Rent Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Wonderful Family Fantasy Adventure - Jason and the Argonauts review by GI

Fantasy films such as this would bring sheer joy to me as a child. Full of magic, danger and darkness they were made for the family to enjoy together. This is one of the finest films based on greek mythology, the story of the search for a magical Golden Fleece which is guarded by monsters and titans and involves a perilous voyage full of treachery and danger. Above all in these days of CGI where everything has to be so realistic or it gets dismissed as unworthy it's great to see the wonderful work of Ray Harryhausen, the master of stop motion. In this film there are two particularly good set pieces; the first is the very scary sudden awakening of Talos, a gigantic bronze statue and, secondly the now very famous fighting skeletons sequence. Both are amazing to watch and children today would love this film. Admittedly some of the acting is very pantomime and the script occasionally daft but who cares this is sheer fun and a great piece of film history.

Epic Adventure. - Jason and the Argonauts review by Steve

Colourful, episodic blockbuster loosely based on a third century BC text by Apollonius Rhodius about a rootless adventurer and his mythical quest for the magical golden fleece. While plot points are changed, it's still quite surprising and heartening that it wasn't just made up by a group of staff scriptwriters over a boozy lunch.

Todd Armstrong is a brawny, square jawed Jason, flashing of tooth and blade. His co-star Nancy Kovack arrives late in the tale to contribute a dance and some voluptuous glamour. The two US stars are dubbed and the support cast is all familiar British and Irish actors, because the ancient Greeks spoke in received pronunciation... 

The destinies of mankind are preordained by the gods. So Zeuss (Niall MacGinnes) commands the resolute hero to fight a sequence of supernatural monsters. Which brings us the the astonishing stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen. This is his greatest work, and my personal favourite is Talos, the bronze giant who pursues Hercules (Nigel Green).

The Hydra is magnificent too, and just when it looks like the fun is over, we get the seven sword fighting skeletons at the climax. Bernard Herrmann's score of rousing fanfares is perfect accompaniment. Don Chaffey shoots a bright and entertaining background on the sunny Italian coast, but the film is a testament to Harryhausen's legendary art.