“Episode Seven: The Force Awakens” of the Star Wars series
has opened to stellar acclaim and mass appeal. The last trilogy of Star Wars
films were built largely on special effects, almost exclusively CGI. JJ Abrams
the director/producer of this most recent effort decided (in a stroke of
brilliance) to return to the original trilogy’s more authentic look of location
shots, sound stage and stop motion style
of animation employed in the much beloved original trilogy. The undisputed
champion of the stop motion technique was the great auteur Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen’s
work influenced all of the contemporary giants of fantasy and sci-fi film
makers. George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Guillmero Del Toro
all list Ray Harryhausen among their biggest if not the biggest influence on
their approach to special effects and fantastic film making. Harryhausen being
a master and artist supreme across genres.
The films of Ray Harryhausen include Earth vs the Flying Saucers, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the unparalled telling of the Greek myth Jason and the Argonauts. Every one of these films are marvels, viewed and treasured to this day with a worldwide and respected fandom. Harryhausen’s motion art is phenomenal and his drawings and studies are phenomenal as well.
The drawings; though less known of Ray Harryhausen’s achievements, are painstaking gems much in line with nineteenth century
text book illustration. His dinosaurs, heroes, fantastic creatures and damsels
ring true and make the man’s talent apparent as a supreme artist. His works are without color and give the
illusion of fine art printmaking, harkening to an earlier era where color was
more of a rarity. The look of the Harryhausen drawings add to their mysticism
and their feel is for a time preceding even his own.
Ray Harryhausen films will stand as long as there are those that appreciate motion pictures, mythology, story-telling and art. The same should be true for his drawings. His creatures that date back in time immemorial will live equally far into the future. They enliven both our hearts and our imaginations.
