Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects Master, Dies Aged 92

Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects Master, Dies Aged 92 49

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @07:38PM from the rest-in-peace dept.

New submitter Diakoneo writes "According to the BBC, 'Visual effects master Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion wizardry graced such films as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, has died aged 92. The American animator made his models by hand and painstakingly shot them frame by frame to create some of the best-known battle sequences in cinema.' Some of my fondest cinematic memories from my youth are from Ray Harryhausen."

Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects Master, Dies Aged 92

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Wait! (Score:5, Funny)

by He Who Has No Name ( 768306 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @07:42PM (#43659947)

If we keep repositioning his body while everyone is blinking, maybe nobody will be able to tell he's actually dead.

- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by whizbang77045 ( 1342005 ) writes:
  
  Revenge of the Harryhausen?
  - Re: (Score:2)
    
    by Sulphur ( 1548251 ) writes:
    
    Revenge of the Harryhausen?
    Son of Harryhausen?
    - Re: (Score:2)
      
      by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) writes:
      
      Abbot and Costello meet Harryhausen!
- Re:Wait! (Score:4, Insightful)
  
  by condition-label-red ( 657497 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @08:41PM (#43660477) Homepage
  
  On one hand this is absolutely morbid...but he would have probably loved it!
  
  - Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
    
    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @11:37PM (#43661739)
    
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    
- Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
  
  by asn ( 4418 ) writes:
  
  Weekend at Harryhausen's?
He provided inspiration (Score:2, Interesting)

by Camembert ( 2891457 ) writes:

The man inspired so many young viewers when these classic movies came out, including a number of kids who later became prominent in the movie industry themselves.
- Re: He provided inspiration (Score:2, Interesting)
  
  by Anonymous Coward writes:
  
  Was he the inspiration for the restaurant "Harryhausen's" in Monsters Inc.?
  - Re: He provided inspiration (Score:5, Informative)
    
    by He Who Has No Name ( 768306 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @08:17PM (#43660311)
    
    Yep, that was named for him.
    
Tribute to Ray Harryhausen (Score:5, Interesting)

by ElementOfDestruction ( 2024308 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @08:05PM (#43660179)

This is from the internet, and it's pretty old.

http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/tribute/ [malevole.com]

- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by H0p313ss ( 811249 ) writes:
  
  This is from the internet, and it's pretty old.
  http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/tribute/ [malevole.com]
  
  Thank you, that made my day. (And yes, all you cynics, it was a pretty shitty day...)
Skeleton fights! (Score:5, Informative)

by Dr Herbert West ( 1357769 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @08:08PM (#43660211)

There's a great documentary about Harryhausen as well as some of the artists he inspired. It's on the Netflix for streaming, as I recall:

The Sci-Fi Boys [imdb.com]

R.I.P Ray, your work with skeleton fights in "Argonauts" opened my eyes to the world of animation and all things morbid! You will be missed.

- Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
  
  by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @08:34PM (#43660425)
  
  Comment removed based on user account deletion
  
  - Re: (Score:2)
    
    by antdude ( 79039 ) writes:
    
    http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL301A89EF78E1A4BB [youtube.com] for the playlist, but some videos are missing.
    - Re: (Score:2)
      
      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes:
      
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by Jonah Hex ( 651948 ) writes:
  
  Another great (the definitive) Documentary on him is Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan [imdb.com]. It has some of the original armature and foam pieces unearthed from his garage as well as lots of interviews with people in the industry and the man himself. Well worth the hour and a half run time. - HEX
So long, and thanks for all the fish! (Score:2, Offtopic)

by woboyle ( 1044168 ) writes:

RH was a force of nature, and we who grew up on his wizardry will miss him!
In his honor... (Score:3)

by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @09:07PM (#43660641)

...I will battle a troop of animated skeletons. Now where did I put Diablo II...?

- Re:In his honor... (Score:4, Interesting)
  
  by iluvcapra ( 782887 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @09:37PM (#43660873)
  
  You put the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts up against the sword-fight with the skeleton pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean and some of it is almost shot-for-shot, it was a pretty strong inspiration.
  Also: Bubo.
  
Stop motion Owl (Score:3)

by Nidi62 ( 1525137 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @09:19PM (#43660737)

I always thought that owl was kind of creepy when I was younger, but when they made the crappy remake I found myself missing the owl. He certainly made some iconic and memorable animations.

King Kong (Score:4, Interesting)

by __aahgmr7717 ( 855859 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @11:08PM (#43661543)

We had one of the 3 armatures from King Kong in our closet for several years.
My brother, Jim Danforth, knew Ray Harryhausen and did similar puppet animation
in the '60, such as "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" and "The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao".
Harryhausen was a house hold word in our family.

In remembrance (Score:3)

by ridgecritter ( 934252 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @11:51PM (#43661821)

of Ray Harryhausen, I watched Jason and the Argonauts again this evening. I first saw it when I was about 20, and I've never been able to look at a skeleton quite the same way since. What a talent he had!

