May 07, 2004
All this for $10.00
Last night: Complete, unabashed fun. Margaret and I attended a showing of a restored print of the stop-motion (or Dynamation) classic, Jason and the Argonauts at the Walter Reade, with an appearance by the special effects master, Ray Harryhausen.
It was astonishing to be in an auditorium full of other people who love this stuff as much as I do—that old science fiction/fantasy persecution complex, I guess—and satisfying to give Mr. Harryhausen the standing ovations he has earned.
I imagined I could feel the relief as each of us sank into our seats to watch this battered classic with a combination of childhood nostalgia and adult appreciation of craft. I'm not wistful about my childhood; I remember how I escaped into movies like Jason. It felt the same way last night, ducking out for a few hours from the U.S. political mess, the post 9/11 city, and the hardships of the economic bust, into this charming, dated fantasy land.
(Having attended a preview of Troy earlier in the week, I will say that male pulchritude in the B movies has really improved since the mid-60's.)
Harryhausen gave a Q&A after the screening, mentioning that he'd been talking with Peter Jackson about the latter's King Kong remake. He was gracious, saying that he was sure Jackson would bring a unique, talented and worthy vision to the endeavor. Still, he observed, "there's only one Kong. You can't remake innocence."
Harryhausen showed off two original Dynamation models: one of the fighting skeletons from Jason ("That's a Spanish pickle fork. The original sword got lost."), and Medusa from Clash of the Titans. Happy sighs from the audience.
To my left, a young hip creative type in muttonchops and his girlfriend were curled up together, beaming. He'd gotten a question in early on.
Ending the Q&A, Richard Pena, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, introduced Kathryn Crosby, sitting in the audience towards the back of the auditorium. More delight and applause. As Kathryn Grant, she played Princess Parisa in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, spending most of the movie shrunk down to Barbie-doll size. She looked great. As the event broke up, she made her way down to the stage, where she chatted with Harryhausen and helped him wrap up Medusa.
If you missed this, there's another chance: Harryhausen and Jason will appear again in the NYC area, on Friday May 14, as part of the 3rd Annual Sci Fi & Fantasy Film Weekend at Loew's Jersey City.
Posted by Emily at May 7, 2004 10:35 AM