Fighting Off The Children Of The Hydra's Teeth | Jason and the Argonauts | Creature Features
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มี.ค. 2021
- Aeëtes sows the Hydra's teeth and seven armed skeletons, the "children of the Hydra's teeth", emerge from the ground. Jason, Phalerus, and Castor fight them while Medea and Argus escape with the Fleece.
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Fantastic special effects by Ray Harryhausen and exciting mythological adventure make this a film that is fun for everyone. It's the story of Jason (Todd Armstrong), a fearless sailor and explorer, who returns to the kingdom of Thessaly after a 20-year voyage to make his rightful claim to the throne. But to do so, Jason must first find the magical Golden Fleece. He selects a crew and with the help of Hera, Queen of the Gods, sets sail in search of the Fleece. Jason and his crew must overcome incredible obstacles including a 100-foot bronze giant, the venomous Hydraa huge creature with the heads of seven snakes, and a spectacular battle with an army of skeletons.
#JasonAndTheArgonauts #ToddArmstrong #RayHarryhausen
Fighting Off The Children Of The Hydra's Teeth | Jason and the Argonauts | Creature Features
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This is where stop motion has it over CGI. There is something otherworldly creepy about the movements of the mythical creatures in this film. These skeletons, the Harpies, Talos, all are "believably magical" thanks to Ray Harryhausen's art.
I was lucky to interview Harryhausen and his longtime friend friend Ray Bradbury in the months before each died. Both agreed with something I said, which is similar, Laceykat, to your comment. I said that, for me, the difference between CGI and stop-motion is this:
CGI brings fantasy into reality. With CGI, everything looks "real"; monsters and the supernatural are placed on the same plane as cars and bowls of cereal. Stop-motion takes reality into fantasy. Suddenly things do not look normal; there is a jolt to a different, disturbing dimension of being. Both Rays agreed wholeheartedly, and I thank you, Laceykat, for the wonderful comment you've shared.
Not a bit. Unwatchable these days, Come on.
@@ogrosch4568 it is very much watchable. These special effects were and still are pretty impressive when you consider the time period. Animation and CGI has improved leaps and bounds but stop motion has always been fascinating...
@@ClassicBoxingMatches i am talking about today, not 60 years ago. Times changed.
@@ogrosch4568 How old are you? And where is your appreciation for old movies and different art styles?
This was pure artistry. The time spent, and attention to detail in this scene alone was incredible.
it is impressive how solid the impact between swords and shields is, the skeletons recoil and jason's sword bounces back
Yea but I still don't get why they didn't just use those living guys though, they still had them outnumbered but whatever.
they probably thought the undead ones would set it just outta imagining but out of practical means you are right@@A_Black_Sheep94
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One of the most incredible influential sequences in special effects history. Harryhausen was a genius
Very ahead of his Time. Always thinking about how to make something look good, IN CAMERA. Ray was a brilliant man. Need more like him.
Me recuerda a La momia de Brendan esos esqueletos con sus armas
CGI is good but seriously Ray Harryhausen's stop motion effects are better than some CGI today.
Much better
In one of the last interviews he gave. I asked Ray Harryhausen, a bit sheepishly, how the skeletons could scream if they have no larynxes. He laughed and chided me, "Because it's a fantasy!" And of course he was right. They have no voicebox, and they must scream!
yet not questioning how they move
@Facepalm Full O' Napalm A truly terrifying book
It's the standard answer from old Hollywood guys, imagination is what they were trying to capture, not realism.
I said exactly the same thing !
BUT ...they can't swim. 😉
The sword play is far more impressive than most modern movies today 😳
💀
Absolutely..faultless
Yep!
Loved every minute of it! ⚔️
I like the first-person perspective cut-away where you see the skeleton close up.
Not enough sword fighting 1-st person cut-aways these days.
The scene @4:02 of the skeleton rolling over the wall and the scene @5:37 when the skeleton jumps over the slain Phalerus rather than just run behind him are excellent yet subtle moments that can easily be missed or taken for granted, yet show just how skilled Ray Harryhausen really was and just how passionate he was about his art.
you're right, I never thought about that. Good catch about detail! Especially the rolling.
You have a good eye!
The one thing that's rather impressive about this scene is the fact that the movement doesn't look jerky. I've seen stop motion animation done by others that looked jerky, but this motion looks realistically fluid. Harryhausen was quiet an artist and a genius. Respect.
"King Kong", "Gwanji", and "Jason and the Argonauts" are a master-class in stop motion.
Growing up as a child in elementary school, movie day was a treat. We would all gather in the library sitting cross-legged in the dark waiting the feature to begin. This movie enthralled me as a child in the 70s. It was this scene that hooked me on fantasy from the start. The choreography, the beat of the music, the anxious anticipation. Something that modern-day cinema I'm afraid, is sorely lacking. Thank you Ray!
Did your school have it on film? That’s cool.
Not fantasy at all, it's more of an adventure epic movie from ancient Greece and of course with some fantasy including it.
@@stoneyboyd Sorry, missed this reply. Yes! It was on old 8mm film in the steel canisters! Our teachers would always have trouble changing the roll out. We would all get restless waiting. 🤣
We saw all the Ray Harryhousen movies. This one was my favorite. That & the 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
@@alfredodistefanolaulhe2212
I agree with the Greek Epic angle but..
To me anytime you have a priest of Hecate summoning up a death squad of skeletons, that's fantasy. Much of what we have in the fantasy genre comes from those epic tales of heroism.
@@helixxharpell The movie is not in the genre of "fantasy" but it includes a bit of it. Fantasy is Excalibur, Lord of the Rings, Never Ending Story, those are fantasy movies. This one is a classic epic movie with some fantasy. But I got what you meant, my mother always call it Fantasy in general.
Favourite scene if the film. Stop motion may not look real but it feels real - those unnatural movements are freaky
If it's not the most iconic scene in the film, I don't know what is. Not to mention, it's got to be one of the most iconic scenes in film history.
@@terrorcop101 Seeing it in a theater along with Bernard Herrmann's score was fantastic pure magic.
Actually it's more fake now than back then. To pure and clean. Superficial.
I'm not comfortable with the word, fake.
Two points: first, there is a suspension of disbelief when watching a film. For example, you don't think it's only one car in some of the more insane car chases, do you? Second, this is a fantasy film; when was the last time you saw moving skeletons? I admit that such animation should be of high quality and Harryhausen was high quality!
@@terrorcop101 This whole film is iconic.
One of the best stop motion movies ever made. The special effects of Ray Harry Haussen were spectacular and no cgi insight. A work of pure genius.
The fight choreography of the skeletons is really good. They use actual tactics (to the limit of their skills while living).
Bernard Herrmann deserves praise too for his epic score. This and 7th Voyage of Sinbad are amongst his best.
That bit at 5:23 where he wrestles the spear out of the skeletons hands still amazes me to this day.
That does look great. Jason's hands go out of the shot for a second, so I'm guessing he picked up the spear from out of sight of the camera. But a shot I'm not sure how they did is at 4:14, when the Skeleton disarms Castor's shield. How did they do that shot? There wasn't anything there to pull it out of his hand! I guess the actor must have thrown the shield away, but it really doesn't look like that. It looks like something pulled it out of his hand.
@@Blokewood3im guessing that we just can’t see him throw it because the skeleton’s shield is blocking his hand
@@BigBoy257 either that, or they had a thin wire or two to tug it out of his hands.
Jason, Castor and Phalerus removing their baldrics and unsheathing their swords as one at 1:02 is one of the most badass moments in all film.
YES! My favorite scene in the whole movie!!
they knew it was their last stand
Just imagine, how we got old with all these stories, in Greek mythology (I'm Greek, 1956).
All fantasies, with spectacular stories - not only Agronauts and Argo!
Awesome. I can see a young James Cameron in awe chewing popcorn.
In 1963, _Cleopatra_ won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects over Alfred Hitchcock's _The Birds. Jason and the Argonauts_ was not even nominated. An amazing - and unfortunate - injustice and oversight.
As Daffy Duck would say to all those blind, blow hard Oscar judges, “You’re despicable!”
Blimey I didn't realise that. That's scandalous. The special effects in this film still hold up to this day! I can't say that about The Birds, although for it's time it was impressive. Cleopatra would have had a much larger budget I assume?
The academy have always been clueless about REAL and genuinely good filmmaking. Most of the time
My grandparents showed me this film when I was really young, and I would watch it every time I visited them. It's one of my favorite movies of all time, I love this whole film and this fight scene is just unreal.
I genuinely think this scene is one of the best ever made and for its time is nothing short of unbelievable. The only bit that bugs me is the fact Jason and the other two Argonauts could have simply just left with the other two instead of waiting for the skeletons to appear (unless I am missing something). That said, I’m glad they did. What a scene!
The skeletons would've caught up to them quickly and killed them. Jason and the other two guys were stalling for time.
Aeetes and his men would have stopped them
One of the companions of Jason is carrying his shield upside down.
This in my top ten
Theres a message to be gained
I have watched the scene with the giant bronze statue and my mum said that when this movie released in 1963 people were terrified at how "realistic" it was. As I am watching this is wasn't scared.
But when those skeletons pulled out a Roman technique where they march then charge I was pretty shocked AND scared.
Ray Harryhausen has earned many accolades for his stop-motion wizardry, and rightfully so. But I'd also like to tip my hat to the great Bernard Herrmann, whose brilliant score highlighted the sense of magic, danger and mythological adventure throughout the film.
It's one of the reasons that JATA became an all-time classic.
Totally agree - one of my favorite composers
@@martinberridge9173 Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith are 2 of the all-time best film composers.
That scream from the skeletons........SCARY!!!!!......😳
Especially after their they slowly stalk towards the heroes with a slow rigid pace - then suddenly exploding forward with that horrifying wail! UGH! 😮
A perfect sequence. This was made when special effects were still special, when you saw something unbelievable and wondered how it was done. And even if you knew the process behind it, you could appreciate the skill and patience of the one man that animated the whole sequence over 4 and a half months. Can you imagine anyone doing that these days? Ray Harryhausen was a true artist. It's a film you can still appreciate 60 years after it was made.
I truly enjoyed this fight scene... i thought the skeletons were going to be corny fighters but ended up being formidable opponents.
I remember watching this as a child and being terrified of those skeletons, especially when they shriek as they charge the Argonauts. Ray Harryhausen was a special effects wizard.
R.I.P Todd Armstrong! You'll never be forgotten as this film is now a cult classic! Nobody could have played Jason better than Todd Armstrong!
This is the best part of this classic!
Even 60 Years Later. This is still the most impressive sequence ever-made. This films give you the best pace in any of the, Ray Harryhausen. Film Collection. Talos, The Hydra, The Harpies and The Skelton Army. The most insane figures in this movie, I love it so much.
I love how Harryhausen created the skeletons with evil looking sculls. Totally added to the scaryness of the segment.
All the skulls look the same..I would have preferred more realism..
Every skull smiles!!! Have you ever seen one crying???
All skulls look evil. lol. Part of it is how they’ve been used associated with Halloween and horror.
Scull are actually expressionless.
@@paulhoye9680Hope you are joking
The masterpiece (arguably!) from the master of stop-motion animation himself.
Ray Harryhausen He also did Mighty Joe Young per Wiki.
@@billmoss2877 And many more.
Although the beginning of this sequence is aggravatingly static (both director and screenwriter are nowhere to be found), once the skeletons appear it is thrilling. Harryhausen seamlessly combines terror and humor, and the sense of the unstoppability of the skeletons is brilliant. It bears repeated viewings just to see all the details. A superb scene by a consummate artist.
Greek mythology
That’s quite a funny and accurate observation 😂
Agreed. The beginning of the scene is far from fluid. LOL.
@@lawrencewood289
Agreed, Jason and his two friends could’ve bum rushed their enemies before the spell could be completed. But to quote Grim Reaper from Billy and Mandy, “Give it a moment, these things take a few seconds or minutes to kick in.”
@@TPDManiacXC626 Yeah, all four of them and a girl could have rushed an army!
You know it may not stand up to some of the special effects today but back in the 60s that was pretty damn impressive Ray Harryhausen was an absolute genius
Probably no one will see this comment, but this is the kind of stuff I lived for as a child (also Godzilla, of course) back when Hollywood could actually do its f-----g job. Harryhausen was a genius.
Ray Harryhausen was a genius.
The skeletons look awesome animated like that, you can imagine a magical animated skeleton moving like that.
The bone rattles in the music as the skeletons sprout from the ground really set the mood.
Nothing better than a Greek myth coming alive!
1 of the only movies in history which u can watch multiple times and never get boring. Legendary movie Iconic scene 😁😁
Okay, I'm curious, Juicy. What's the other?
@@geokaplan59 Sinbad bro
@@juicylmao1544 I'd have to put the original "Kong" in there, the movie that really inspired Harryhausen to pursue his career. Rama Kong! Also a lifelong fan of "Mysterious Island." And who can turn away from the Ymir?
@@geokaplan59 I love the Ymir! 👍😉♥️
Jason and the Argonauts...Damn I'm old !!! 👀👴😭🤣
This scared the bejusus out of me when I was 13. Got me hooked on Greek mythology. Lucky me.
Peter Lord, the co-founder of Aardman Studios saw this movie when it came out when he was 10 years old, Jason and the Argonauts, plus 1 Million Years B.C. for Nick Park of Wallace and Gromit fame, had a profound impact on them both.
Stop motion still looks way better than CGI ever will be.
David Allen and Phil Tippett at their best managed to get stop-motion a little smoother than Harryhausen, but neither could pull off the complexity of a scene like this so masterfully. Harryhausen was a genius.
I love the part at about 1:05 -1:06 where they all three ditch their scabbards at the same time, synchronized. A scabbard/sheath will hinder your movements somewhat, but I think this gesture signified that this was an all-or-nothing moment.
This movie is remembered for almost sixty years.
The scene is made much more powerful by the slow eerie sowing of the teeth at the beginning. Unsettling, allmost like a Kubrick movie. The weird oboe and cracking percussion is otherworldly. Imagine the anticipation and eventual shock of the original audience. Theres a reason it stayed in their subconscious.
When audiences first saw this they were, as the saying goes, "gobsmacked," and rightfully so. To this day one of the greatest achievements in stop-time filming. A few seconds of this sequence undoubtedly took a tremendous amount of time and patient effort and it's quite a long segment..
It takes moment to realize that the human actors could not see anything in front of them as they fulfilled the fight choreography. Pretty remarkable and professional skill on the part of this cast.
4 1/2 months.
Such an influential and iconic scene. Harryhausen tops CGI ANY day.
I dearly love this movie, along with Clash of the Titans 1981. They beautifully capture the wonder and weirdness of those Greek Myths.
They understand its not an action story, its an adventure/odessey story. Big difference with the modern remakes.
A movie where the enemy actually makes good use of superior numbers.
Well , no bones about it. I love this sequence.
🤣
The bit where the skeletons are falling off the cliff always makes me laugh. I can picture a crew throwing multiple skeleton props over just as he jumped 😆
The falling is stop motion
A stunt double jumped off the cliff and the crew threw the skeletons as he jumped, they had to do it right the first time as the skeletons couldn't be retrieved, they are still there somewhere today
it's stupoid to laught azt it. they could only do that. otherwise, if the skeletons jumped with Jason , it's possibly because they were like "programmed" by the magic who make them moves, to blindly follow their living targets to kill them
@@aarondonnelly3509 imagine being a scuba diver and seeing those skeletons not realizing they're movie props
I imagine it being quite cathartic for the crew considering how much time it took to film this. I’d want to throw em off a cliff too!
