Powerhouse Films Bluray Sale at Zavvi

Ray Harryhausen and Hammer bluray boxsets available as part of a Powerhouse Films bluray sale from Zavvi, that also includes classics like 'John Carpenter's Vampires', 'The Wild One', 'The Lady From Shanghai' and more.

Save 30% when you buy 2. Simply add both items to your basket for the discount to apply!

On sale now from the Zavvi website.

Artist Spotlight: The Art Of . . . Gary Pullin

I've previously showcased a few of my favourite pop culture and vintage pulp artists, and each weekend I showcase art from more of my favourite artists.

The art of Gary Pullin.

Cool Art: 'Medusa' & 'Cyclops' Prints by Jason Edmiston

These Ray Harryhausen inspired prints were part of Jason Edmiston's first solo art show 'A Rogues Gallery' that opened on Friday at the Mondo Gallery in Austin, Tx.

The 'Medusa' print is currently available as a 18" x 24" screenprint at Mondo for $40.

Check out some of the other prints that were at his show below too.

Cool Art: 'Ray Harryhausen Tribute' by PJ McQuade

These prints from PJ McQuade are from Bottleneck Gallery's 'Where Is My Mind?' art show. The Ray Harryhausen inspired prints are 13" x 13" Giclees on fine art rag, signed and numbered in a limited edition of 50, and costs $35.

Book Review: 'Ray Harryhausen's Fantasy Scrapbook' by Ray Harryhausen & Tony Dalton

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. An ideal way to remember Ray and his wonderful films.

  **** out of 5

RIP Ray Harryhausen (1920 - 2013)

Art by Gary Pullin

I was saddened to hear of the passing of a legend of cinema yesterday, Ray Harryhausen. I grew up with the screenings on TV of the classic 'Sinbad' films, 'Jason And The Argonauts', 'First Men In The Moon', 'The Valley Of The Gwangi' and I do remember seeing 'Clash Of The Titans' in the cinema as well.

All of those films had that Harryhausen magic and are firmly entrenched as some of my favourite films, especially the Sinbad films. They were very believable because of the way the creatures interacted with the actors, check out the infamous skeleton fight in 'Jason And The Argonauts', and Sinbad's sword fight in 'The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad' as prime examples.

Check out some of Ray's concept art and posters from some of my favourite Harryhausen films below.

I'll leave you with a quote from the man himself:
"I'm very happy that so many young fans have told me that my films have changed their lives. That's a great compliment. It means I did more than just make entertaining films. I actually touched people's lives -- and, I hope, changed them for the better."

Cool Art: 'Ray Harryhausen Special Effects Titan' Poster

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Facebook page has exclusively revealed the poster by Joe Wilson for the 'Ray Harryhausen Special Effects Titan' documentary.

click to embiggen

This is the definitive documentary about Ray Harryhausen. Aside from interviews with the great man himself, shot over five years, there are also interviews and tributes from James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippett, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Ken Ralston, Joe Dante, Randy Cook, Guillermo Del Toro, Steve Johnson, John Lasseter and many more. For the first time Ray have provided unprecedented access to film all aspects of his collection including models, artwork and miniatures as well as Ray's private study, where he designed most of his creations, and his workshop where he built them. In addition the documentary will use unseen footage of tests and experiments. Never before has so much visual material been used in any previous documentary about Ray. This definitive production will not only display a huge part of the unique collection but will illustrate the influence that Ray's work has had on film makers during the past fifty or so years.

Hit the jump to see the teaser trailer.