Jason and the Argonauts

Starring: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis, Michael Gwynn, Douglas Wilmer, Honor Blackman, John Cairney, Nigel Green
Directed by: Don Chaffey
Rating: G
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure
1963

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Jason (Todd Armstrong) leads his band of Argonauts through perils dangers to retrieve the mythical Golden Fleece.

Review:

Tim: Jason and the Argonauts is a fantasy adventure classic. That's interesting, because there's no guarantee this movie would be so successful. It has a number of obvious flaws. However, there's something so endearing about Don Chaffey's direction. He approaches the story with such earnestness. It feels important because Chaffey believes telling this mythological story is so important. That translates into a wonderful adventure film that's good for the whole family. I watched the movie with my nine year-old son and we had so much fun experiencing this wide-sweeping adventure story.

I really enjoy movies that retell Greek mythological stories, like this one. Jason and the Golden Fleece is a story I vaguely remember, but didn't have all the details down. This one doesn't follow it religiously, and that's okay. It tells an excellent fantasy adventure story that's filled with compelling action. This movie was a disappointment upon release, but it's since gone on to be considered a bit of a classic. I admit the movie's not quite great, but it's thoroughly entertaining.

The main reason Jason and the Argonauts works so well is the stunning stop-motion visual effects done by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. He was such an innovator, delivering absolutely brilliant visuals that melded well with the live action scenes around them. That's the biggest reason this movie works- the visuals might seem dated by today's standards, but they are so compelling in their own right. I actually felt far more impressed by the visuals here than many of the obviously cheap CGI movies we get today. The first big visual sequence is one of the best- the giant bronze statue of Talos comes to life and decimates the Argonauts. This scene, the accompanying sound effects- it's just so thrilling. To see this enormous metal statue moving around- it's an unforgettable sequence and it immediately rivets the audience. The next big adventure is against harpies, who are so creepy and frightening. That scene is on a smaller scale, but no less compelling. The Clashing Rocks gives us a "natural" disaster to contend with. We get a spectacular Hydra fight late in the film. And then, the highlight of the movie- a stunning battle between the Argonauts and seven skeletons. The way the skeletons move is so unnatural, so wonderfully brilliant. It's one of the more effective sequences I've ever seen. Chaffey keeps the movie moving at such a great clip- you have all the above adventure and danger, and the movie is still only 1 hour, 44 minutes long! The visuals and the exciting action adventure sequences are really what separate this movie.

So, why isn't this a great movie? Well, the human actors pull the film down. Todd Armstrong kind of looks cool, but he wasn't great as Jason. I think he gives a solid performance, but it's a bit underwhelming. What didn't help was his lines were dubbed (the internet is a little uncertain on this, but most likely because he had an American accent, which would clash with the rest of the cast). It doesn't help endear Jason to us. The dubbing is actually good- I didn't recognize it as such during the film. However, Jason never feels as compelling a main character as I'd liked him to be. Armstrong isn't bad, but he's not quite inspiring enough in the role. Nancy Kovak is solid as Medea. Laurence Naismith added a nice supporting performance as Argos. Nigel Green might not have been great as Hercules, but he was fairly memorable. As a whole, the cast isn't bad, but there's really no standouts. Everyone kind of gives their performance in a fine but unremarkable fashion. It felt like Chaffey spent much more time on the action and the visuals than on getting the human performances right. None of the cast is terrible, but for this to be a great movie, we needed consistently better performances from the cast.

All that being said, I have so much love for Jason and the Argonauts. Hollywood has never produced enough of these kinds of movies. I desperately wish we would get more adventure stories. This is one of the better ones out there and I vaguely remember liking it so much as a kid, and I absolutely know I like it as an adult. This is such a wonderful film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Clash of the Titans, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Mysterious Island