[yasr_overall_rating]
The life and work of the renowned film visual effects artist and producer.
There was a time when I was young when you could turn on the television and watch old fantasy movies from the ’60s where men fought human sized skeletons. Ray Harryhausen was the creative mind behind many of these monster sequences. And like Alfred Hitchcock and a slew of other film visionaries, Harryhausen was never recognized by the Motion Picture Academy. And that’s a shame. “Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan” wants to remind us how brilliant Harryhausen was as a film director.
“Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan” was released in 2011. I’m not sure what indirect relationship, if any, the film has to the “Clash of the Titans” remake in 2010. I was pretty sure that “Clash of the Titans” was not a successful film, but upon actually performing research, I found that I was wrong. “Clash of the Titans” did well financially and I feel that this film probably secured the funding in at least some way for “Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan.” The film is the first English language feature directed by Gilles Penso, a French director. Since this 2011 release, Penso has released only one film: “Creature Designers – The Frankenstein Complex.” I only bring up this prior credit to say: (1) I’d like to see that film to tell you I found “Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan” at least somewhat enjoyable, and (2) Penso’s only other feature credit demonstrates that he seems to be a director focused mainly on singing the praises of special effects wizards.
I recall seeing this film years ago on Netflix. Arrow Films has re-released a version of the film. It is difficult to see the footprint of a director in this film, which focuses mostly having a host of current Hollywood blockbuster directors sing the praises of Harryhausen. We see Tim Burton acknowledge that many of Burton’s film, “Mars Attacks,” in particular, were inspired by Harryhausen. A remarkably slender Peter Jackson acknowledges his early attempts at filmmaking were pale imitations of Harryhausen’s work. Even Spielberg chimes in to sing the high praises of Harryhausen’s creative output.
The documentary is not too focused on creating a dramatic narrative but seems to exist mainly just to acknowledge Harryhausen’s brilliance. Although, in a way, Harryhausen’s life had a bit of a narrative arc. In the same that way that Jim Henson had to turn to England to find financing for his puppet works, Harryhausen also found himself spending an increasing amount of time in Europe as his projects languished in Hollywood. Eventually unable to find financial support for a “Clash of the Titans” sequel, Harryhausen’s career ended in a bit of a whimper. While very sad, it’s not an unusual end for a luminary of tinseltown.
It’s the limitation of the narrative that makes me unsure about this film. I think Harryhausen was brilliant and I think it’s important that his genius is acknowledged. But the film lapses too much into hero praise and does not spend enough time trying to add depth, complexity or tone to his story. So, the only real reason to watch this picture is if you’re a film buff and want to absorb a compilation of film snippets and interviews of other people talking about the genius of Harryhausen. There’s no groundbreaking revelations here about the work that he made or unknown details about how his life or how his movies were made. And while these elements are not required for a film, it feels like the film keeps repeating the same facts over and over: Harryhausen was a very good artist, Harryhausen inspired a lot of now famous filmmakers, many Hollywood blockbusters reference the work of Harryhausen.
It also might just be me, but I really wanted this film to dive deeper into an exploration of how “Clash of the Titans” was filmed. Harryhausen’s other work occurred in an environment that too unlike Hollywood today for us to understand how Harryhausen worked in a modern context. “Clash of the Titans” occurred in 1981, when the idea of the blockbuster, movie merchandising, and many of the rudimentary elements of modern special effects were in place. If you look to that film, you understand what conflicts were experienced by Harryhausen and what the environment was that caused the very brilliant man to leave Hollywood and not really make another film until he died in 2013. For what it is, “Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan” is not the best filmmaking documentary I’ve ever seen but it is sure is enjoyable.
Now available on Blu-ray & DVD
