RAY HARRYHAUSEN DONATES A LIFE'S WORK TO THE NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM

ON THE DAY OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN'S 90th BIRTHDAY, AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION 'RAY HARRYHAUSEN - MYTHS AND LEGENDS' AT THE LONDON FILM MUSEUM, THE RAY AND DIANA HARRYHAUSEN FOUNDATION HAS ANNOUNCED ITS INTENTION TO DEPOSIT THE COLLECTION OF THE LIFE'S WORK OF CELEBRATED SPECIAL EFFECTS ANIMATOR RAY HARRYHAUSEN AT THE NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM IN BRADFORD, UK. HARRYHAUSEN MADE HIS NAME BY DEVELOPING FANTASTIC ANIMATED CREATURES BASED ON LEGENDS AND CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY, AND CREATING A UNIQUE BODY OF FANTASY FILMS FROM THE 1950s TO THE 1980s THAT TOOK THE MOVIE MAKING WORLD, AND THE PUBLIC, BY STORM. HIS SPECIALTY WAS COMBINING STOP-MOTION ANIMATION SEAMLESSLY WITH LIVE ACTION CINEMATOGRAPHY THROUGH HIS INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUE OF DYNAMATION. HARRYHAUSEN'S FILMS INCLUDE 'THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS' (1953), 'THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD' (1958), 'JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS' (1963), 'ONE MILLION YEARS BC' (1966), 'THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD' (1973), AND 'CLASH OF THE TITANS' (1981). THE RAY HARRY HAUSEN COLLECTION CONTAINS MOST OF THE MATERIAL CONNECTED WITH THE CONCEPTUALIZATION AND REALIZATION OF HIS FILMS, SUCH AS DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, AND STORYBOARDS, TOGETHER WITH HIS ANIMATION MODELS AND THE ORIGINAL MOLDS USED TO MAKE THEM. EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE SKELETONS FROM JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS AND THE MEDUSA AND THE KRAKEN FROM CLASH OF THE TITANS. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES RARE WORK BY THE PIONEER SPECIAL EFFECTS DESIGNER WILLIS O'BRIAN, THE CREATOR OF KING KONG, WITH WHOM HARRYHAUSEN WORKED EARLY IN HIS CAREER AND WHO WAS A MAJOR INFLUENCE. THE RAY AND DIANA HARRYHAUSEN FOUNDATION IS WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL MEDIA MUSEUM IN BRADFORD TO ESTABLISH A HOME IN THE UK FOR THE UNIQUE COLLECTION. BRADFORD WAS DESIGNATED THE WORLD'S FIRST UNESCO CITY OF FILM IN 2009 AND HAS A RICH HERITAGE IN FILM PRODUCTION. THE MUSEUM ALREADY HOLDS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS OF MOTION PICTURE TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFACTS.