MAGICIAN RAY HARRYHAUSEN'S
FILMS PHOTOS BELOW
STOP-MOTION MAGICIAN RAY
HARRYHAUSEN & HIS FILMS IN L.A.
Read To Right On Front Page
VENTURA SCHOOL DISTRICT OWNED
E. P. FOSTER HISTORICAL HOUSE
DESTROYED BY FIRE
Read To Right On Front Page
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| STOP-MOTION MAGICIAN RAY
HARRYHAUSEN & HIS FILMS IN L.A.
By: Ross Care
Movie Titles Are In CAPS
As Are Topics.
It's been a Harryhausen summer in Los Angeles this year.
Harry who?
Although his name is not a household word, Ray Harryhausen is widely recognized as the master of a magical (and painstaking) film process called stop-motion animation.
Also known as puppet or model animation, stop-motion animation is when small three-dimensional models are minutely adjusted by hand and then photographed one frame at a time. When the film is projected, it provides viewers with the illusion of movement and, if the animator is as skilled as Harryhausen, of life itself.
It's alive! It's alive!
KING KONG, the giant gorilla, is an early and classic example of this technique. In reality, he was a 22-inch model. Harryhausen later assisted Kong animator Willis O'Brien, the pioneer of stop-motion animation, on another (later) giant gorilla epic MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.
Since movie film moves through the camera at 24 frames per second, one can only imagine the patience and care involved in executing this demanding process.
HARRYHAUSEN AND HIS FILMS
Harryhausen, now 90, came into his own with a series of now-classic fantasy features in 1950s. These are the films for which he is most renowned and which have been showcased in a series of Los Angeles screenings over the summer.
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, based on the Jules Verne novel, was screened at the American Cinematheque in Santa Monica on July 1. IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, featuring a giant octopus that destroys the Golden Gate Bridge, was screened as part of a Bad Science series at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.
The highlight of the summer screenings was the July 16 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences double bill of THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958) and 20,000 MILES TO EARTH (1957).
20,000 MILES is a low-budget film in glorious black-and-white -- a film that features one of Harryhausen's most effective characters, the Ymir, a reptilian creature, brought back to earth on the first spaceship to Venus. The hatching of the tiny creature, which eventually grows to T-Rex proportions and trashes the Roman forum, is one of Harryhausen's most amazing and magical sequences.
THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is Harryhausen's first Technicolor film and introduced Dynamation, his original process that allowed armatured models to be convincingly integrated into live-action footage. The film is considered a modern fantasy classic and features characters ranging from a sword-wielding living skeleton to a fire-breathing dragon.
Harryhausen frequently draws on various world mythologies for his characters and action sequences. In 7TH VOYAGE mythic creatures such as the cyclops and the roc, inspired by Homer's Odyssey, are featured players.
SEE! FANTASTICAL WORLDS!
In addition to the screenings the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now showing an on-going exhibit of Harryhausen artifacts and memorabilia, The Fantasical Worlds of Ray Harryhausen. It includes posters, design drawings, film clips, and actual models.
A focal point of the collection is the original armature of the 7TH VOYAGE cyclops. An armature is the jointed metal "skeleton" of the character being animated. What a thrilling "only in LA" moment it was to see the actual mechanical underpinning of the cyclops and then see it brought to life on the big Academy screen.
But ferocious as it appears in the film the "skeleton" itself is really a fragile affair and comes with a placard: "Please don't touch the cyclops."
Please note: Many of the Harryhausen films are available on DVD and some are now on Blu-Ray. The MYSTERIOUS ISLAND DVD includes informative bonus features on Ray Harryhausen and his work.
EXHIBIT: The Fantastical Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Fourth Floor Gallery, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Admission free. Through August 22, 2010.
Posted: 08-01-10
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| VENTURA SCHOOL DISTRICT OWNED
E. P. FOSTER HISTORICAL HOUSE
DESTROYED BY FIRE
According to Luis Espinosa, Battalion Chief, on August 3, 2010 at 0130 hours, a historical E. P Foster house owned by the Ventura School District located at 2717 N. Ventura Avenue on the Westside of Ventura was lost to fire. Units involved were Ventura City Fire, Ventura County Fire, Oxnard Fire, VPD with twenty-seven personnel.
Ventura City and County firefighters responded to a reported structure fire on Ventura Ave. near Shell Road. Upon arrival, city firefighters found a two-story abandoned structure that was fully involved with fire.
A working fire assignment was initiated and additional resources from the City of Ventura, Ventura County, and Oxnard Fire Departments also responded. Firefighting efforts were directed at protecting adjoining and exposed structures. Due to the extent of fire involvement and compromised stability of the structure, which included two large chimney structures, an attack on the fire from an exterior/defensive mode took place. The fire eventually consumed the majority of the structure. The second story, along with one of the two chimneys collapsed into the remains of the structure.
No injuries were reported. The cause of fire is under investigation. This historicl property was determined to be Ventura Unified School District property and notification was made to school officials. The building was a total loss and damage estimate is still not yet determined at the time of this report.
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