Ray Harryhausen's Fantasy Scrapbook: Models, Artwork and Memories from 65 Years of Filmmaking

by Ray Harryhausen, Tony Dalton, John Landis (Foreword)

Ray Harryhausen is one of the most innovative and influential film animators in the history of the medium, responsible for such classic films as Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Clash of the Titans and One Million Years BC. A pioneer of stop-motion animation he has won countless awards, including a star on the Hollwood Walk of Fame, and inspired numerous film-makers, such as Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson. Ray’s story has been told in books such as An Animated Life and many of his concept drawings and models have appeared in The Art of Ray Harryhausen (both of which books were also published by Aurum). This new book reveals a wealth of fascinating artefacts relating to his films that has never been seen before, many of them recently discovered in a garage in Los Angeles. Designed in the form of a scrapbook, it provides a visual feast for Harryhausen fans. There are models from unrealized projects, such as dinosaurs from the unfinished film Evolution; prints of outtakes from various films including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; early concept drawings and storyboards; colour transparencies of Ray at work; written artefacts such as letters and production budgets and a diary that details Ray’s first meeting with his mentor Willis O’Brien; early film treatments and script extracts; publicity posters and brochures; and much, much more. Some of the items show Ray’s earliest artistic endeavours such as watercolours painted when he was 15 years old and marionettes of creatures from King Kong that he made when he saw the film in 1933. Organized into themed chapters covering the different genres that Ray worked in, each film is given a brief introduction and every image has a detailed caption. In many cases images are juxtaposed to show how a creature or effect evolved or to compare a concept drawing with a still from the finished film. The result is a treasure trove of rare artefacts and material which not only offer new insights into how Ray created particular effects, but bring the worlds of his films to life in a new way and paint a fascinating visual portrait of the man himself and his creative imagination. This is a must for every Ray Harryhausen fan.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Media Tie In, Film

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third edition was published in 1981 so it has 16 glossy color pages at the end which was a bit jolting after reading the rest of the book in black & white. I can understand why they inserted that sextion as it was after Clash of the Titans (a childhood favorite of mine) was released but before the awards season at the end of the year.

It was very interesting seeing so many pre-production sketches and photos, as was reading Harryhausen's descriptions of the behind the scenes politics and logistics of creating movies over several decades. This is well worth reading for anyone who is a fan of stop-motion animation. My only complaint is that sometimes the photo captions were a bit unclear.

[Trey Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight from one of the masters of monsters and animation. You can pour over the whole book or just quickly flip to see the cool photos

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures on my blog)

This is a delightful scrapbook style collection of stories, photos and artwork from the films that Ray Harryhausen has worked on.

Going through this book is like uncovering how a magician does his tricks. It's captivating to read about how he started out, working from small projects to the big screen. The first models he made were from wool, cloth and paper mache. What a humble beginning before going on to create cult classic films.

Stories of his film-making techniques and improvisation are fascinating. I've always wondered he animated models to interact with live action actors. That's in the book and it's actually called a split-screen process. Along the way, he has also invented a few ingenious camera tricks.

There are lots of photos and artworks included. The art include storyboards, and even drawings of armatures he designed and constructed. Some of the drawings are really detailed and drawn by Ray Harryhausen himself. He's a great artist.

The content is arranged according to themes. The first part is more on dinosaurs and creatures, the second on sci-fi, and last on mythologies.

Below's a list of films featured. I've excluded the animated shorts that are in the book.

Mighty Joe Young (1949)
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1952)
The Animal World (1956)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
War of the Worlds (1949)
The Elementals (1952)
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)
Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
Mysterious Island (1961)
First Men in the Moon (1964)
People of the Mist (1983)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)
The Satyr (1940)
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1959)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Force of the Trojans (1980)

There's commentary for everything and captions for all graphics included.

Highly recommended for film buffs.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must for any fans of animation and fans of the films of Ray Harryhausen in particular. Published in 2011, this 192 page hardcover book is presented in a scrapbook style collection of stories, photos and artwork from the film career of Ray Harryhausen.

With a foreward by director John Landis, and introduced by Ray himself, it takes a look at his film techniques and a behind the scenes look at Ray's film career, starting with the short films he worked on after being enraptured by the original 1933 'King Kong', all the way through his more well known films of 'The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad','Jason And The Argonauts', 'Clash Of The Titans' and more.

Featuring hundreds of b&w and colour photographs, drawings, concept art, sketches, production notes, movie posters and other memorabilia, with annotations accompanying the images and notes. If you're a fan of the films of Ray Harryhausen then I strongly recommend picking this up.

[Aussiescribbler Aussiescribbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must for Ray Harryhausen fans. It contains a lot of rare drawings, photographs, script extracts, models, etc., from all of the films he worked on, as well as some material from projects which where never made. You'll learn a lot about how Harryhausen worked and gain a new appreciation for what he achieved. And there is plenty to get you wondering about what some of the films would have been like if different choices which were being considered had been followed and also what unmade films like The Elementals, Harryhausen's version of War of the Worlds or Force of the Trojans would have been like.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akin to an incredibly well-curated museum exhibit about Ray Harryhausen's work. RIP Ray.

[Zach Klinefelter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book about the master of stop-motion!