Jason and the Argonauts.

The epic fantasy film following Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece.

Starting with Pelias, the king of Lolcus asking his seer if his upcoming battle will be won. The seer tells him that the battle will be his, but the offspring of the late king will take back their kingdom. Unperterebed, Pelias usurps the throne of King Aristo of Thessaly, making sure that the children of Aristo be killed. This is where we see a soldier run off from the battle with a baby in his arms. Pelias sees one of the daughters of Aristo, following her into the temple of Hera and killing her.

Because of the temple being defiled, the goddess Hera tells Pelias to beware of a one-sandled man. Afterward, Hera decides to protect the baby, who we are told is Jason. Twenty years pass, all the while Pelias worrying of his death at the hands of a one-sandled man, is scared into the river by Hera and almost drowns. Luckily, a passerby notices and jumps in, saving Pelias from drowning. Thanking the man with some company at their camp, Pelias learns that this is Jason himself, and that he is thinking of a journey to find a treasure known as the golden fleece. He would use this treasure to muster men against the man who took the thrown from him. Pelias, seeing an opportunity to get rid of Jason, confirms that the golden fleece is real, and urges Jason to go on his quest. Jason is then taken to Mount Olympus by Hermes, where Zeus offers to help Jason on his quest.

However, Jason declines, relying on his own strength and charisma to find the men and the ship needed for the quest. Hera tells Jason that she will help him on his quest, but Zeus places a limit of 5 times that Hera can help Jason. Her first bit of help is where the fleece is located, that being upon a tree in the land of Colchis. Jason then holds a contest to muster the best men for the voyage, and asks Argus to build a ship, which Jason names the Argo. Many things happen on this voyage, and I shouldn't spoil it for you any further, so I'll encourage you to watch the movie for yourself.

The Film

Being a film that was made almost 60 years ago, Jason and the Argonauts still has somewhat of a cult following.

Watch on Archive.org Talos attacking the Argo

The movie itself had a budget of $3 million, and it was able to snatch the stop motion animator Ray Harryhousen as well as Bernard Herrmann. Both Ray and Bernard have worked with each other on other movies such as "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Mysterious Island," both very well known classics. The movie itself wasn't much of a hit when it was released, gaining only $2.1 million from home rentals, but it has since gained a cult following, and has been praised for it's early use of stop motion. It was processed in Eastman Color, a development process used by the Eastman Kodak company, which give it it's distinct color pallet. The movie runs for 104 minutes, and is rated PG. It was released on December 31st, 1963, and is still available to watch on multiple streaming platforms, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray, if they still use them.

The Actors

Todd Armstrong as JasonJason - Todd Armstrong

Born as John Harris Armstrong on July 25, 1937, he had many troubles with his acting carreer, but this movie was his first and most prominent leading role film.

Nancy Kovack as MedeaMadea - Nancy Kovack

Nancy was born on March 11, 1963, and she has had a long and successful career in film and television. Having an i.q. of 152 possibly helped her with setting up her career. Being in Jason and the Argonauts was one of her earlier roles, and had since appeard in many other productions.

Nigel Green as HerculesHercules - Nigel Green

Nigel Green was born in Pretoria, South Africa on the 15th of October, 1924. He had a long, successful career and it is possible that his role in Jason and the Argonauts was a significant part of helping gain more roles.

The Production

The staff

The film itself didn't follow the legend of Jacob and his quest for the Golden Fleece, having many of its own unique revisions to the story. These revisions however didn't take away from the story itself. The stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen was very well done, and the music by Bernard Herrmann was fantastic.