(Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved)
Ray
Harryhausen: Myths and Legends
By
Adrian Smith
On
the 29th June one of the world’s most legendary filmmakers
celebrated his 90th birthday. To coincide with this, the London Film
Museum is hosting a brand new exhibition devoted to the great man himself.
Cinema Retro was fortunate enough to attend the event and join in the birthday
celebrations, alongside such notable guests as John Landis, Terry Gilliam,
Peter Jackson and special effects guru Rick Baker.
Rick Baker and John Landis get uncomfortably close to a sword-wielding skeleton. (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)
Gilliam
was very clear at to why he was in attendance. “I’ve been a fan, like most
people, especially my generation I think, because we grew up with his monsters,
his creatures, his Greek mythology even. What I love about him is his handiwork.
It’s not digital, with teams of people doing it. It’s Ray giving life to these
things. That’s why I think this stuff works. It’s a performance. There’s
something about that kind of handiwork that I just find extraordinary. It’s not
real, and it seems to trigger off all sorts of childhood fantasies. You see
something that’s clearly not real, but totally believable at the same time. We
know that stuff is clay and rubber and stuff, and suddenly it’s given life.
It’s magic!†So with all that said, will Gilliam be using stop motion in his
next project, the much-anticipated The
Man Who Killed Don Quixote? “No, I’m using computers! I need things done
quickly and cheaply!â€
After
Ray had cut the ribbon in front of a wall of cameras we went into the
exhibition itself. The first thing you see is a recreation of King Kong atop
the Empire State Building. Although Ray Harryhausen is the main focus of this
exhibition, he was keen to ensure that it presented a history of the animation
art form as well. After all he has recently co-written a hugely informative
book on the subject, A Century of Model
Animation. Ray happily posed for photos, alongside his wife Diana and
daughter Vanessa. At one point a spontaneous singalong of Happy Birthday broke
out.
One of the least-sexy female leads from a Harryhausen film: the notorious Medusa. (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved)
The
exhibition is quite simply fantastic. Alongside actual models and props
from many
of the films, including The Valley of
Gwangi and Jason and the Argonauts,
you will also find video interviews with Ray, film clips and even a
life-sized
Medusa from The Clash of the Titans.
The centre-piece of the exhibition is a bronze statue of Ray holding the
skeleton from The 7th Voyage
of Sinbad. This statue provided another excellent photo opportunity,
with
Ray commenting that the statue was bigger than him!
Prehistoric "cast members" from The Valley of Gwangi. (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)
John
Landis explained his lifelong love of Ray Harryhausen films to us as a friend took his picture by the huge Medusa.
“Ray is directly responsible for my career. Many people are inspired by a
film-going experience, and mine was The 7th
Voyage of Sinbad when I was eight years old. I asked my mother who
was
responsible for that. She said ‘the director’, and that was it. I’ve
known Ray
for many years now, [editor: in fact, Landis has had Ray play small
roles in
some of his movies, including the upcoming Burke
and Hare], and his influence is gigantic! He’s also a lovely man!
And Ray
Harryhausen was the reason to see a Ray Harryhausen film. You didn’t go
because
of the stars, you didn’t go for the director or the script, you went for
his
creatures!â€
The head of the six-tentacled octopus from It Came from Beneath the Sea! (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved)
Peter Jackson takes in the awesome exhibits. (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved)
Tony
Dalton, Ray’s close friend and biographer, took the opportunity to
announce
that The National Media Museum in Bradford, England, will be preserving
Ray
Harryhausen’s complete collection of material. There are thousands of
items,
many of which have been sitting in crates in Ray’s garage and have only
recently been rediscovered. This is exciting news as it means that
eventually
there will be a permanent display at the museum, as well as the
production of
educational materials and research opportunities. To help fund the
preservation
and restoration of the collection a new book has been published. Ray Harryhausen: A Life in Pictures,
features many unique and insightful photos and sketches, not only of
Ray’s
movies but also some wonderful pictures of his early childhood. He
clearly grew
up in a supportive family environment which allowed his hobby to develop
from
its humble origins into what is now being celebrated in this exhibition.
Ray and his daughter Vanessa with Michael Harvey from the National Media Museum, announcing the preservation of the collection. (Photo copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)
Ray
Harryhausen:
Myths and Legends is open at
the London Film Museum until
June 2011.
Ray
Harryhausen: A Life in Pictures is available to purchase only at the BFI
Souuthbank, the London Film Museum, or through the Cinema Store. It
costs £30,
and every penny goes towards the preservation fund.
You
can follow Adrian Smith on Twitter @retroramblings.