Very sad news.I love his stop motion work.Brilliant and amazing creator.In his honor I'll watch Clash of the Titans(1981) and King Kong(1933) on Wednesday.
Farewell Mr. Harryhausen, I am reminded of the animation after Mel Blanc passed of an empty microphone with all of the Loony Tunes Characters looking in reverence. Every fanboy Director in and out of Hollywood would not exist had it not been for the lifetime body of work created by the genius of Ray Harryhausen. Without the massive budgets, he took all of us from 20,000 fathoms to the moon and beyond. And what did all of his creations have that modern CGI (with the exception of Gollum and PJ’s King Kong) have that is lacking, a soul! Thank you for enriching my family’s life with art and humor and adventure, rest in peace.
I loved Ray Harryhausen's work. So imaginative and effective. Many of us will always prefer his special effects to the CGI-heavy films of today. If you ask me, his work enticed viewers to suspend disbelief and come along for the ride, and are what movies are all about.
There will never be another Ray Harryhausen!! Thanks for all of the great film memories Ray. You made my childhood a lot more interesting than it would have been without you. Peace like a river.
Aww. Have been watching a marathon of his films that have been showing on the SONY channel, including that great documentary of his work. Sad day indeed. His work was a major part of my childhood too. RIP Mr. H.
92 years old. He lived a long and fulfilling life, so I do not mourn his death, exactly. Yet, I feel like crying (something I don't generally do when a celeb passes on) because, well... he gave me my favorite fantasy film as a kid, The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, which had nearly as much of a massive impact on me in 1958 as King Kong had on Harryhausen in 1933. The millisecond his cyclops emerged from the cave at the start of Sinbad, I was both terrified and completely hooked.
I have never been a huge fan of his last two films (Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and Clash of the Titans), but everything before those was a gem -- completely unique. I do hope that the massive posthumous outpouring of public appreciation for the man that is certain to occur now from those he thrilled and inspired will prompt Columbia, Warner Bros and Fox to get his remaining films out on Blu-ray, at least for the purpose of public preservation.
Coincidentally, I am reading Master Of the Majicks Volume 3 right now (I also own Vol. 2 and am awaiting the last-to-be-published Volume 1). If you can track these down, they are the most thorough and amazing volumes about Harryhausen's work you can imagine (this volume alone is 640 pages, with high-quality semi-gloss paper and loaded with anecdotes, interviews, tons of photos, appendages, all to cover 9 of his films). I paid $250.00 each for these over a year ago, so they're not cheap, but if you are a dedicated Harryhausen fan, they're worth every cent.
Ray, I loved your films, sir. You held me in awe as few filmmakers could, and gave me a love of monsters and fantasy than hasn't abated to this day. Long may you live in the hearts of future generations.
I felt like crying too today. (Haven't felt quite like this since Jim Henson died.) Definitely a huge influence on my childhood. He was the first "behind the scenes guy" I learned about when I was old enough to grasp the concept someone was making these creatures move. I only just got the early black and white films on Blu Ray last month. Ray sounded like a kid on the commentary track for Twenty Million Miles to Earth, during the Ymir's final rampage.
I feel very lucky I got his autograph at a convention back in the early 90's. That was definitely a "I'll never wash this hand again!" moment.
I second the motion that the studios get off their butts, and release the rest of his films on Blu Ray.