Ray Harryhausen documentary makes U.S. debut next month

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

To be perfectly honest, I have never even heard of the Sony Movie Channel, but if you have it, you won’t want to miss this.

The U.S. television premiere of the definitive Ray Harryhausen documentary, RAY HARRYHAUSEN: SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN, will air on Sony Movie Channel on Wednesday, April 3 at 8:00 PM E/5:00 PM, and will be available on DirecTV and DISH’s video on demand platforms, as well as online through Sony Movie Channel Everywhere all month long. To complement the documentary over the course of the month, the Channel and VOD platform will be airing 10 of Harryhausen’s credited films from Sony Pictures Entertainment’s library.

The documentary, produced in 2011 by Frenetic Arts, in Paris, marks the first time that the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation has provided unprecedented access to all aspects of his award-winning career, spanning from his early days in Hollywood to his 90th birthday celebration. It features interviews with Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, John Lasseter, Tim Burton and more.

RAY HARRYHAUSEN: SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN was filmed over a 10-year period and features interviews and tributes from an illustrious list of acclaimed filmmakers who were inspired by his work. Directed by Gilles Penso , the documentary includes interviews with longtime admirers and Harryhausen fans that have been involved in some of the film industry’s biggest blockbuster hits.

With 16 movies to his credit, Harryhausen is known for pioneering numerous new techniques during his acclaimed filmmaking career. Not only was he a leader in armatured models and miniatures, but also he created a new type of stop-motion split-screen animation, known as “Dynamation.” His special effects budget for THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1952) called for a more practical way of model interaction, and as such, Harryhausen developed a simple but effective method involving split-screens and a projector – hence, “Dynamation” was born.

Check out Sony Movie Channel’s official site right HERE.