Jason & The Argonauts

Product Information

We are now seeing shadings on the bodies of the Harpies, on the Hydra and the green patina of age on Talos with much more distinction. Only available in The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen Volume Two: 1961-1964 box set with Mysterious Island and First Men in the Moon (limited to 6,000 copies). Sony planned to go light on new extras until Ray Harryhausen's close associates took pains to lay down a pair of excellent commentaries. 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. Ray Harryhausen Chronicles (SD, 57:57) – Next we have a solid hour-long documentary on the illustrious stop-motion career of Ray Harryhausen--which initially began as his hobby after being awestruck by the original 'King Kong.

Jason and the Argonauts' shines even more in the audio department--as this Blu-ray not only includes the original mono soundtrack from past releases, but Sony's engineers have also remastered the track to provide an all-new DTS-HD Master Audio 5. Earlier featurettes reprised are the docu "The Ray Harryhausen Chronicles" and the testimonial interview montage "The Harryhausen Legacy"; and the charming John Landis interview with Ray. ratio letter-perfect, the stereo music sublime, contrast and black levels excellent, and image is sharp as a tack. There is considerable grain and noise in the effects sequences, notably when the skeletons rise up from the ground (which begs the question how they got there, but that's another issue entirely).

Blu-ray ALL The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Volume 2: 1961-1964 United Kingdom- Powerhouse Films - No cuts (103:54).

It's almost certain now, after the surprise success of the Clash of the Titans remake, that we'll be seeing a big-budget redo of this classic tale. This sequence is not only a technical achievement that has, and continues, to inspire throngs of artists and filmmakers all over the world, from Steven Spielberg to Sam Raimi to Peter Jackson, but it's a stunning, climactic set piece – the finale to an enormously entertaining piece of cult cinema.But you don't watch this one for the melodrama and scenery; you watch for the effects and this is where things break down. Harryhausen, himself, is doing extremely well and, despite his advancing years, has a fine, fine memory and a great clarity.

This may be an issue for someone like Robert Harris to address and work with the studio in correcting the films with this problem. The frame has been opened up slightly from Harryhausen's preferred full-frame version to account for the 16x9 anamorphic encode. Also available in the "The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen" collection with "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad", "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" and "Jason and the Argonauts". Those foreigners beyond the clashing rocks have exactly what Greece needs, a magic charm that brings peace, plenty and prosperity.I need to either see the Criterion LD again or hear from someone who has it to ascertain just how this transfer differs, or doesn't differ, in terms of those day-for-night sequences, but there is no doubt that this Blu-ray version is considerably better than anything other than the Criterion transfer. Going back and forth, the full screen LD was obviously a true "open matte" presentation, and provided a much more satisfying picture. All this stuff sounds good in the mono track, too, but the enhanced involvement we experience with the lossless option just feels more enticing. And to complicate things a little further, this is the type of film that probably appears to have a whole lot more than it really does.

This is a classic film, really happy with the purchase region free so worked on my UK blu ray player. And there is more flair, more personality, more class and more sheer imagination and awe in this than in a dozen-or-so big budget offerings from the last decade. I, personally, had no problem with it though, and when you compare it to the appalling haloing that takes place on the DVDs, you will suddenly discover that you have nothing to moan about, really. Revelations, affectations and obsessive confessions abound in one of the geek-tracks to end them all in the second yak-fest.When we first meet Phineas, Patrick Troughton's Harpy-tormented old blind man, the scene, detailing the initial attack and the subsequent introduction between him and Jason and his Argonauts is now daytime. With all of those classy English accents flying about, Jason and the Argonauts had a credibility that the various Sons of Hercules lacked. Classic story, literally, told with love and reverence, if not entirely faithful to the Argonautica. This is really only where we get a hint of bass activity, but the music has a nice expansive flow throughout the room and sounds terrific. Its string of bravura animation set-pieces are buffered by dramatic scenes, but in this case a fine cast and a strong story -- the myth of the Golden Fleece -- carry the film through in great style.