Ray
Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011/MVD Visual/Arrow Films
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B Film: B+
PLEASE
NOTE: This is the same exact release from Arrow U.K. and
Umbrella Entertainment in Australia down to the menus, but one
supplement is encoded differently.
Hollywood
Heavyweights weigh in on arguably the most influential special
effects artist of all time: Ray Harryhausen. Giles Penso's
insightful documentary Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
(2011) features interviews from Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro,
Peter Jackson, John Landis, James Cameron, Tim Burton, John Lasseter,
Nick Park, Terry Gilliam, Phil Tippet, Steve Johnson, Joe Dante,
Edgar Wright, Henry Selick, Rick Baker and the late Harryhausen
himself amongst several others. Creative editing, rare photographs,
and smart documentary filmmaking make this a must for fans of cinema
history.
Ray
Harryhausen's ever-distinctive stop-motion animation has influenced
Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Avatar, Army of
Darkness, Mars Attacks! and countless other classic films
and pioneered the world of stop motion animation. Ray's trademark
imagination and impeccable style not only gave dinosaurs and mystical
creatures life, but imagination and movement as well. This
documentary takes you through Ray's career and shares some of his
techniques as well as several filmmakers from directors to Special
Visual Effects artists weigh in on how the original Clash of the
Titans, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Beast From 2,000
Fathoms, It Came From Beneath the Sea, and more inspired
them. You'll find many of them reviewed elsewhere on this site.
Presented
in 1080p High Definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
a nice-sounding LPCM 2.0 Stereo track, the film looks and sounds
great on the Blu-ray format. Some clips used are of lower quality
due to age, but for the most part everything is crisp and clear,
while some older audio is monophonic from archival footage.
Special
Features include:
Interviews
with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Peter Lord, Rick Baker
12
Interview outtakes with Joe Dante, John Lasseter and Nick Park, et al
A
message to Ray
Deleted
Scenes
On
the Set of Sinbad
Paris
Cinematheque Q&A
London
Gate Theater Q&A (in PAL analog video format only on the U.K. &
Australian editions)
Audio
commentary with the filmmakers
Original
Trailer
Ray
Harryhausen Trailer Reel
Reversible
DVD cover sleeve with excellent artwork
This
is a great release that is really well done and has some great
special features. Highly recommended!
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
