Another piece of wonder and magic from Ray Harryhausen. I thought this was made in the 70's, like a couple of years earlier than Clash of the Titans. For the early 60's, this was pretty amazing. Jason (Todd Armstrong) barely escapes with his life after his kingdom is invaded by King Pelias (Douglas Wilmer). He grows up in seclusion and, upon reaching adulthood, decides to go back and take his birthright. First, he accidentally saves Pelias from drowning and then spills his entire plan to the man, which consists of sailing to the end of the world in search of the Golden Fleece, a gift from the gods, and returning with it to bring a sense of wonder to the people, restoring their faith in the gods and ousting Pelias. The king pretends to think this is a great plan, but urges Jason to go ahead and sail for the Fleece before confronting the king. He even volunteers his own son, Acastus (Gary Raymond) to go with him. After putting together a crew of the finest warriors, including Hercules (Nigel Green), they board the Argos and set sail. The goddess Hera (Honor Blackman) takes a personal interest in helping Jason and guides him in the form of a figurehead on the ship.
It's been a long time since I read the story of Jason and his crew so I didn't remember a lot of the detail. I think I kept getting it confused with The Odyssey. It's a fun watch, though, and the stop motion effects are great if you squint a little bit. Sadly, blu-ray lets you see every crack and crease in the models so you have to work a little harder to suspend your disbelief. I probably won't own it but it was definitely worth the rental.
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