Ray Harryhausen - Master of the Majicks; Volume 2: The American Films
(Archive Editions; 2008; 370 pp.; illus.; $74.95; www.archive-editions.com; available 9/14/2008) is the first release in an ambitious trilogy of books on the man who is arguably the world's most famous special effects artist and proponent of the art of stop motion model animation. As the title suggests, the man, like one of the characters in his film, the sorceror Koura and his Homunculus in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), is a modern day wizard who, through cinematic alchemy, is able to take inanimate objects and infuse them with life."Where are volumes 1 and 3?" the curious might ask. Volume 2 came first because it was felt that the years covered -- from Mighty Joe Young (1949) through The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) -- would be of primary interest to readers and would produce sales ensuring the publication of the next two volumes. Volume 3, which covers The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) through Clash of the Titans (1981), is next, with Volume 1, which covers Harryhausen's early life and experimental films, last.
With Harryhausen's own An Animated Life and another volume devoted to his art, a second question might be, "Why another Harryhausen book. Hasn't everything been covered?" The simplest answer, but by no means the entire answer, is that Harryhausen's books are from his viewpoint and address issues he feels are important. This new book provides a different perspective on Harryhausen and his career, not one voice but many as reflected in interviews, phone calls and correspondence conducted by the author. Hankin is able to expand upon material in the Harryhausen book and cover points which Harryhausen didn't. This increased detail means that what fills approximately 90 pages in An Animated Life requires 370 pages in Hankin's book.
Hankin, who became a personal friend of Harryhausen, had access to both the man and the personal bound volumes he kept on each of his films. Over a period of years, Hankin conducted interviews with many of the people involved in the Harryhausen films who had appeared on screen and behind the camera, gathering a picture of the artist, his techniques and his work from multiple viewpoints. He also kept in touch with both Harryhausen and Schneer, the two men continuing to answer questions and provide insight.
Additionally, Hankin's book is probably the most accurate book on the work and life of Harryhausen. It is made clear that all facts have been subjected to a rigorous process of checking and rechecking by a number of film historians and professionals, including members of the visual effects industry, so that the author and publisher feel certain that the account is correct "…despite what may appear elsewhere." In that sense, Harryhausen's and Hankin's books complement each other, both works overlapping in their coverage of the same subject while each offering different information.
Two examples should suffice to illustrate this approach. In discussing his salary for The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Harryhausen states that he was paid $15,000 cash and in equipment, namely, one of the stop motion projectors built by Harry Cunningham for Mighty Joe Young. According to an interview with producer Hal Chester, Hankin learned that Harryhausen was offered $1 per foot for 1500 feet of animation along with the projector. Not only that, Hankin nails it down as projector # 4 (of 5) and then proceeds to track down where the other projectors landed. Hankin was also able to determine that taxidermist, animator and effects assistant George Lofgren, who worked on Mighty Joe Young didn't work with Harryhausen again until Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (1956) rather than It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) as has previously been asserted. This may sound like nitpicking but in a book dedicated to unearthing the tiniest details, details important to many fans, minutae is all important.
So what does the book contain? The first thing even a casual browser will notice is the abundance of illustrations, not just photos but script page reproductions, magazine covers and interior layouts, advertising and publicity materials, promotional items and product tie-ins, comic art and fumetti adaptations of the films, and more. This writer didn't verify the count but there can't be more than a couple of dozen pages in the entire book that are text only.
There are photographs of Pete Peterson and George Lofgren animating on the set of Mighty Joe Young, Jim Danforth animating the sea creature from Jack The Giant Killer (1962) the four Joe Young models and the human stop motion figures grouped together, the set as the full size rear screen footage of the Rhedosaurus is shot, Don Glut's Rhedosaurus from his 8mm home movie Son of Tor (1965), theater marquees decked out to the max back in the days of full tilt ballyhoo, Harryhausen animating on the set of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, all the terrific Harryhausen creatures, miniatures from Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers and 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957), and shots revealing the presence of surface gauges (the devices used by animators as reference points to "keep their place").
