Jason, the man who challenged the gods.
Jason returns to Thessaly to claim his rightful place on the throne. While he was gone Pelias has been ruling Thessaly and is in fear of Jason's return. Because of a prophecy he is not allowed to kill Jason himself. To get rid of Jason he tis tricked Pelias into searching for the Golden Fleece so as to make his position as the rightful heir stronger. In order to keep him away from Thessaly Pelias sends his son along on Jason’s quest to keep tabs on him and if possible kill him. On the way there are the adventures. And the monsters.
"Jason and the Argonauts" was released in 1963 and was directed by Don Chaffey. It is a sword and sandal movie. On the night Tom Hanks handed an honorary Oscar to special effects artist Ray Harryhausen, he said: “For some people, it’s "Citizen Kane" (1941) or "Casablanca" (1942) but, for me, I say "Jason And The Argonauts" (1963) is the greatest movie ever made.”
It’s almost impossible to name either your favorite Ray Harryhausen movie or your favorite Harryhausen creation. I have spent some time determining the various ways that monsters are made. I have 5 ways that movie makers use as premises in their plots. But there is another way that I have not really explored yet. That way is in the mind of talented experts that craft their creations from some combination of inner child and love for the art. Ray Harryhausen is one of those minds. In “Jason & the Argonauts” he has perfected monsters such as the seven headed hydra, Poseidon, Talos, The Harpies, and let us not forget the army of skeletons. As far as I’m concerned Harryhausen is never “dated”. Of course my favorite part is the skeleton army but I’ll take any monster especially if it is a Harryhausen monster.
The scene where Jason battles the skeletons lasts about three minutes. It took Harryhausen four months to create the effect. Their shield are adorned with designs from Harryhausen's other creations such as an octopus and the head of a Ymir.
Oh, and a nod to Bernard Herrmann for musical score. He adds the final touch to the animated characters. Without it they would just be monsters. With it they are alive.