Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan is a 2011 documentary film on the life and work of Ray Harryhausen.
| Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Gilles Penso[2] |
| Produced by | Alexandre Poncet |
| Edited by | Gilles Penso[3] |
| Music by | Alexandre Poncet[3] |
Production companies |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
|
Production
editThe film was made over a 10-year period and features interviews and tributes from filmmakers who were inspired by his work.[2]
The film included footage from the 1990 documentary Ray Harryhausen: Movement Into Life made at the time by film student John Walsh.[citation needed]
Interviewees
editThe animators, directors, actors and special effects artists interviewed for the film were:[3]
- Peter Jackson
- Terry Gilliam
- Guillermo del Toro
- James Cameron
- Tim Burton
- Ray Harryhausen
- John Landis
- Henry Selick
- Ray Bradbury
- Nick Park
- Randy Cook
- Phil Tippett
- Steven Spielberg
- Dennis Muren
- Steven Johnson
- Joe Dante
- Vincenzo Natali
- John Lasseter
- Ken Ralston
- Robert Townson
- Christopher Young
- John Cairney
- Greg Broadmore
- Andrew Jones
- Martine Beswick
- Vanessa Harryhausen
- Caroline Munro
Release
editThe film was shown at the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival on November 27, 2011.[1]
Reception
editThe Observer described the documentary as a "a riveting film by a French movie historian" and that it was "A continual delight."[4] The Financial Times noted that specific scenes in the film, such as the tours of Harryhausen's workshop, and noted that "Perhaps the most fascinating point made in the film is that it was Harryhausen who invented the way we all think dinosaurs moved. Those gestures - agreed on now even by palaeontologists - actually first came from him."[5] Michael Brooke writing for Sight and Sound described the film as "clearly a labour of love by all concerned" and an "*immensely engaging portrait of [Harryhausen]."[3] He concluded that the film was "undoubtedly a hagiography, but noted the terms linguistic origin meaning "a saint's biography"."[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Ray Harryhausen – Le Titan des Effets Spéciaux" (in French). Paris International Fantastic Film Festival. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan, Chronicling The Life Of Stop-Motion Animation Inventor And Special Effects Innovator, Makes Its U.S. Debut April 3, Exclusively On Sony Movie Channel". Entertainment Newsweekly. Vol. 22, no. 12. NewsRX LLC. April 2013. ISSN 1944-1673.
- ^ a b c d e f Brooke, Michael (December 2012). "Ray Harryhausen Special Effects Titan". Sight and Sound. Vol. 22, no. 12. British Film Institute. pp. 101–102. ISSN 0037-4806.
- ^ French, Philip (11 November 2012). "Review: Film: Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan". The Observer. p. 22.
- ^ "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan". Financial Times. November 10, 2012. p. 18. ISSN 0307-1766.