Reviews

Without sitting in the director's chair or writing a single word of a screenplay, animator Harryhausen made an enormous impact on film. While his stop-action "dynamation" is a stone ax compared with today's superbly realistic computer-generated imagery, all FX wizards still want to be Harryhausen when they grow up. In this first book-length treatment of his work, he details each of the features for which he performed FX-from Mysterious Island and Jason and the Argonauts through Clash of the Titans-including background on the models, how the effects were achieved, and other fun insider information. The text is buttressed by more than 1000 color and monochrome storyboards, concept sketches, and pictures of the screen-used beasties. Smitten with King Kong at age 13, Harryhausen fittingly launched his career as the animator of Kong-esque Mighty Joe Young (1949). That success led to decades of steady work in numerous A and B sf/horror/fantasy movies through the 1980s. The book also sports an introduction by Ray Bradbury. Harryhausen is a geek god, and his memories make a multicourse fan feast. Highly recommended for film and sf collections.-Michael Rogers, "Library Journal" Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

It's mostly film buffs who will recognize the primary author's name, and they will rush out to buy this first-rate, heavily illustrated guide to the life and, more importantly, the work of arguably the premier special-effects master in Hollywood history. Harryhausen (b. 1920) is the undisputed master of stop-motion photography, the genius behind such memorable fabrications as the T-rex of The Valley of Gwangi, the giant ape of (the original) Mighty Joe Young, the fighting skeletons of Jason and the Argonauts and the giant crab of Mysterious Island. Harryhausen attributes his lifelong devotion to stop-motion to his initial viewing, at age 13, of King Kong ("I can remember every detail of that day quite clearly," he writes in the lengthy and deeply informative text that accompanies the book's hundreds of photos, b&w and color; "...I became obsessed with [the film's] magic"). This obsession led young Harryhausen to his first serious attempt at a movable model, of a cave bear, then to a teen friendship with Ray Bradbury and Forrest J. Ackerman of Famous Monsters of Filmland fame, some mentoring by King Kong effects wizard Willis O'Brien and his first special effects job, with George Pal. The book, co-written with film historian Dalton, goes on to cover each of Harryhausen's major films in tremendous detail, with great attention to the technical side of stop-motion work, making this volume a must for special effects fans, despite the recent computer revolution (which, Harryhausen argues, makes creatures appear "too realistic" and lacking in an essential "dream quality"). Through his work, Harryhausen has brought magic to millions; this terrific book is a fitting capstone to his brilliant career. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.