# RIP Ray Harryhausen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719 "2013-05-07T17:17:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/21 "2013-05-07T22:28:35Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Ray! Come to Mt. Olympus at last. > > ☹ LIKE ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/22 "2013-05-07T22:29:14Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Ray! Come to Mt. Olympus at last. > > ☹ I’ll bet he’ll be running the place in no time at all. If you don’t behave, he’ll sick his pet _Rhedosaurus_ on you. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/23 "2013-05-07T22:34:19Z")
The man was a genius, a wonderworker and a magician. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/24 "2013-05-07T22:37:58Z")
[James Rolfe’s Harryhausen tribute, made last year.](http://cinemassacre.com/2012/08/22/ray-harryhausen-tribute/) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/25 "2013-05-07T22:39:27Z")
I do not think words alone can adequately describe the greatness of this man. Every special effects film is an homage to him, and those themselves cannot match his work. I’d rather watch Harryhausen stop motion than the best CGI developed, not because of the technology, but because his characters are Ray Harryhausen. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/26 "2013-05-07T22:44:43Z")
My favorite was the warrior statue, the one that was killed by opening the stopper on his heel and letting the oil out. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/27 "2013-05-07T23:50:20Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > My favorite was the warrior statue, the one that was killed by opening the stopper on his heel and letting the oil out. Talos, from _Jason and the Argonauts_ A relatively obscure bit of mythology, and told and depicted in various ways over the years. But Harerhausen gave it a definite imagery and a life of its own, and now lots of people know it. Great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/28 "2013-05-08T00:32:07Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Absolutely. I saw The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad during a theater revival when I was a kid in the 1970’s and it permanently seared an impression into my brain. Just about everything he touched was gold, even if the film around it was tin. Ditto. A boy never forgets his first favorite monster, and mine was the Cyclops. Rest in peace, Ray. I’ll raise a glass in your honor in meticulous stop-motion, carefully re-positioning each arm hair in between frames and trying not to leave finger-prints. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/29 "2013-05-08T00:44:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I do not think words alone can adequately describe the greatness of this man. Every special effects film is an homage to him BAM! You nailed it! Like others in this thread, I can’t adequately convey just how huge a part of my childhood was about Ray Harryhausen. He [del]is[/del] was the Lord of All Special Effects and all future awards for special effects should be called “a Harryhausen” (if they aren’t already). This is a pretty shitty month for me. I seem to be losing many of my favorite artists who’s last names start with “H”. And it’s only the 7th of May :mad::(. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/30 "2013-05-08T00:59:27Z")
The later Sinbad film, _The Golden Voyage of Sinbad_, had great music too. I used to be a real soundtrack buff, and when I saw TGVoS in the theater, as the opening title sequence rolled, I thought “Okay, this style sounds familiar, is it…?” and it was. I checked the music credits and sure enough it was Miklos Rosza. You know, the guy who got an Oscar for _Ben-Hur_. Check out his other awards, and the films he was nominated for as a composer. > **[Miklós Rózsa - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000067/awards/)** > > Miklós Rózsa - IMDb - Awards, nominations, and wins ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/31 "2013-05-08T01:39:40Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The later Sinbad film, _The Golden Voyage of Sinbad_, had great music too. I used to be a real soundtrack buff, and when I saw TGVoS in the theater, as the opening title sequence rolled, I thought “Okay, this style sounds familiar, is it…?” and it was. I checked the music credits and sure enough it was Miklos Rosza. You know, the guy who got an Oscar for _Ben-Hur_. > > Check out his other awards, and the films he was nominated for as a composer. > > [Miklós Rózsa - Awards - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000067/awards) I had the exact same experience with another pair of films – I was watching North by Northwest, and during the Mt Rushmore sequence I thought “dang, this sounds an awful lot like the soundtrack for Jason and the Argonauts”. Both Bernard Hermann. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/32 "2013-05-08T01:40:28Z")
To quote Tom Hanks: “Some people say ‘Citizen Kane’, I say ‘Jason And The Argonauts’” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/33 "2013-05-08T02:03:33Z")
[4.5 minutes of Harryhausen monsters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kmjW73-v4) (set to a Tito Puente bongo tune). ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/34 "2013-05-08T03:01:53Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > My favorite was the warrior statue, the one that was killed by opening the stopper on his heel and letting the oil out. Nitpick: molten metal. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/35 "2013-05-08T08:59:21Z")
> [@neofishboy](#): > > Ditto. A boy never forgets his first favorite monster, and mine was the Cyclops. > > Rest in peace, Ray. I’ll raise a glass in your honor in meticulous stop-motion, carefully re-positioning each arm hair in between frames and trying not to leave finger-prints. Sunday mornings had Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and some other guy’s show [Rochester NY broadcast area, southern tier hills of NY 1966-1970] and I have fond yet grumpy memories of seeing Jason and the Argonauts first part, up to the Dragon Seeds [skeleton fight] at least 2 or 3 times a year, but never seeing the end of the movie because Mom and Grandparents dragged me off to Sunday School. When I did finally see the whole movie, I was hooked on any movie Harryhausen worked on. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/36 "2013-05-08T11:39:54Z")
Very very sad. We’ve lost a giant. Frankly, I don’t think we’d HAVE all the later stuff (and CGI) if he hadn’t blazed the way. Just a few months ago, we went on a Harryhausen binge, watching JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, CLASH OF THE TITANS, and a couple others. An amazing, amazing talent. I saw 7th VOYAGE as a kid when it first came out, and I’m with **neofishboy** : the Cyclops knocked my socks off. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/37 "2013-05-08T12:24:18Z")
The Triad of L.A. SciFi Society is now reunited- Ray H., Ray B., and Uncle Forry. And it is Nerd Week in Heaven! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/38 "2013-05-08T14:04:40Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Nitpick: molten metal. Nitpick nitpick – they never did say what it was. Talos’ Lifeblood, obviously, which would make Ichor a better answer. Considering that the imagery of Talos’ losing vital fluid has been suggested to be inspired by the image of _cire perdu_ bronze casting (by no less an authority than Arthur Bernard Cook), “oil” is arguably closer than “molten metal” [End of Hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/39 "2013-05-08T15:53:10Z")
RIP, Harry. In the animated film _Monsters Inc_, they named a ritzy restaurant Harryhausen’s in tribute. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719/40 "2013-05-08T16:49:47Z")
I always thought that in Attack of the Clones during the arena fight when the Horned monster first emerges he looks a little herky jerky on purpose as a tribute to Ray. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-ray-harryhausen/657719.md?page=3)