R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen

[Ohio Joe]

Source: Dark Horizons

Legendary visual effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator Ray Harryhausen has died.

The multi-award winner was a major influence on many of the biggest film makers of today with the likes of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas and John Landis all citing his impact.

Over nearly five decades his work broke new ground and included such films as 1949's "Mighty Joe Young," 1955's "It Came from Beneath the Sea," 1958's "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," 1963's "Jason and the Argonauts," 1966's "One Million Years BC," and 1981's "Clash of the Titans".

Read more: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/27014/r-i-p-ray-harryhausen

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That is the whole article but it also links to The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ray-and-Diana-Harryhausen-Foundation/125012827632564

Very sad news. RIP.

[flamingdem]

1. r.i.p.

The best in the biz

[niyad]

2. requiescat in pacem to this truly gifted man

[HughBeaumont]

3. Clash of the Titans remains one of my favorite movies of all time.

Sad to see this icon go. RIP.

[Kolesar]

7. I loved the fantasy world with the gods playing with the figurines

They wrote the script carefully so that it all fit together. It wasn't just a bunch of sword fighting.
Poor Kodo!

[Scalded Nun]

4. I'll miss him

RIP to one of the greats. To the eyes of youth in the 50s/60s he was every bit as great as the computer graphics of today.

[raouldukelives]

5. RIP Ray. You'll live on in the hearts & minds of fantasy fans forever. nt

[randome]

6. It's too bad the Golden Fleece isn't real.

[Poll_Blind]

8. An incredible man, and incredible career. He changed how we imagined.

How impressive is that?

He was already a legend. His legacy will continue to affect cinema, even in the age of 3D animation, for decades to come.

He left one hell of a footprint.

PB

[sharp_stick]

9. I just watched Clash of the Titans

yesterday on IFC (I think). I loved his work.

[blm]

10. Amazing man with amazing talent. He'll live forever.

.

[dorkzilla]

11. Here is a GREAT link to a video of every Harryhausen creation

RIP Mr. Harryhausen. You were a pioneer! Without you, there'd be no Wallace and Grommit and I would be a much sadder person.

[link:http://moviecitynews.com/2013/05/every-ray-harryhausen-creature-in-chronological-order-438/|

[Jimvanhise]

12. An animated life

Thankfully Harryhausen collaborated on an official autobiography Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life in which he revealed his history, moviemaking secrets and the many projects he was never able to do, in great detail. It remains an important book.

[hrmjustin]

13. Welcome to DU my friend!

[PlanetBev]

14. RIP, Ray

Say "hey" to George Pal for me.

Two greats, gone.

[abelenkpe]

15. nooooooooooooooooooo!

RIP Ray Harryhausen

[TeamPooka]

16. I met the man once at Sony about a decade ago.

He was amazing up to the end.
RIP Harry.

[TlalocW]

17. Even today's animators pay tribute to him

In, "Monster's Inc." Mike takes his girlfriend out to dinner at the HarryHausen restaurant, and in, "The Corpse Bride," the main character plays a piano in one scene, and you see it's a HarryHausen model from the nameplate.

TlalocW

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. He brought dinos to the screen when others were putting fins on iguanas...

http://www.maniacworld.com/Ray-Harryhausen-Creature-List.html

[blackspade]

19. That sucks.

[Aristus]

20. I grew up on Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation.

When I was a kid, the local second-run movie house would play all of the Sinbad movies, the Hercules flicks, and "Jason And the Argonauts' on the weekends. 25 cents got you in; another 25 cents for a Coke, and 75 cents for a tub of popcorn.



I love those old movies. Being a curious kid, I quickly read everything I could get my hands on about stop-motion animation. And knowing the secret didn't detract from the magic at all. It inspired tremendous respect for the patience, skill, and tenacity the animator had to have.

Ray Harryhausen was more of an idol to me than any of the actors on the screen.

R.I.P., sir. You will be missed.

[arcane1]

27. Indeed, knowing the secret made it even more fun!

I had a similar childhood local second-run movie house experience, except my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great aunt all worked there, and babysat me there, so I could watch the movies free. Pretty much all they showed there were Harryhausen flicks and blacksploitation

[lunatica]

21. He was great! I loved his animations!

[randome]

28. They were scarier to me precisely because they DIDN'T look 100% real!

You felt like you were watching something unnatural.

[lunatica]

32. That's true!

The swordfights with the skeletons had me hiding my face in terror!

[Frank Cannon]

37. Those skeletons were goddam terrifying.

On par with the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.

Slick, modern-day CGI just cannot produce the kind of terror in young kids that these masters of cinema were able to.

A friend of mine met Ray Harryhausen. He was charged with taking Ray to lunch prior to his giving a presentation at a fan convention. Not knowing where to take him--and not having a lot of cash on hand--my friend took him to a restaurant called PoFolks, which I guess is kind of like Cracker Barrel. My friend was mortified and embarrassed about having to go there , but Mr. Harryhausen didn't seem to mind, and he was a joyful, friendly delight the whole time. He was a great guy and very encouraging to my friend, who was an artist who also wanted to go into special effects.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

http://foleyfunfilmfacts.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/earth-vs-the-flying-saucers-1956/

[img][/img]

[villager]

23. It becomes a day for listening to Bernard Herrmann scores...

[Moondog]

24. RIP Ray. Thanks for the entertainment.

[AnneD]

25. Oh No.....

Ray inspired several generations of film makers and special effects people. I have all his films and Jason and the Argonauts was my fav. This is sad news indeed. He was a wonderful all round good guy that followed his own drummer, much like Jim Henson.

[arcane1]

26. That's disappointing, he was such a figure of my youth!

I'm going to watch a Sinbad movie or two tonight, and raise a toast.

[Scurrilous]

29. RIP

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

30. A giant walked the Earth

and it was animated by Ray Harryhausen.

R. I. P.

[infidel dog]

31. R.I.P, Ray.

Thanks from all the Saturday matinee kids in the balcony!

[tabasco]

33. A genius!

What a tremendous talent! Thanks for the memories, Ray.

[D Man]

34. Loved all of his movies.

So sad... There will never Be another.

[chelsea0011]

35. Oh my. This guy made my boyhood dreams on the screen.

[spiderpig]

36. Mr. pig and I have a special bond with Ray Harryhausen

When we met we shared our love of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which we'd seen as 7 and 8-year-olds. We have a scale model of the Cyclops on our TV today.

We were in London in 89 when they had an exhibition of Harryhausen's work at the Museum of the Moving Image. Actual models that he used in his stop-action work. We bought a program that I've kept hidden for nearly 25 years just to torment Mr. Pig.

Maybe I'll bring it out today as a sign of respect for The Master.

Sads, but he had a long life and is revered by those he inspired.

[tblue]

38. Saw him give a talk once.

He showed clips of his work. Wonderful! RIP.

[grahamhgreen]

39. Thank you Ray.