The jerkiness of the stop motion adds to the creepy factor of skeleton movement
What a scene!!! Brilliant. Feel sorry for the 2 guys who didn't make it😔
They were out numbered seven to three, argonauts did not find their weak point - (beheading was the key), not piercing them
Still sinister after all these year's
Love this scene 😍
The obvious inspiration to the skeletons from Golden Axe.
4:19 when that skeleton runs in from the right and stumbles a little bit when they were stopping because they were running so fast and had their (eyes?) On him instead of the ground is SUCH a good detail. It just makes them feel that much more real and like they have weight in the scene
The using of the clapper in the score when the skeletons first appear is incredible. Really adds another layer to the whole experience.
crazy how the live actors react to the skeletons, looks better than most cgi fights
still amazed how the live actors were able to fluidly switch weapons with the skeletons without jumpcuts
The way they take off running and the screaming LOL
I remember my mom dropping me off at the theater to watch this about 1968, I was 7, scary as hell but I loved it.
I was always amazed at how he was able to point at the places where the skeletons actually came up out of the ground. Not sure what cues he was using but it looked really good!
He scattered seven teeth in a quincunx arrangement, easy to follow
I think he was directed roughly where to point, and it was animated to fit. Same with the in-close fight sequences.
The special effects for this were nothing short of magnificent for the year it was made.
I watched this as a boy and still enjoy watching Harryhousen films.
Historical best special effects ever!
Them skeletons still had vocal chords as they screamed when attacking Jason and his crew 😅🤣😂
I guess they did it the same way they see without eyeballs, or move without muscles or..
That would baffle Little Brian Stelter of CNN News.
8
😆😆😆
No vocal chords, they are magical
Way to go, just bringing two Argonauts with you, Argus! Poor Castor and Polaris... they survive everything the movie can throw at them, they're almost home free, then they still end up dying horribly.
I think what makes this impressive is that this isn't something giant or small that the human characters are just reacting to like other Harryhausen creations but human size creatures that they directly interact with. Granted, this isn't the first time this has happened. The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad had the titular character fight a living skeleton. However, this is multiple characters he had to animate at once. And it paid off.
No one did it better than Ray.
Love these old movies
Most difficult stop motion scene Ray Harryhausen ever created.
And maybe the most striking. Even today those things are sinister.
You and I and fans are impressed and it's fantastic, but, actually, Harryhausen said his most difficult scene in his movies was the scene just before this ... Jason fighting and killing the Hydra. The skeletons he could do separately, the Hydra heads were connected yet had to move as if independent.
We can't imagine the time it took to animate the skeletons. Amazing!
A month and a half, iirc. And you better believe that Ray Harryhausen took detailed notes and several pictures, so that he wouldn't lose track of where he was in the process.
The whole scene took 4 and a half months to film.
@@johnbicknell4748
I recall reading that for all the stop-motion monsters in the movie, it took Harryhausen a total of two years.
The people who made all the figures were the last of the greatest modelers to ever live!! They where the people who got me interested in doing figure modeling!! Been at it for 47 years!!!
Even today, these bois are all bad to the bone!
Saw this movie yesterday, and it's a masterpiece! The effects were all very well done, a marvel of the time with a lot of charm even today!
One of the greatest influences behind Dungeons & Dragons and Golden Axe.
AAGGHH those evilly grinning relentless skeleton warriors…the Sunday afternoon movie that I NEVER missed!
Thankyou Ray, your amazing work lives on!
This stop motion animation is very phenomenal back then way before the era of CGI technology was then invented because I’ve watched Jason and the Argonauts nearly 40 years ago back on Philadelphia’s WTAF channel 29 when the Netwerk used to always play these movies, every Sunday afternoons and nights.
How Harryhausen wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this is unreal. Wasn't the special effects category around then? Classic scene, which still holds up.
The Oscar winner for visual effects 1963 was CLEOPATRA. Ridiculous.
the oscars policy has always been terrible , it was actually rare than genuinely amazing acting or effect actually received any awards
The Mummy (1999) paid tribute to this scene in such a cool way with the mummy priests bursting forth from the ground and the mummy guards' formations and fighting stance. I think everyone my age knew the reference straight away.
One of the Best Stop Motion Sequences Ever Created.
**summons skeleton warriors for minutes**
"hey guys, think we should just leave?"
"but this is so cool, let's watch until the end"
that kind of negatively sceptical comment really gets old.
*summons skeleton warriors for minutes*
"hey guys, do u think we should just leave?"
"our boat is right under a cliff. and as a farewell demonstration, we should show to the Thessaly king we're not simple cowardly thieves. Maybe the adrenaline could help us to jump to the cliff back the Argonaut"
Jason and his crew weren't cowards, they lived to fight. They would not back down from battle, no matter what, the lone exception being Talos, yet they still managed to kill him as well. They would not show weakness to anyone, including an evil king.
I went to see the Ray Harryhausen exhibit in Edinburgh. Shared that day with my younger brother with whom I watched these films as children.
The soundtrack to this scene is a banger
This movie is actually pretty good. The scene with Talos was my favorite.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies, saw it when I was a kid and been hooked ever since!!!
Those illustrations on their shields look amazing!!
Octopuses
Actually, only two of the skeletons’ shield have the blue octopus; the other three (two skeletons had spears, while the other five have swords and shields), have different designs.
One appears to show a vaguely humanoid, hairy ape-like creature with prominent bony brow ridges that seem to extend into horns; the other two however, bear images of Medusa and the Kraken; both of whom would appear in “Clash of The Titans” 18 years later!
Granted, Medusa’s face is skeletal here, but the snake hair is still visible, making her identity obvious. The Kraken also looks a little different, but overall that face is unmistakable.
Mere coincidence, or foreshadowing? 🧐
I wonder……..
Also, note the exquisite detail on both the creature faces on the shields, along with the intricate, yet different borders around the edge of each shield; Harryhausen really went the extras mile to make all this look authentic and real!!!!!!!!
I’m 56 & I still love this film
Better than some movies today
Impossible to forget movies like this as time passes by!!
Funny thing is they all could have been back on the ship and sailing away by the time skeletons actually arose, lol . Great movie though. Love the classic creature features.
They wanted to see if enemy was bluffing with vodoo hokum
@@wristray8775 .
2
Should use this on my grass
They were trapped on a cliff.
maybe they didn't wanted to show cowardice to the king. they wanted to show him they were tought warriors who doesn't flee like thieves. plus only the adrenaline could push them to jump to the cliff
Grew up watching these old movies. 🙂
A little Easter Egg: the shields have the designs of past creatures Ray Harryhausen created. Such as the giant octopus (It Came From Beneath the Sea), the Ymir (20 Million Miles to Earth) and the dragon (7th Voyage of Sinbad.)
I would have started running when the first skeleton emerged ! 💀😳
I saw this film when i was a kid. This was my favorite scene.
Same dude.
Here too.
For kids, this is some scary animation.
Mine too. ^_^
Me too.. I never forget this film because of this scene
Watching a little of this film Jason and the Argonauts reminds me of my childhood, the good times when we sat in front of the TV to watch and didn't worry about anything, but it's always good to remember the good times of the past, congratulations to the channel.
I used to love these Greek mythology type movies and Sinbad also
harryhausen's most crowning achievement!
Raquel Welch in that fur bikini being chased by a T Rex was pretty good !
@@robplazzman6049 Burt Reynolds once said she had the best body he's ever seen!
Someone please explain, this looks cooler than modern CGI, what gives!?
The evil look of the skeletons along with their ruthlessness makes this scary. Their movements make it CREEPY!
Because they are real objects from the real world, miniatures
Because it takes 10 times as long to make lol.
The guy that did this special effect is the giant upon who's shoulders today's "experts" are standing on.
Classic sequence in a classic film.
Who needs CGI.
Amazing special effects for 1963 or 64. I watched this as a boy and I was stunned.