Will be missed (Score:3, Interesting)

by Forthan Red ( 820542 ) writes: on Tuesday May 07, 2013 @11:52PM (#43661825)

Sad news. I was fortunate enough to meet him back in 1981, and got his autograph. It was at an advance showing of the original Clash of the Titans, where he gave a presentation before the film. He brought some of the original figures used for Jason and the Argonauts, King Kong, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and other stop-motion classics. Despite all the computer perfection of today's CGI, it will never match the wonder I experienced when, as a kid, I first saw the battle of the skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts.

- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by Forthan Red ( 820542 ) writes:
  
  Quick correction - it was a model from Mighty Joe Young, not King Kong. He hated working with a fur model, because you couldn't touch it without moving some of the fur. He never again created a fur-covered monster.
- Re:Stop motion done right (Score:5, Interesting)
  
  by Rakarra ( 112805 ) writes: on Wednesday May 08, 2013 @06:28AM (#43663429)
  
  Stop-motion Jurassic park would have been like CGI Star Wars. Get it, Lucas?
  Jurassic Park was originally going to be stop-motion in wide shots (or really, go-motion like the walkers from Empire Strikes Back) and Phil Tippett was hired to oversee this. The results just weren't what Spielberg was hoping for, and then the CGI dinosaurs started to look amazing...
  
Farewell Ray, you change our world, thank-you. (Score:2)

by RandomStr ( 2116782 ) writes:

As someone who had the honor of meeting Ray, I say, he will be missed.

At the time of meeting him I was a nubie to the effects industry, one that he was instrumental in developing, yet he was as fascinated and inspired with our modern processes as we where by his. His insight, creative vision and pioneering sprite transcended time, and I value every word of advice that he bestowed upon me.

His works(seminal) will ensure that he continues to inspire, an immortal of our modern age.
I have to admit (Score:5, Insightful)

by CrazyBusError ( 530694 ) writes: on Wednesday May 08, 2013 @06:56AM (#43663507) Homepage

When I saw the tributes coming in, I was moved.

Then I was moved a little more.

And I was moved a little more still...

Goodbye (Score:2)

by puddingebola ( 2036796 ) writes:

Liked the Kraken in Clash of the Titans best.
- Re: (Score:3)
  
  by trongey ( 21550 ) writes:
  
  Liked the Kraken in Clash of the Titans best.
  I guess you must have missed Andromeda's bathing scene.
This man was a genius (Score:2)

by Leafheart ( 1120885 ) writes:

I was reading the NYTimes article, and this part caught my attention:
The heart of his technique was a process he developed called Dynamation. It involved photographing a miniature — of a dinosaur, say — against a rear-projection screen through a partly masked pane of glass. The masked portion would then be re-exposed to insert foreground elements from the live footage. The effect was to make the creature appear to move in the midst of live action. It could now be seen walking behind a live tree, or be viewed in the middle distance over the shoulder of a live actor — effects difficult to achieve before.
That is brilliant!!!!! RIP Mr Ray. And thank you for everything
soon all scifi movies will look the same (Score:2)

by peter303 ( 12292 ) writes:

Since J. Abrams seems to be directing all the big ones. I wont be able to tell the difference between Star Trek and Star wars anymore.
A true great (Score:2)

by Rambo Tribble ( 1273454 ) writes:

In the pantheon of cinematic-effects geniuses, Harryhausen stands among the masters, such as Georges Melies.
Opening a sushi restaurant in Mostropolis (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward writes:

He's not dead, he's just been teleported to Monstropolis to open the hottest Asian-fusion-sushi restaurant in town.
Tim Burton, et al (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward writes:

owe this guy a huge debt artistically (corpse bride, nightmare) as well as Selick (James and the Giant Peach, Coraline)
and even South Park (although 2d cutout instead of 3d) and even a lot of current 3dcharacter animation is based on his work.
-I'm just sayin'

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Wait! (Score:5, Funny)

Re: (Score:1)

Re: (Score:2)

Re: (Score:2)

Re:Wait! (Score:4, Insightful)

Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

He provided inspiration (Score:2, Interesting)

Re: He provided inspiration (Score:2, Interesting)

Re: He provided inspiration (Score:5, Informative)

Tribute to Ray Harryhausen (Score:5, Interesting)

Re: (Score:2)

Skeleton fights! (Score:5, Informative)

Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)

Re: (Score:2)

Re: (Score:2)

Re: (Score:2)

So long, and thanks for all the fish! (Score:2, Offtopic)

In his honor... (Score:3)

Re:In his honor... (Score:4, Interesting)

Stop motion Owl (Score:3)

King Kong (Score:4, Interesting)

In remembrance (Score:3)

Will be missed (Score:3, Interesting)

Re: (Score:2)

Re:Stop motion done right (Score:5, Interesting)

Farewell Ray, you change our world, thank-you. (Score:2)

I have to admit (Score:5, Insightful)

Goodbye (Score:2)

Re: (Score:3)

This man was a genius (Score:2)

soon all scifi movies will look the same (Score:2)

A true great (Score:2)

Opening a sushi restaurant in Mostropolis (Score:1)

Tim Burton, et al (Score:1)

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