The moment a young Ray Harryhausen was taken to the cinema to watch the original 1933 version of King Kong and he was never the same again. He had been bitten by the special effects bug and the winner was ultimately going to be cinema.
His career in old school special effects still wows film fans to this day. Yes they’ve dated, but the artistry and imagination still appeals and wins admirers. Many of Harryhausen’s creations became iconic screen characters and gave people growing up some of their most cherished film memories. The man’s achievements go down in film history – he was a titan of the industry himself.
5: GWANGI – THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969)
Harryhausen’s creations weren’t just animals or beasts but characters in their own right. He broke the trend for screen dinosaurs when he made Gwangi the allosaurus sympathetic. The scene when cowboys capture Gwangi remains an incredible achievement in special effects. Man versus beast, but who exactly is the beast?
4: THE OCTOPUS – IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955)
In reality not really an octopus as the films budget couldn’t stretch to 8 tentacles. This example of Harryhausen’s early professional career showed everyone what he was capable of.
As the oversized tentacles wrap themselves around the Golden Gate Bridge and pull it down the audience stares open mouthed and gasping.
3: PEGASUS – CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)
Personal favourite of mine and one of my earliest film memories. Pegasus is a symbol for the magic of cinema. A magnificent white steed with huge wings that allow him to fly gracefully through the air.
Perseus is nothing without Pegasus.
2: THE SKELETONS – JASON & THE ARGONAUTS (1963)
Harryhausen had already given the world one fighting skeleton in the 7th Voyage of Sinbad but he pulled out all stops here and created one of the most famous scenes in history.
Taking an astonishing four and half months to complete the scene is only 4 minutes long but without doubt it remains 4 minutes of pure unadulterated joy. 7 skeletons attack Jason and two other guys. Nobody really wins except us.
1: MEDUSA – CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)
Who else could really take the top spot but the gorgon herself? An evil bitch with snakes for hair and a glare that can turn any man to stone. Her rattle snake tail still sends chills up the spine and in terms of Harryhausen’s genius, it all shines through in the nail-biting tension filled scene where Perseus triumphs in defeating her.
Medusa is at number 1 simply because she has the greatest character design of all Harryhausen’s creations. The sequence has great animation, brilliant lighting and sound effects that have rarely been bettered in any film since.