Monster from Hercules (1958)

There is only one great creature of note in 1958's Hercules.  It's a massive dragon that Jason must battle in order to reach the Golden Fleece.

The creature is a "guy in a rubber suit" and it's not terrifically realized but I've seen worse!  I actually quite like creatures who are played by people in suits.  If they're shot correctly it can be really effective.  At the very least you can tell it's really there and there's no digital-looking CG!

Lucifer's Feet from "Heart of Darkness"

I bought these fantastic latex feet from a Xena Prop House collector who got them directly from KNB EFX Group after production on Xena: Warrior Princess ended.

They were worn by Alex Mendoza as Lucifer in the 6th season episode "Heart of Darkness" and possibly later by Joel Tobeck in the same role in the episode "You Are There."

The feet are barely visible in "Heart of Darkness" except in several shots where we see Lucifer flying as he fights with Xena.

I wish I had had these in my collection when I met Howard Berger of KNB back in 2006!

The Creatures of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger

1977 saw the release of the last of the Harryhausen Sinbad trilogy with Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.  I think Ray Harryhausen's work in this film is outstanding but taken for granted.  The creatures in this film are mostly familiar animals and the animation is so flawless I think viewers tend to forget it's happening!

The first creatures we see in the film are definitely not familiar animals.  I usually describe them as "ant men" but I'm not sure if that's what was intended.  Zenobia summons three ant men from a fire to battle Sinbad and his men in the exciting early scenes of the film.

Zenobia transforms Prince Kassim into a baboon.  Harryhausen has said that the filmmakers originally considered using a real baboon but that it wasn't possible to find one that could be trained appropriately.  Frankly, I'm glad they let Harryhausen create one because it showcases how incredible his art has become.  Kassim's movement is flawless.  It's easy to forget that you're watching an animated character.

Unwilling to do menial labour, Zenobia fashions a bronze giant called Minoton to do her heavy lifting.  Minoton is actually a combination of stop-motion and an actor in a suit.  He was played by Peter Mayhew in a couple of scenes.  Minoton is one of the classic and unforgettable characters most associated with Harryhausen.

One of the animals I mentioned above is a giant walrus that Sinbad and his crew encounter on their way to Hyperborea.  He doesn't get much screentime and it's sort of a strange encounter but, nevertheless, well-executed.

One of Harryhausen's most sympathetic creations is Trog, a larger than life troglodyte encountered in Hyperborea.  He's extremely life-like and his facial expressions give him a really strong character.  You really feel like you can see Trog thinking.  Apparently, Trog was originally going to be an actor in a suit.  Harryhausen wanted to use animation to give him more of a fantasy, pseudo-reality feeling.  I think it works!

Finally, another of the animals I mentioned, a sabretooth tiger.  All three of Harryhausen's Sinbad films include a climactic battle between two of his creations. In this one, brave Trog faces the tiger and allows Sinbad's party to escape.

Be sure to check out Ray Harryhausen's official website for more great info on the master.

The Creatures of Jason and the Argonauts

By 2000, digital visual effects were the standard for creating fantasy creatures on film and television.  When done properly, with enough time and money, they are very convincing.  In Jason and the Argonauts, they're quite good.

There is a pair of fantastic Harpies created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.  Though you can tell they're CG, the artistry is there.  They interact well with the actors and they look really creepy.

The biggest CG monster in the film is a giant dragon that guards the Golden Fleece.  I love the texture of its skin and it looks great when the light hits its eyes.  Again, you can tell it's CG but for a television movie in 2000 it's really good.

One of the weirder creatures in this film is a metal, mechanized bull that breathes fire.  It's a really strange creature to begin with and it has to interact a great deal with Jason London as Jason who rides it and fights it in a lengthy sequence.  I don't think the bull is especially successfully realized but it's clear that a lot of work went into it.

There's a briefly seen centaur in the film who's played by Hugh Quarshie.  He's seen only in the dark so it's difficult to tell but I think the horse portion of his body is CG and Quarshie's torso has been composited on top.

Possibly my favourite creature from this film is Poseidon.  He's created with interesting prosthetics on an uncredited actor.  The Argo encounters him as a huge rocky island in the sea and then he awakes and stands up, dwarfing the ship.  It's a really cool idea.  I've never seen Poseidon portrayed like this before and I really like that it was created with practical effects rather than CG.

Overall, the creatures in this film are not as memorable as those in the 1963 Ray Harryhausen film but they seem to fit the world the filmmakers were trying to create and are pretty successfully realized.

The Creatures of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Ray Harryhausen truly outdid himself with the amazing visual effects and creatures he created for The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974).

The first creature we're treated to is a small, bat-like animal that is referred to as a living homunculus.  An homunculus is a miniature human (oid) body.  Though this creature is more gargoyle-like than human, the name fits.  It's a creation of the dark prince, Koura, and it spies on Sinbad and runs errands for its master.

Next, Koura brings to life the figurehead on Sinbad's ship so she can steal the sailor's navigational charts.   She is brought to life very believably with creaky wooden sound effects.

On the lost continent of Lemuria, Sinbad and his crew encounter a mysterious oracle.  It hovers, a disembodied head surrounded by mist, over an ancient well. Played by Robert Shaw will great make-up by Jose Antonio Sanchez, the Oracle is a really memorable character from this voyage.

Undeniably, the star attraction of the film is the great six-armed goddess Kali. Koura brings her shrine to life with a magic potion and orders her, first to dance for him and then to fight with Sinbad.  The dance is an amazing piece of animation by Harryhausen.  He choreographed a complicated series of intricate movements for all six of her arms.  Watching it, you really forget that it's not an actor on screen. Equally impressive is the fight sequence where Kali fights off multiple opponents simultaneously.  The sequence is unforgettable.

A cycloptic centaur is also discovered on Lemuria.  I'm not crazy about his wacky hairdo but he's an impressive character nonetheless.

The centaur later battles a giant griffin in a battle of good and evil foretold by the Oracle.  Characters with fur and feathers are known to be very difficult to animate in stop-motion because the slightest movement of the hairs by the animator between frames will show up on screen as unexplained movement.  Harryhausen does a great job at limiting this kind of movement in a fight that is reminiscent of the one between the Cylcops and Dragon in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

If for no reason but to see Kali, this film is worth checking out.  Harryhausen is at his creative peak.

The Creatures of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

For The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Ray Harryhausen created his first stop-motion characters for a colour feature film.  They look fantastic and his animation work in this film is stunning.

The first creature to grace the screen in this film is the giant Cyclops.  This character, more than any other Harryhausen creation, has inspired movie-goers and filmmakers for generations.  He moves with life-like fluidity and his colouring is vibrant and memorable.

The magician Sokurah changes a lady in waiting into a dancing serpent woman.  Harryhausen did a great job of recreating the actress's facial features on his stop-motion puppet so the effect is seamless.

It must have been a great challenge to animate the giant mythological birds on the island of Colossa.  Harryhausen used real feathers on the Roc and its hatchling which would have been very difficult to control from frame to frame.

One of the most memorable sequences in the film involves Sinbad battling a living Skeleton Warrior.  Painstaking care had to be taken to memorize each move in the fight sequence so that the animation could be added later in the proper position.  This sequence would inspire the epic battle in Jason and the Argonauts a few years later.

Finally, for the epic finale of the film, a Cyclops battles a fire-breathing dragon to the death.  Harryhausen's skill in animating both of these creatures through their titanic struggle is incredible.  The fight terrified children and inspired a spirit of adventure that the film is remembered for.

Be sure to check out Ray Harryhausen's official website to discover more about the master and his work.