Jason and the Argonauts: B+ Movie Edition

Really loved this edit, this will now be my preferred way of watching this film.
Cutting the film to an hour thirty really does help the film! While keeping all scenes to the point in terms of dialogue.
10/10. Made one of my fav harryhausen films even better!

I've always considered 'Jason and the Argonauts' to be a fun enough movie, but the reality of watching it never quite lives up to the movie I recall in my head. While 'Jason' is a really excellent showcase of Ray Harryhausen's stop motion work... its pacing and performances haven't aged well.

Well now The Scribbling Man has assembled the film as I thought I knew it. What once felt like plotty filler in between effects sequences, now actually feels like momentum building. And all without betraying it's status as a fanedit. The cuts and the pacing feel genuine. I love how the effects blossom as the movie goes along, starting with the awakening of Talos all the way through to the battle with the Hydra. It's funny, for all the warranted hype surrounding the skeleton battle - and the fact that I've seen the film 2 or 3 times before - I guess I was so wrapped up in the story this time that I forgot the film ended on that sequence. Perhaps it's because these sword and sandals fantasies tend to blur together for me, or perhaps because I was so taken by The Scribbling Man's work smoothing out the stop motion, especially on the seven-headed Hydra sequence, which feels like it would be the grand finale in any other film.

And it's The Scribbling Man's smoothing of the stop motion which brings this fanedit to the next level. The effects now feel so natural without taking anything away from the great work Harrhausen did. This honestly feels like an excellent tribute to the man and I think if the technology had existed he would have utilized whatever he could to achieve smoother motion, much like the "go-motion" effect that Phil Tippet perfected in films like Robocop 2 and Willow. Props to the Scribbbling man for isolating the stop motion creatures so his tweaks didn't ruin the movement of the other elements in the shot.

All in all this film is blast. Going forward, it will not only be replacing the original as my go-to version, but I will likely be going back to this edit more than I would the theatrical cut. Amazing job.

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.