Customer Reviews

Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life

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From the point of a lifelong fantasy film buff, a stunning book. Profusely illustrated with many previously unpublished photos and drawings.Many of his up until now secret cinematic techniques for bringing his stop motion animated characters to the big screen. The story of a young boy starting out in Los Angeles who's whole life was changed by seeing the 1933 epic film, King Kong at age 13. How he persevered throught the years to become the world's leading fantasy filmaker from the 1940's till his retirement in the early 80's. Lucas and Speilberg both consider Ray a major influence in their careers. This is the book film and fantasy lovers have been waiting for.

Some of my most vivid childhood memories revolve around the creations of Ray Harryhausen, so it was as a fan of the movies, rather than a scholar of animation, that I bought this book. Firstly, the text: Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton deserve huge credit for writing such vivid recollections. The book is laid out chronologically, and is hefty in detail. However, the text will appeal to a broad readership. Stop-motion techniques and insights into the making of the movies abound, but even the casual film-fan will enjoy the enthusiasm and clarity of the writing. Filled with interesting memories, facts and inspiration, reading this book is rewarding for all. Each and every Harryhausen project is charted - including those that failed to reach the screen. Of course, the bulk of the tome recalls the making of those fabulous movies for which Ray is famed. Secondly, the illustrations: Ray appears to be proud of his work and the amount of material he archived during the various stages of his career is astounding. That body of material has been plundered, with great effect, for this book. We have orginal storyboards, pre-production drawings, reproduction movie posters, location photographs, animation photographs, cast and crew photos - the lot. All beatifully presented and well referenced. I could go on, but you get the picture by now: If you are interested in movies; an animation enthusiast; enjoy a great read about somebody who loves his work; or, like me, are just a big fan of those ground-breaking movies; I urge you - buy this book, you won't regret it. Wonderful in its own right, and a perfect companion piece for the films.

I purchased this book as it brought back memories of some classic effects films I watched as a child. What I did not expect was that it would provide such a fascinating insight into the painstaking production of some tremendous animation sequences. I was particularly impressed by the concept artwork and storyboards for these action films. This book would make a great teaching aid to anyone interested in the history of special effects or the development of animation from artwork to moving image. Excellent commentary and analysis throughout.

Ray Harryhausen is a cinema legend and being able to read first hand accounts of his work on films is amazing. A must for any fan of stop motion animation.

bought this for my Dad who is monster mad said it was the best present he got this christmas really pleased.

it's also an excellent documentation of Ray's Work Throughout the years.

If there was any justice, two men in the history of fantasy and sci-fi TV/cinema would be billionaires-way ahead of anyone else. One is Gerry Anderson, the other is Ray Harryhausen.

This book is a joy from start to finish. Admittedly, there are one or two signs of bad proof reading and captioning in this slight update, but the book brings to life the brilliance of the contribution of Ray Harryhausen to sci fi and fantasy cinema, and for the artwork alone, it's worth the read. Sometimes, it's hard to believe just how much RH's work has influenced Cimena.

I was brought up watching "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", "Jason and the Argonauts" and so on, and this is like meeting a book of old friends.

To top that, the book mentions the unsung hero of special effects, Willis H O'Brien.

Anyone who enjoys SF and fantasy, or to be honest, just cinema, should read this book. It feels like Ray Harryhausen is being extremely honest with his own strengths and faults.

The illustrations on the book are an absolute wonder, covering so many things we know and many we don't-or at least that I didn't.

Highly recommended for anyone with an imagination, a great book by a great man.

I cannot think of anything missing from this book; I loved it, every page. Please will someone now finish some more of the lost projects ?

When one thinks of the great filmmakers of all time, one needs just list the last names: Hitchcock, Spielberg, Scorcese, Ford, and Wilder, just to name a few. To add to that illustrious list must be added special effects whiz Ray Harryhausen. For many, the master of stop-motion animation is in a class by himself, inspiring a host of successors with his skill and ingenuity.

"An Animated Life" chronicles Harryhausen's early days as a protégé of "King Kong's" Willis O'Brien to his own excursions into science fiction and fantasy. The man responsible for taking viewers to the moon ("First Men in the Moon"), on marvelous treks with the legendary sailor Sinbad ("The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad", "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad", and "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger"), animating a septet of malevolent skeletons ("Jason and the Argonauts") and placing a scantily-clad Raquel Welch in the talons of a pterodactyl reveals many of the fascinating tricks of the trade in this photograph-rich book.

Harryhausen does not skimp on the details of his craft, providing background that is not only insightful but also entertaining. Remaining humble throughout, he pays homage to those that preceded him as well as those who worked hand in hand with him as he created these timeless classics.

"An Animated Life" is a coffee table book that will definitely be an eye-grabber, taking all the fables of yore and true magic of a Hollywood original.

This wonderfull book is worth the price just for the illustrations. There are hundreds, rainging from early sketches, to storyboards, film stills, photos & posters. They are accompanied by very informative text which is full of details about how RH developed his ideas, how he created his creatures, and plenty more.
I not only own this book, but also 'The Art Of Ray Harryhausen', which is also crammed with gems.
I have had the honour of meeting the great man TWICE, and hvaing both my books signed.

A must-have for any collector.

if you have grown up watching these movies, prepare to travel back in time. its fantastic, love the drawings/pictures/posters of all his films. very happy!!!!

Haven't got time to write a long review but this book is great. Very much one for the fan of old films as there's plenty of detail. Heartily recommended.