Ray Harryhausen: Master of Stop Motion Animation

Golden Voyage of Sinbad places second in a trio of Sinbad movies, the dashing Arabian folk hero whose mythical exploits involved sailing the seven seas searching for high adventure. Stop motion master animator Ray Harryhausen created the special effects. Throughout this well produced adventure fantasy, whose low budget can't be felt anywhere, Harryhausen's creatures fly, dance and gallop to life with a smooth fantastical grace which showcases some of his very best work.

For those who aren't knowledgeable, stop motion is the technique, which brought the original King Kong to life. It's an incredibly time consuming, exacting process which relies on detailed poseable models, realistic sets and the careful filming of each second of movement one frame at a time. Today Tim Burton (Corpse Bride) and Nick Park (Chicken Run) still use stop motion to produce films. In Golden Voyage of Sinbad, each segment gives us a new thrilling stop motion creature for Sinbad and his crew to fight. Each is expertly achieved and each could well earn a long detailed essay. For this article however, I will focus on only one that of a gigantic statue of the Hindu Goddess Kali.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions. Shiva, Vishnu and Kali are three of the main Gods. Their interrelation is complex, but Vishnu is mainly seen as the creator of life, Shiva as the destroyer or taker of life and Kali as Shiva's concubine or Queen. She wields great destruction and one of the more common depictions of Kali is of her wearing a necklace and waistband encrusted with human skulls. Hindus call her the Vampire Goddess for her thirst for human blood.