Dear Cinemythologists,
On Thursday, October 15, our unit on Medea and Jason continues. Please do the following.
VIEWING
- Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey & Ray Harryhausen, 1963)
Streaming on Swank Digital Campus. Take notes as you see fit. Here is another opportunity to you to revisit the work of Ray Harryhausen — Harryhausen, at the height of his powers; you, with far more experience in approaching myth on screen.
ANALYSIS
Eiger and Raker will continue our Analysis series. Their sequence selection is in the comments.
READING
- Blanshard, Alastair J. L. and Kim Shahabudin. 2011. “Myth and the Fantastic: Jason and the Argonauts.” Classics on Screen: Ancient Greece and Rome on Film. Chapter 6, 125–145. Bristol Classical Press.
Blanshard and Shahabudin, as they usually do, provide not only important context for today’s viewing but also its reception in later screen texts.
- “Speed and Length of the Shot” &”Special Effects.” LAM Chapter 6, pp. 223–230.
These sections from Looking at Movies have not a little bearing on Jason and the Argonauts, which is both nearly 60 years old and an FX extravaganza.
SEQUENCES
- Gross, Padala.
Use the comments feature on this post to recommend a sequence to be reviewed and discussed in class.
Recommendations should contain the following:
- A brief description of the sequence.
- Precise starting and ending times (hh:mm:ss — hh:mm:ss).
- A rationale as to why this sequence is worth our time.
DC
I’d like to suggest viewing the sequence that takes place from 00:27:10 to 00:29:38. This sequence begins with a defeated Jason worried about his weary and grumbling crew. Not knowing what the next move for the Argo should be, he calls to Hera and speaks with her through the figure of her head on the ship. The goddess gives him advice and Jason turns back to his crew with a renewed sense of confidence in his leadership. I thought this scene was particularly interesting as we see Jason struggling to lead this crew which he has gathered. Despite initially not believing in the gods, this sequence shows him reaching to Hera for council as soon as he faces adversity in his journey, a very striking contrast. By relying on the gods, Jason can remain a confident and competent leader for the Argonauts. One other interesting aspect from the end of this scene is Hercules’ role. When Jason makes an order to not take anything unnecessary from the island, Hercules pushes back, focusing on the possibility of finding a woman. Although Hercules is the heroic leader which many– both on the Argo and in the audience– are familiar with, Jason asserts himself as the leader of this journey, even over the legendary Hercules. Overall, I think this scene showcases early on Jason’s role as a leader on the Argo.
Eiger and Raker have chosen the Talos sequence for their analysis.
I’d like to suggest the scene with Jason and Ascastus fight on the ship after Jason’s plan to go in alone is announced. 1:11:37-1:14:32. I think that this scene is really important to emphasize the relationship between Jason and the other men on his ship, and to show how Jason might be a fighter but he is also cunning and isn’t willing to get captured or betrayed.