Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Director:

Don Chaffey

Writers:

Jan Read (screenplay) &
Beverley Cross (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

19 June 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Family | Fantasy | Adventure

Tagline:

Greatest Odyssey Of The Ages - for the first time on the screen

Plot:

The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece.

Plot Keywords:

Medea | Hermes | Skeleton | Zeus | Sword And Sandal

Cast

Todd Armstrong	...	Jason
Nancy Kovack	...	Medea
Gary Raymond	...	Acastus
Laurence Naismith	...	Argos
Niall MacGinnis	...	Zeus
Michael Gwynn	...	Hermes
Douglas Wilmer	...	Pelias
Jack Gwillim	...	King Aeetes
Honor Blackman	...	Hera
John Cairney	...	Hylas
Patrick Troughton	...	Phineas
Andrew Faulds	...	Phalerus
Nigel Green	...	Hercules
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ennio Antonelli	...	Drummer on Argo (uncredited)
John Crawford	...	Polydeuces (uncredited)
Aldo Cristiani	...	Lynceus (uncredited)
Ferdinando Poggi	...	Castor (uncredited)
Doug Robinson	...	Eupaemus (uncredited)
Davina Taylor	...	Briseis (uncredited)
Tim Turner	...	Jason (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Chaffey

Writing credits
Jan Read		(screenplay) &
Beverley Cross		(screenplay)
Apollonios Rhodios		poem "The Argonautica" (uncredited)

Produced by
Ray Harryhausen	....	associate producer
Charles H. Schneer	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Wilkie Cooper		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Maurice Rootes

Production Design by
Geoffrey Drake

Art Direction by
Jack Maxsted
Antonio Sarzi-Braga		(as Tony Sarzi Braga)
Herbert Smith

Production Management
Jimmy Komisarjevsky	....	unit manager
Paul Maslansky	....	unit manager
Leonardo Scavino	....	unit manager (as Leon Lenoir)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dennis Bertera	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Cyril Collick	....	sound recordist
Alfred Cox	....	sound editor
Red Law	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Ray Harryhausen	....	special visual effects creator
Arthur Hayward	....	sculptor: model (uncredited)

Stunts
Ralph Faulkner	....	fight choreographer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry Gillam	....	camera operator

Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	conductor: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Bernard Herrmann	....	musical director (uncredited)
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Phyllis Crocker	....	continuity
John Dark	....	production executive
James Wines	....	title designer
Ferdinando Poggi	....	swordfight arranger (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Morningside Productions (uncredited)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1963) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1963) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Intrada  score album released by (Excalibur Collection)
• Pathé  Eastmancolor by (as Pathe)
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The  music played by

Also Known As:

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1963) | USA:G (certificate #20139) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-12 (cut) (1963) | Finland:K-8 (uncut) (2000) | Australia:G | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Ireland:G | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Capaccio, Salerno, Campania, Italy

Company:

Morningside Productions

Trivia:

Presumably in order to capitalize on the success of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)Ray Harryhausen originally conceived of the film as "Sinbad in the Age of Muses". The story would still have been set in Ancient Greece, and would have involved Sinbad joining Jason in the search for the Golden Fleece.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As the first harpy appears to torment Phineas, the wire holding it up is visible.

Quotes:

Hera: [asked why the gods set temptations and traps for mortals] So that the gods may know them, and men may know themselves.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

It's All About the Special-Effects

When I was a teen, this was a "cool" movie. The special-effects that were exhibited in this movie back then (1963) were awesome at that time. If they had one, Ray Harryhausen would be a charter member of the film world's Hall Of Fame for SpeciaI Effects. He is a legend in Hollywood. Who will never forget seeing skeletons alive and fighting back then? Not me, or my friends. It just made a lasting impression and I suspect that will always be cool even though FX has improved so much and it looks dated by now.

Dated or not, some of the scenes in here still are fun to view, even though the storyline and some of the dialog is so stupid it makes me cringe.

This is almost a "cult" movie, I suspect, by now, especially with the horrible acting in here. The acting and dialog are so bad, it's almost a comedy in parts....but who cares? We just watch for the "effects."