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D: Don Chaffey (1963); with Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack (special visual effects: Ray Harryhausen; music: Bernard Herrmann).

Harryhausen's movies have sometimes been described as beginning-monster-monster-monster-end, and in spite of being an oversimplification, it's sometimes an apt description. Jason and the Argonauts certainly fits into that category, but in spite of its formulaic nature, it's a wonderfully engaging and entertaining film. The son of the former king of Thessaly, Jason (Armstrong) hopes to drive the murderous usurper Pelias from the throne by finding the Golden Fleece and returning with it to his kingdom. Along the way, he and his crew of Greek champions encounter a number of monstrous antagonists, including the bronze colossus Talos, a pair of ill-tempered harpies, a seven-headed hydra, and an army of living skeletons. Although Jason's mission is basically one of thievery, and the tale ends before his ill-fated love with Medea reaches critical mass, the storyline takes a backseat to the monsters. Each mythological creature was brought to life by the incredible stop-motion animation of Harryhausen, who painstakingly created the effects one frame at a time.

Also worth noting is Bernard Herrmann's exceptional music, which perfectly underscores the almost-surreal presence of Harryhausen's creatures. The DVD of Jason and the Argonauts has a razor-sharp picture, better even than Criterion's outstanding deluxe laserdisc, and the image is letter-boxed to its original aspect ratio. The package also includes a trailer and a conversation between Harryhausen and John Landis about the making of the film. This was the first film from Columbia/Tristar's Harryhausen Signature Collection of laserdiscs to be released in DVD; with 7th Voyage also now on the video shelves, hopefully the rest of his work will follow soon.

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