|
Ray Harryhausen's
legacy as the premier
stop-motion animator
in film history
began with a 16mm
camera and his own
lovingly sculpted
clay dinosaurs,
brought to life
at his in-home workshop
as a boy
.His obsession with
the magic of stop-motion
began when most
children are fingerpainting
in kindergarten
when he saw The
Lost World at the
age of 5 or 6.
It was the work
of effects pioneer
Willis O'Brien that
led Harryhausen
to begin creating
his own animations,
and a chance encounter
with O'Brien's niece
paved the way for
young Ray to meet
his hero and soon-to-be
mentor.
|
O'Brien encouraged
Ray to study anatomy
to perfect his figures,
and after graduation
from High School
he worked with director
George Pal (War
of the Worlds) oh
his Puppettoons.
Fittingly, Harryhausen's
first feature film
work was with O'Brien
on a different giant
gorilla movie, Mighty
Joe Young.
Soon Ray became
legendary for his
own work as the
popularity of science
fiction and fantasy
led to masterworks
like The Beast from
20,000 Fathoms (which
inspired Godzilla),
the Sinbad films,
Jason and the Argonauts,
One Million Years
B.C. and Clash of
the Titans.
|
