Indicator, out now

Indicator release another trio of Ray Harryhausen Dynamation gems in this limited edition dual format boxset.

At the 1992 Oscars, Tom Hanks revealed that while for many people their favourite film is Citizen Kane, he prefers Jason and the Argonauts, and it’s a fair shout. This collection of fantasy adventure yarns takes us from outer space to the Pacific Ocean, to Greece, each one offering masterful storytelling to support some wonderful stop-motion creatures. As with all their releases, Indicator have crammed  a wealth of extra features onto the discs, making them a collector’s dream.

Mysterious Island (Cy Endfield, 1961) is Jules Verne’s sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, following Union Civil War prisoners as they become marooned on the eponymous island, which is populated by a giant crab, monster flightless bird, bees and a cephalopod. Herbert Lom is the Nautilus’ Captain Nemo, and there’s drama with an active volcano. It’s the very definition of Bank Holiday derring-do TV, with a fine

2K restoration from the original camera negative and making its UK Blu-Ray premiere. Commentaries by Harryhausen and film historians are supported by vintage featurettes and interviews with the Dyna-Master and Kim Newman. The comicbook version and  Super 8 version of the movie are also included as curios, and who wouldn’t want to listen to the vibrant isolated score by Bernard Herrmann?

Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963) boasts an even sharper picture, a 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It’s this set’s highlight, and there’s very little that hasn’t already been said about this thrilling take on the Greek myth. The highlights are of course Talos the bronze giant, the vulture-like Harpies and iconic skeleton warriors grown from the teeth of the multi-headed Hydra. A commentary with Peter Jackson is a nice touch, as is the Super 8 version and the original skeleton fight storyboards. No isolated score this time, but it’s another winner by Herrmann.

Finally, First Men in the Moon (Nathan Juran, 1964) another high adventure romp, this time written by Nigel Kneale as an adaptation of H G Wells’ classic. Starting Edward Judd and Lionel Jeffries, it follows their journey to the Moon courtesy of the gravity-defying (and logic-defying!) substance Cavorite. En route they meet the indigenous Selenites and their Prime Lunar leader, as well as a strange space caterpillar. Ultimately there’s a grim ending and a clear stance that mankind is worse than any Lunar nasties. Also a 4K restoration from the original camera negative and a UK Blu-Ray premiere, Laurie (The Avengers) Johnson’s score can be heard in isolation, and there’s much fun to be had in vintage featurette Tomorrow the Moon.

Rounded off with trailers, TV spots and stills galleries, the limited edition boxset (6,000 copies) also includes an exclusive 80-page book with new writing by Kim Newman and Tim Lucas, a history of all three films, and full film credits.

Verdict: Harryhausenists will already have this boxset on order, but even the most casual of fantasy film fans will lap up these childhood mementos, packed with extras and stop-motion marvels. 9/10

Nick Joy