Jason and the Argonauts: B+ Movie Edition

SO...this is a case of "this is how I recall this movie", but when you go back, IT's NOT! That is PROOF of a great piece of work.

Audio/Video Quality: 10
There are no issues to report here given the source material drops in quality whenever we hot Stop Frame animation but that is the nature of the beast and using rear-screen for your production backdrop. So no loss compare to the source material, and I have the best version released to date.

Visual Editing: 10
Visual editing is superb and I have to say I was no convinced this could improve on the original BUT it does. The enhancements to the animation are sensitive and not overdone and as such sequences I know by heart look even better. There is still some staccato effect but it is vastly improved and just looks terrific frankly, The visual trims also keep the momentum of the scenes moving naturally without the extended reveals that dragged on.

Audio Editing: 9
I must say, as noted below, apart from medea feeling a tad rushed, I could not spot the trims...and when I went back to the source, OH BOY DOES IT NEED IT by today's standards; having said that, the dialogue still has room to breath and the narrative does flow at a great pace overall without feeling rushed. The foley work is also super and really enhances nailing the reality of the action sequences like never before where applied.

Narrative: 10
I have to go with a 10 here since the original would be an 8/9 and the trims made really do put this movie into ACE storytelling territory

Enjoyment: 10
I am thrilled that Scrib took this on and I can't wait for you to tackle a few more of the stronger entries ("Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "First Men in the Moon" come to mind).

I've watched this twice now, and as soon as my son (grown up son that is) returns from abroad, a third viewing is on the cards.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Video & Audio Quality:

Excellent. Didn't notice any blocking, the picture was sharp, the grain is still there, and the audio track (I listened to the 5.1 track) was good.

Video Editing:

No visual errors, and I could follow it all without any odd continuity issues.

Audio Editing:

No weird cut-offs in the music, folly, or dialogue were heard.

The Movie:

I won't dive too deep into its plot, other than say that it's a bit thin and characterization is weak. It's not too much of an issue because the plot serves its purpose. You'll be watching this for Talos, the hydra, and all the other monsters, and not for the talky bits. The changes that TSM's edits have made to the plot and its acting will need a little more opinion from me, though.

I agree with TSM changes to Acastus. A villain that takes the opportunity to thin out the Argo's numbers when his own life is in peril is a bit of a "too silly to win" kind of villain. A good change there. I also prefer Medea leaving with Jason because of treason and visions instead of love. Makes her less naive, and besides that, the romance between the pair of them up to that point wasn't there to support her love bombing the poor sap.

There is a charm to witnessing a lead and his love interest that are so poorly dubbed you'd think they were extras in a spaghetti western. The actor dubbing Jason's lines is either excited when he should be chill and chill when he should be excited. Medea's dubber sounds bored, and that's at odds with what I'm seeing. It's been a while since I've seen the studio cut, but I'm curious how funny the casts' acting was before TSM's edits toned them down. It's a big plus that there are no more awkward pauses, especially when Jason is chatting with the gods

Pacing and enjoyment:

Neither too slow nor too fast. It sails by at a comfortable pace.

I can't find any fault with this edit as it improves substantially on the original film without losing anything in the process. The film feels smoother and tighter with, what must have been, a large number of micro edits. The improvement in the stop motion is also really impressive and brings the film a bit more up to date (even if the dialogue gives away its age). Overall a very impressive edit and I don't know why anybody would go back to the original after seeing this.

I'm a lifelong fan of Harryhausen films and have seen Jason and the Argonauts dozens of times over the years. It's a fantastic classic Fantasy Adventure! As soon as I read the description for this fan edit, I knew I had to check it out!

In short: EXCELLENT!!

I knew going in that the trims to the movie were extensive, but watching it is impossible to tell and as someone who's seen this movie so many times even I couldn't spot any of the edits. The work done here to tighten up the editing and smooth out some of the already excellent stop-motion effects are, to my eyes, invisible. And, IMO, that's one high accomplishment! It was only reading through the cut list afterwards that I really came to understand just how much was actually trimmed, and even the biggest change to the narrative - Medea no longer confessing her love for Jason - was so superbly removed that I never noticed it was missing. If I have any nitpick, it's my personal distaste for fan edits altering the title but I'm far too happy with this edit to dock even one point for that.

A great companion piece to original theatrical cut, and one I highly recommend!

Really enjoyed this edit of the movie. I highly reccomend it.