Jason and the Argonauts - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Jason and the Argonauts or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Jason and the Argonauts

[frances]

Ray Harryhausen still had the seven skeletons (as of this commentary recording which was done a decade before his death), but he doesn't recall which of them was also used in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). He brought one to New Zealand, and Peter Jackson and Randall William Cook made a too-short piece of stop-motion animation with it.

[ray]

The production ran out of food at one point during filming and was left with only Corn Flakes and spaghetti.

[oscar]

This is Bernard Herrmann's fourth collaboration with Ray Harryhausen. The others are The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, and Mysterious Island.

[manuel]

Although the abrupt ending clearly hints at a sequel that would end Jason's voyage, none was ever made. No clear reason has ever been given, but it is presumed to be a combination of factors. The movie was a box office disappointment at the time, and special effects creator Ray Harryhausen's love for ancient spectacle was getting out of fashion with young 1960s audiences. By the time that the movie became a cult phenomenon, Harryhausen was too busy working on the sequels to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), so the Jason sequel probably died a quiet death.

[javier]

Curiously, for the first time in the history of the trade name of Ray Harryhausen's "Dynamation" process, this film didn't carry the "Dynamation" brand, even in the opening credits. Early publicity materials for the film did, however, advertise it as being filmed in "Dynamation 90" (90 referring to the double 45-degree exposure in the sodium-light traveling matte process, used in this film and some of his previous films as well), but was reportedly dropped for being "too gimmicky". Additionally, the original pre-release prints carried the film's original title card, "Jason and the Golden Fleece" (which can be seen on the 1992 LaserDisc release by Criterion), before deciding on the film's eventual title, "Jason and the Argonauts", on March 1, three months prior to the film's release in early June.

[duane]

This was the only film Todd Armstrong made that was of any significance during his career.

[cameron]

The film was briefly titled Jason and the Golden Fleece -- artwork and title screens were already crafted and ready to go -- but filmmaker and fan of the film Peter Jackson says an Italian film starring Steve Reeves beat it to theaters with that title so they had to change it.l "It did get lost in a little mini flood of similar-themed films," says Jackson regarding this movie's minor blip at the box-office.

[harry]

Nigel Green and Douglas Wilmer would both later play Fu Manchu's arch-enemy Sir Denis Nayland Smith in films starring Christopher Lee as the Chinese criminal mastermind; Green in The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) and Wilmer in The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966) and The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967).

[nicholas]

While Ray Harryhausen is best known for his effects work, he actually conceived of this film and helped shape many of its creative choices beyond the stop-motion animation.

[marc]

Although Nancy Kovack is billed second in the opening credits, she does not appear until 66 minutes into the 99-minute film.

[scarlett]

Bernard Herrmann's score liberally utilizes the technique known as "self-borrowing", which involves reusing elements from his previous scores. He reused passages from scores for The Kentuckian (1955), Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), and 5 Fingers (1952), and reworked passages from scores for North by Northwest (1959), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and Vertigo (1958).

[addison]

One of the many things Peter Jackson appreciates about the film is how it and Harryhausen brought mythology to life via stop-motion special effects. "Stop-motion had traditionally been developed for monsters, and for dinosaurs really," but the filmmakers thought beyond that to bring other beings to life.

[ava]

While the original release made no mention of Harryhausen's trademark Dynamation process, the 1978 re-release ads touted the film as being "in spectacular Dynarama."

[jesus]

Although Bernard Herrmann was one of the finest composers in film history he was prone to repeat himself with similar motifs. The background score in the scene where Hylas and Hercules find the treasure in Talos' pedestal is almost identical to the motif he uses in "Vertigo" when Scottie enters the museum behind Madeleine.

[jessica]

John Cairney and Nigel Green didn't get along at all during filming. Green accused Cairney of being very effeminate. The last scene they filmed together was the scene in which Hercules and Hylas enter the treasure chamber, hidden in the plinth of the mighty Talos. The lighting used to give the treasure its sparkling effect was very bright, and the following day, the actors began losing their vision. Both actors became temporarily blind, and were hospitalised in the same room for two weeks with their eyes bandaged. They found they had a lot in common, and soon became fast friends. They remained good friends until Nigel Green died in the early 1970's. Fortunately their sight returned after their hospital stay.

[stephanie]

Ray Harryhausen sketched out the first inkling of this film on the back of his Mysterious Island (1961) script. It was initially titled 'Sinbad and the Age of Muses' and had Jason and Sinbad teaming up for the adventure.

[phyllis]

They scouted Greece and Yugoslavia for filming locations, but the former was too "bleak and gray" and the latter was too corrupt. They ended up filming in Italy roughly an hour outside of Palermo.

[clayton]

The Argonaut named Polydeuces, the victorious boxer in the games, is more commonly known as Pollux. He and his twin brother, Castor, form the constellation Gemini. The sign of the zodiac called Gemini is also named for them. A part of the Argonauts tale that is not shown in the film is the story of Pollux and Amycus, King of Bithynia. Amycus challenged all men who were strangers in his land to boxing matches. If they were defeated by him they became his slaves. The King had never lost a fight. Pollux fought Amycus. He overcame the King's strength advantage with his footwork and jabs. He maneuvered Amycus into facing the sun, to obstruct his view. Amycus was spitting out blood and teeth when, in a rage he swung at Pollux but the latter avoided him. Pollux then struck Amycus to the ground and made him promise never to take slaves again.

[mathew]

Early stages of story development included the twin sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, a centaur, and the three-headed dog Cerberus.