“Jason and the Argonauts”, in La Filmoteca

Following the recent passing of Ray Harryhausen, standard bearer and master of animation and special effects, La Filmoteca is showing one of his undisputed masterpieces, the mythological Jason and the Argonauts. The film, which was directed by Don Chaffey and first shown in 1963, was one of the first to employ special effects and techniques such as dynamation (repeated single-frame photography with models) and stop motion, a visual effect that has resisted the passage of time.
 

Stop motion, frequently used by film makers such as Tim Burton in films such as The Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, is a technique that consists of creating an animated effect by using individual photographed frames of static objects that have been slightly altered, photographed one after another and then shot sequentially.
 

Jason and the Argonauts  is one of the best known films to employ this technique, and is particularly noted for the scene where the protagonist (played by actor Todd Armstrong) battles against seven skeletons.
 

The film, which has already been screened this summer as part of the series dedicated to Tim Burton, can be seen again on the 31st of August and the 1st of September.