Thursday, September 5, 2019

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS 1963 (SONY)

A great adventure film and a childhood favorite.

Todd Armstrong stars as Jason, a young man whom the gods have fated to avenge his father's murder and find the legendary "Golden Fleece" which will bring prosperity to his broken land.

He assembles a crew of great men, has a beautiful and strong ship built and then sails off to find the Fleece. Along the way they must battle a giant metal man named Talos, rescue a blind man from thieving harpies and Jason must fight the multi headed Hydra in order to obtain the fleece.

The final battle with Jason and two of his crew against an army of Skeletons is never forgotten, once seen.

This film is about as close to perfection in entertainment as one is likely to see in the sword and sandal genre. Ray Harryhausen was the man responsible for the magnificent effects and even to this day he cannot be topped.

The cast also includes Laurence Naismith, Douglas Wilmer, Gary Raymond, Niall MacGinnis (as Zeus), Michael Gwynn, Honor Blackman (as Hera), Nigel Green and the gorgeous Nancy Kovack as Medea.

This was Armstrong's only starring role and he carries the part very well. In real life he was a tragic character whose death was way too early and one that could have been avoided.

If you're looking for a great adventure and a good way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon, I couldn't recommend this enough. Top notch entertainment.

I actually got to run this movie at a theater in Gardiner, Montana in 1977 and kept the original poster for it as well. Ahh, what a great childhood memory.

No comments:

Post a Comment