of my personal favorite movies ever … 1981’s “Clash of the Titans”. However, the one movie that’s almost universally regarded as Ray Harryhausen’s greatest, and most iconic work is the 1963 fantasy classic “Jason and the Argonauts”. It’s a quest-based adventure set in the time of Greek mythology, and it allowed Harryhausen to utilize a variety of fantastical set-pieces, as well as aw-inspiring creature effects. While skillfully directed by Don Chaffey, “Jason and the Argonauts” marked the peak in Ray Harryhausen’s career, and the point in which his name was engraved in the Hollywood Hall of fame.

  The titular Jason is the last son of a fallen kingdom, which has been overrun by a tyrant named King Pelias. Determined to avenge his royal heritage, and reclaim his home, Jason gathers the finest warriors in all of Greece, and aims to set sail to the edge of the Earth. With the Goddess Hera watching over him, Jason hops to find the legendary Golden Fleece, which has incredible healing powers, and is the one thing on Earth that will give him power over his enemies. 

From there, it’s a very straightforward narrative, as Jason’s quest leads from one existing encounter after another, through uncharted waters, discovering new lands, and battling various monsters along the way. For such an old 1963 picture, this film is still very existing to watch, and the pacing is chalk full of energy. Even before all the big monsters appear, this film has a way of hooking me in from the opening titles. This I feel is largely due to Don Chaffey’s direction, as he knew how to infuse this movie with a sense of “aw” and wonder right from the start. It was very wise that he didn’t solely rely on Rey Harryhausen’s effects to hold the audience’s attention, as he elevates the film with basic, yet effective “movie magic”. Then when the monsters finally due appear, they make for memorable spectacles, and really show off Harryhausen’s flair for creative creature effects.

   It’s great that when the quest is underway, there’s variety to the different obstacles our hero’s encounter. Sometimes it’s monsters, other times it’s a canyon with rocky cliffs that will collapse on traveling sailors, and the only way to get through safely is by raising the giant sea God named Triton. 

Of course, Harryhausens creatures steal the show once they come on screen, with the first encounter being the giant statue of a man named Talos. This sequence is awesome, and it terrified a whole generation of children. Even though I was a little kid, I don’t recall Talos scaring me, but the sequence all around still had me riveted. Also, when I first saw this movie as a kid, my favorite creature designs were the winged Harpies, who looked like they came right out of Disney’s “Gargoyles” TV show, which I was watching at the time. Speaking of Disney, I probably would have liked the sequence with Jason battling the Hydra a lot more, had I not seen Disney’s “Hercules” first. That animated Hydra battle from the Disney movie was one of my childhood favorite action scenes, and it just made the live-action Hydra battle feel mediocre by comparison. Looking back as an adult, I do find the Hydra to be a wonder of stop-motion creature animation, especially with all the different individual heads Harryhausen had to animate.

  Todd Armstrong plays Jason, with Tim Turner supplying his dubbed voice, and while both talents play the role well, he really isn’t the most interesting of lead hero’s. In Greek Mythology, Jason always stood out for being one of the few heroes who was completely mortal, and not a Demi-God in the vein of characters like Hercules or Perseus. However, I never felt this film really made the character of Jason stand out, as he’s basically just the stoic hero on a quest. It doesn’t help that his story never reaches any proper conclusion. 

We never see him reclaim his fallen kingdom, and he never has a proper adversary to add excitement to his journey. While the movie sets up King Pelias as the main villain, he completely disappears from the film only twenty minutes in, and is never seen again. Personally, I think a rivalry with an imposing foe would have made Jason’s character a lot more interesting. Clearly this film was meant to be chapter one of an ongoing series, but no direct sequels followed, leaving this film feeling somewhat incomplete. One thing this movie absolutely got right were the God’s of Olympus, who pull the strings on the events down below, and treat everyone of man kinds oppositions like a game of chess. It’s one of the greatest depictions of the Greek Gods put to film, and I love all the details on display. We have Hera communicating to Jason through a wooden statue of her likeness, and the God Hermes discussed as a soothsayer.

