Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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69 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Matinee Fantasy from the FX Master, February 2, 2005
When Special Effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen received his lifetime acheivement Oscar, Tom Hanks said that anyone who was a boy of 10 in the 1960's will tell you that "Jason and The Argonauts" is one of the greatest movies ever made.
Jason is here, with the living giant bronze statue, the vicious harpies, and of course the many-headed Hydra and its "children." Terrific stop-motion fun for all ages. And without the aid of (yawn) computers, you just have to wonder, "How did he do that?"
Also in this bundle is Gulliver (see if you can spot June Thorburn, the grandmother from Absolutely Fabulous, in an early role), 7th Voyage of Sinbad ('50's-era innocence with the first dueling skeleton on film, not to mention the future Mrs. Bing Crosby), and Golden Voyage of Sinbad (Dance of death with six-armed goddess Kali and Tom Baker of Dr. Who fame).
Eye of the Tiger, on the other hand, is of "so bad its good"/MST3000 caliber--with the Duke's son, Patrick Wayne as So-bad--I mean, Sinbad--and chanteuse Margaret Whiting in her first (and last) dramatic role as the evil sorceress. And yes, that's Dr. Quinn/Jane Seymour wondering how she'll ever live this one down as a buxom princess with a baboon for a brother. I'm not kidding.
An extra treat with this set are the scores for Jason, 7th Voyage, and Gulliver by legendary screen composer Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Psycho). Juicy stuff.
Anybody who likes good old-fashioned matinee fantasy will want to own these treats.
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Harryhausen's great fantasy films, October 13, 2005
Ray Harryhausen is responsible for two of the best fantasty films ever made: Jason and the Argonauts and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is also a good film, though not up to the level of the first Sinbad film.
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver is minor and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a step down from the other two Sinbad films (though still with some good moments).
Missing from this collection is another interesting if flawed Harryhausen fantasy: Clash of the Titans. It would have been nice to have had that as part of the set.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Monstrous Collection, January 19, 2006
I remember seeing "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" in its original theatrical release. When the evil magician amuses the Caliph, Sinbad, and the court by combining a servant with a cobra was scary enough, but the climactic fight to the death between the dragon (fire-breathing as per expectations) and the Cyclops gave me the willies for a full week! "Jason and the Argonauts" had heros, gods, fantastic creatures, and a cameo by Hercules himself, so what's not to like? The other Sinbad films are here too, but none really match "The 7th Voyage. . ." Also included is the not as well known but, in my opinion, superb live-action "The Three Worlds of Gulliver" (which attempted to preserve some of Swift's satire far better than Max Fliescher's annimated "Gulliver's Travels").
But the real star of this collection, as it's title implies, is Ray Harryhausen. And Ray is clearly at his best in the realm of fantasy and mythic folklore. His creatures in this collection are far superior to any of his science-fiction work (with the possible exception of "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers"). Stop-action animation was state-of-the-art special effects when these films were made, and Harryhausen was the best of the best. All these films are in color, and the transfers to disc are exceptionally good! The sound is perfectly satisfactory. All in all, each film is preserved and presented in their original splendor.
This collection is an execellant example of movie making when the emphasis was on story and character rather than all the mayhem the director could cram into one or two hours of film. These films take us to lands off the map, lands marked only "Here there be Dragons." The action is plentiful, the heros are heroic, and every single film in this collection has a clear beginning, middle, and a satisfactory ending, quite unlike the movies of today that like to start nowhere, head anywhere aimlessly, and seem only to stop when the FX folks have run out of graphics or explosives (as their imagination had run dry long before the credits rolled).
So make some good hot popcorn with real butter, turn down the lights, and watch some real imaginative movie-making. It's well worth the time, and the price is splendid, and the payoff is enormous fun!
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