The Art of Ray Harryhausen [Hardcover]

‘A splendid volume... fabulous illustrations’ (Jonathan Ross )

‘A delight, packed with super reproductions of drawings and models relating to a long, frenetic life in movies’ (The Times )

‘A gorgeous, sumptuous, coffee table book...enough never-before-seen material to keep any enthusiast happy’ (SFX Magazine )

‘One of the best-loved fantasy artists and animators of the last century...a perfect gift for fans’ (Publishing News )

A delight, packed with super reproductions of drawings and models relating to a long, frenetic life in movies

A gorgeous, sumptuous, coffee table book...enough never-before-seen material to keep any enthusiast happy

One of the best-loved fantasy artists and animators of the last century...a perfect gift for fans

In An Animated Life (Aurum, 2003) Ray Harryhausen told the story of his career as the acknowledged grandmaster of special effects in the pre-computer era, the creator of classics such as One Million Years BC, Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of Titans. In this book the focus is not on the movies themselves, but on the vast hoard of artwork which Harryhausen has carefully preserved in his London home. These include preliminary sketches, elaborate drawings of key scenes and carefully plotted storyboards, all produced as he sought backing for his next venture and prepared to undertake the laborious task of animating the prehistoric creatures, aliens and mythical monsters which stole scene after scene from the human actors. There are also the tiny, elaborately articulated models which Harryhausen created to play these roles and the bronzes which he cast to preserve their forms in perpetuity. This stunning array of images is a tribute to the scope of Harryhausen’s imagination and his artistic skills which no student of special effects or cinema history will want to be without.

Ray Harryhausen is one of the most innovative and influential film-makers in the history of the medium. The winner of countless awards, including a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, his work has inspired numerous directors and animators including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Nick Park. Ray was born in Los Angeles but now lives, together with his wife Diana, in the heart of London. Now retired, he continues to take an active interest in dimensional animation and occasionally gives talks on his work. Ray’s collection of memorabilia is held in trust by the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation. His books include Ray Harryhausen Fantasy Scrapbook, The Art of Ray Harryhausen, A Century of Modern Animation and Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life.

Tony Dalton is a writer and film historian who has known Ray Harryhausen for over thirty years. They met whilst Tony was working for the British Film Institute and have been close friends ever since. Tony has worked as a film publicist, television researcher and producer. Today, in addition to writing, he is a consultant to The British Academy of Film & Television Arts (Bafta). He is also curator of the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation.