Jason and the Argonauts/The Odyssey (DVD)

Although filmmaking is a collaborative process it is usual — in fact, actually expected — that any film under the consideration of a viewer or reviewer is treated as though were the sole property and responsibility of its director. This system of viewing a film, often referred to as auteur theory, is only occasionally sidestepped — perhaps because the film contains a major star who had considerable creative input into the film written into his contract, for example. Or perhaps because most of the attention on-screen is simply not caught by the actors, storyline, cinematography, and other things for which the director is ultimately responsible. ...  Read the complete review

All critical faculties get suspended in the face of a film like 'Jason and the Argonauts', a classic adventure film I have loved since childhood. If you want to laugh, you can laugh. Yes, Todd Armstrong is very stolid and inflexible as the clean-cut hero, poncing about in a succession of silky toga outfits that wouldn't look out of place worn by Jean Shrimpton. Some of the effects are immensely cheesy, and there are some fine fake beards, screaming at the sophisticated to laugh at them. And yet this is a magical film, an experience of unadulterated pleasure for anyone with an open mind. Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion effects might seem ...  Read the complete review