  Unfortunately, there’s also a number of supporting players who I wish had bigger roles in the film. For example, we get a great introduction to the characters of Hercules and Hylas. During a competition of throwing the discuss, Hylas proves that his intelligence in on par with Hercules strength, and it’s a great moment that got me excited to see these two go on a journey with Jason. Unfortunately, both characters are quickly ejected from the film, as one dies, the other goes on his own path, and it just makes me wish they were present for the duration of the adventure. The big one who I wish had a bigger role is Jason’s shady love interest named Midea. Nancy Kovack is great in the role, I like that she isn’t the clichéd princess stereotype, and she has a deceptive nature that makes her challenging to trust. Too bad she doesn’t show-up until the third act of the movie, which makes her romance with Jason feel rushed, when it should have been developed over the course of the journey. On a side note, Midea has kind of a silly ritual dance sequence, with odd music, and it feels like one of those strange detours from the 60’s “Star Trek” show, in which a green skinned alien would have a random dance scene.

  Speaking of music, let’s take a moment to shine the spot light on Bernard Herrmann, who’s one of the greatest movie music composers to ever live. He composed some of the most iconic tracks to classic movies, including “Citizen Kane”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, and the majority of Alfred Hitchcock movies, like “North by North West”, “Vertigo” and “Psycho”. Needless to say, the mans a legend, and I’ve always loved his work … which is why it pains me to say that I find his music score for “Jason and the Argonauts” to be extremely underwhelming. While the music isn’t bad, it’s just very forgettable, and I expect more from Bernard Herrmann. Even his score to “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad” had more personality and flair then this. It may not be that big a deal, but when it comes to adventure cinema, the music score plays a big part in making the excitement come to life. Just as a quick comparison, Laurence Rosenthal’s music score to 1981’s “Clash of the Titan’s” is one of my all-time favorites of the fantasy genera, as it was a score that gave all the adventure elements and excitement of the film a tremendous sense of size and wonder.

   Getting back on track, once Jason reaches the end of his quest, he and the Argonauts finally find the Golden Fleece, but before they can escape with it, they have to battle an army of Skeleton Warriors. Right along with King Kong climbing the Empire State Building, this battle with the Skeletons is one of the most iconic pieces of stop-motion ever put to film. Ray Harryhausen previously utilized a single stop-motion Skeleton warrior in 1958’s “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad”, but here, he one-up’s the excitement with multiple Skeletons fighting multiple soldiers in one sequence, and still to this day, it’s a thrilling finale. Honestly, it’s one of the greatest action sequences in all of fantasy cinema, and I’m convinced it’s the main reason this movie is both celebrated, and remembered through the decades. Several movies to follow have been directly influenced by this sequence, including the 1999 remake of “The Mummy”, which featured its own reanimated skeleton soldiers. Bruce Campbell’s 1992 horror Fantasy “Army of Darkness” likewise featured a climactic battle with stop-motion skeletons. Even the 2002 sequel “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams” featured a skeleton battle, which was an obvious, yet delightful homage to the final battle from “Jason and the Argonauts”. The one downside again is that, after Jason’s harrowing escape from the Skeletons, the film abruptly ends, with a number of story threads left unresolved. With all the Sinbad sequels, it always confused me why Jason’s adventures couldn’t continue in any further movies.     

   Like I said, this wasn’t the first time Harryhausen utilized his effects for a fantasy adventure film. In fact, it was only five years earlier, he worked on 1958’s “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad”, which had a similar quest-based narrative that weaved around his fantastical set-pieces. Yet, despite not being his first, “Jason and the Argonauts” has been preserved over the decades as a motion picture classic, and a favorite for many fans of the fantasy genera. Even Tom Hanks famously stated that of all the great movies out their … “Jason and the Argonauts” remains in his view the greatest movie ever made. 

As a longtime fan of Greek mythology, I absolutely have positive feelings for this film, but I’ve never been able to brand it as one of my personal favorite movies either. Honestly, I’ve always had a reserved sense of jealousy toured this film, as its popularity always overshadowed my preferred fantasy adventure “Clash of the Titans”. When comparing the two, I always felt that “Clash of the Titans” had a more complete story, with our hero’s journey reaching a proper conclusion, and it wasn’t trying to set-up any sequels. “Jason and the Argonauts” for me just can’t escape this presentation that it’s only chapter one of a story that never comes to a satisfying conclusion. Still, I can’t demise what is arguably the most classic movie to be associated with Greek Mythology. Even with my reserved jealousy, I can’t deny that “Jason and the Argonauts” is a delightfully old-school experience that’s well worth looking back on, and sharing with a new generation of viewers. It’s a staple of Ray Harryhausen’s creature effects, and a memorable instalment to the Fantasy Adventure genera.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1963 fantasy classic “Jason and the Argonauts” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love!