Naturally, there is a heavy emphasis on "How did he do it?" This is to be expected in a book benefiting from the participation of several stop motion animators and special effects scholars, including the publisher, Ernest Farino, who is himself a two time Emmy winning visual effects artist. He also co-published, with Sam Calvin, the sought after FXRH (short for Special Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen) the first magazine to deconstruct the maestro's secrets. In this book, many of Harryhausen's major stop motion sequences are likewise broken down in detail to reveal the ingenious thinking behind the illusion. This in no way detracts from the wonder of the effects, rather it makes them all the more remarkable for their cleverness and complexity.
Each film receives its own chapter beginning with Mighty Joe Young. This film was the last major film project for Willis O'Brien and Harryhausen's introduction into feature film production. As such, it can be seen as the moment when the creator of King Kong passed the torch to his protégé. It was on this film that the young animator noted the techniques used by his idol. Later, he was to refine and streamline these techniques, a process which was the bedrock of his success as a special effects artist who was able to provide enthralling set pieces on low budgets.
Here are just two factoids from that chapter and the one on It Came From Beneath The Sea. In Joe there were 25 glass paintings in the scenes depicting Africa. One of the artists was Fitch Fulton, father of another visual effects genius John Fulton. In It Came From Beneath The Sea the submarine is identified as the USS Cubera though it is never identified in the film. The attention to detail is painstaking.
And, ultimately, it's all in the details. We learn the sources of the stock footage for Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, that Harryhausen had the surface guages in 7th Voyage removed for the laser disc and DVD versions, the ripple glass used for the force field in Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers and as a barrier for the Cyclops in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was purchased from Paul Sprunk (a Puppetoon colleague), that Harryhausen sculpted the overall 7th Voyage dragon but only detailed one side and left it to Lofgren to detail the other side, and where to look for the monster stick when the Ymir is hit with a shovel. And this doesn't even scratch the surface of the wonders to be discovered.
It was also quite pleasing to find that the scope of the book allows for detours to briefly examine The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) and Jack the Giant Killer. Some attention is also given the man thought to be Harryhausen's heir apparent, Jim Danforth (who also pens an affectionate Foreword). Budget and Box Office information is provided, too, where available and thoughtfully adjusted for inflation.
Then, there are the appendices, of which there are several. There is a Harryhausen Glamour Gallery in which many of the leading ladies are presented in various publicity poses. Another appendix prints full reviews of the day from various publications which reveals how often Harryhausen was mentioned by name from the beginning of his career and how amusingly off-base the critics could be in guessing how achieved his miracles. There is a section on the music from Harryhausen films that presents four pages of David Buttolph's hand-written manuscript from his score for The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. There are also appendices on Harryhausen collectibles, heavily illustrated, and a surprising list of exactly what was submitted for Oscar® consideration in the visual effects category. There's also a three page teaser to whet appetites for Volume 3. And, important in a publication of this sort, there is an Index.
Do not be led into thinking this is a technical tome full of nothing but talk of armatures, apertures, and aerial braces. No, there is a very human dimension provided in the quotes and interviews with the many other artists, entertainers and technicians who worked on or were somehow associated with the Harryhausen films. That many of these people are now deceased makes their statements all the more precious. Naturally, we hear from Harryhausen and Schneer. But there is special value in the accounts of Kerwin Mathews, Bernard Gordon, Henry Slesar, Hal Chester, Nathan Juran, and so many others.
Quite simply, this is a magnificent tribute to one of our greatest cinematic magicians. As befits a publication dedicated to the man who inspired so many of today's special effects artists, all aspects of the book are of the highest quality. This is a production full of love and admiration for its subject, as is evident in the wonderful layouts and selection of the graphics, and with the best interests of the fan in mind. This is a beautiful book the Harryhausen fan and afficionado of visual effects will spend hours visiting and revisiting. Frankly, Ray Harryhausen - Master of the Majicks is something of a miracle itself.
(It is well worth visiting www.archive-editions.com. The site contains many photos and information from the upcoming volumes as well as news on other merchandise that is available. If one clicks on "Contact Us" a page will appear which allows the reader to sign up for the Archive Editions Newsletter. This is a simple and quick way to be kept up-to-date on all future Archive Editions projects.)
