Ray Harryhausen with two of his creations, Calibos and Medusa, from the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans.
Today, a great artist died. And though everyone may not know his name, I’d be surprised if there were any film lovers out there who hadn’t seen something of his work.
This isn’t going to be one of those great tributes to Ray Harryhausen, where I tell you how the visual effects master changed the course of my life. I never met the man, though I feel that I knew him well from his craft. I didn’t suddenly decide to become a filmmaker, or pursue a career in special effects or make-up. I never even went to art school.
This is the story of a kid, who at the tender age of six or seven, found himself staring at a drive-in movie screen from the backseat of his parents’ car. He watched in wonder as a sorcerer transformed a woman into a half-snake / half-human monster in the 1958 classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
It’s the kind of thing that leaves an impression on you.
At the time, despite my age, I understood this was movie magic. Some great artist behind the camera had created the snake woman and made me think she was real, moving… alive. But I knew it it was a trick, and I wanted to know how it was done. More importantly, I wanted to see it again. And again. And again.
As I promised 
Yesterday I mentioned that the writers over at The Confabulator Cafe are retelling fairy tales all week. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to 
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