The Gothique Film Society presents A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen, including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

About The Gothique Film Society presents A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen, including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Founded in 1966, the Gothique Film Society specialises in double bills ‘for the connoisseur of the macabre’.

We are delighted that artist/sculptor Al Friswell, who is also the conserver of the wonderful creatures created by effects maestro Ray Harryhausen, will be joining us this evening.

Al will begin with an extensive presentation about Ray’s life and career, and will then introduce one of Ray’s earliest films, the classic Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, in which, in the Arctic, a series of atom bomb blasts causes ‘something’ to stir to life…

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Ray built upon the techniques of his mentor, Willis H. O’Brien (famous for the original 1933 King Kong), to develop a form of stop-motion animation known as ‘Dynamation’. He showcased this in a series of celebrated films such as It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Valley of Gwangi (1969), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Clash of the Titans (1981). Al will cover these, and much more, in his fully illustrated presentation.