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Jason and the Argonauts

Jason and the Argonauts

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Quite good, actually.
Review: Having read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate", everything around the Argonauts has to be compared with it. This video passed the test.

When I first got it, I was expecting something like the "Xena"and "Hercules" TV shows. During the first moments, I was pleasantly surprised. The costumes and background fits with what the ancient Greeks were supposed to be like, judging from urns and other relics and artifacts. The storyline goes closely to the ancient myths and the special effects are decent. Some inaccuracies are present; i.e. Hercules in Hera's service, but it's expected in similar movies.

The actors: Derek Jacobi, Dennis Hopper, Frank Langella need no introduction, there are magnificent. The actress who plays Medea is very good as well, enchanting and mysterious. However, the leading actor in Jason's role is not good. However, for those of us who consider the ancient Jason a useless stud who happened to be in the right place at the right time, he fits in perfectly. And a brilliant casting decision: Brian Tompson as Hercules. I loved every scene he was in.

Overall, it's a very entertaining film, but if you want a deeper and equally enjoyable work on the Argonauts, read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate".

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Quite good, actually.
Review: Having read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate", everything around the Argonauts has to be compared with it. This video passed the test.

When I first got it, I was expecting something like the "Xena"and "Hercules" TV shows. During the first moments, I was pleasantly surprised. The costumes and background fits with what the ancient Greeks were supposed to be like, judging from urns and other relics and artifacts. The storyline goes closely to the ancient myths and the special effects are decent. Some inaccuracies are present; i.e. Hercules in Hera's service, but it's expected in similar movies.

The actors: Derek Jacobi, Dennis Hopper, Frank Langella need no introduction, there are magnificent. The actress who plays Medea is very good as well, enchanting and mysterious. However, the leading actor in Jason's role is not good. However, for those of us who consider the ancient Jason a useless stud who happened to be in the right place at the right time, he fits in perfectly. And a brilliant casting decision: Brian Tompson as Hercules. I loved every scene he was in.

Overall, it's a very entertaining film, but if you want a deeper and equally enjoyable work on the Argonauts, read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent! Well.............as far as I could see anyway.
Review: I didn't get to see all of this movie when we watched it in school. However, what I saw I thoroughly enjoyed. The character who played Jason did a beautiful job, as did the other cast.
I say, buy it. However, I've not seen the whole movie as yet, but I hope to soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Entertainment for everyone
Review: I found this movie to be excellent. The casting is very good and the storyline is very moving. It makes for a great afternoon of fun, so I can only recommend everyone to buy it. I had great fun watching it and I keep watching it over and over again. I never get tired of it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A very good movie!
Review: I had heard of this movie when they showed it for the first time on TV. I then rented it and really liked it. To anyone who hasn't seen it, it is a good movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Immpresiove Actors,Immpresive Acts,Worst Storyline
Review: I must say I enjoy it,It was a good movie untill some...things tickled me:

First,It's Romance -gladly only two small sexual parts of adult scenes- almost turn it into a nightmare. I never heard or read in my whole life such a humiliating adulterous scene from the true Argonauts Scripture. Damn, I hate the sex part so much!!

Second,the scripture told All(I say it again ALL) the Argonuters return home safely including Argos and Hercules and there the story ends, where Jason feasting at his palace with the argonauters! I never read that Argos, owner and maker of the Argonauts and Hercules die in such a pitiful way after their return!. Not just that, Hera is NOT Hercules' mom and she HATES Hercules and Zeus is ASIDE with Jason. Such a bad thing it alls turned to a nightmare.

But again I Praise Hallmark Team for another piece of art.I can't resist It's a great design adventure. 100% as Fantasy indeed, 0% as value of mythology. Start to read mythology books, Hallmarkers. This time read it carefully, and you won't find any fakeness for such precious high-valued-art. It's true Myth made by man ant illusion. But you don't realize it took part at civilization.

By the way...Why Harpies,or should I say Sirens (Let's teach that old antique island prophet to spell, that it was not H-A-R-P-I-E-S, It was S-I-R-E-N-S...)was thin as paper and bad looking if they have the everlasting-food-prospered table?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: They don't make em like they used to!
Review: I really enjoyed this remake of the original film but felt it lacked the pure fantasy of Ray Harryhausen's magical touch and the haunting musical score by the brilliant Bernard Herrmann. All in all not bad.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An O.K. movie.
Review: I really loved the 1963 version of "Jason And The Argonauts". I was really hoping that this newer version would put that one to shame. Unfortunately, i was disappointed. Not that this new version was horribly bad. It was just so-so. It has a few good special affects. But nothing spectactular that really jumped out at me. The movie is not real fast moving, and it's a little long. Jason himself, as stated in some of the other reviews, is not really exciting to watch in this movie. I was kind of disappointed by that, as i thought he did a good job in "Party Of Five". The actor for Hercules was a good choice, though, as was the actor for Orpheus i felt. All in all, i'd say this movie is definitely worth watching once or twice, but not something to run out and buy on DVD for your permanent collection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A rousing adventure tale! Highly recommended!
Review: I was pleasantly surprised to find this version of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS as a worthy successor to the original film starring Todd Armstrong.

I admit I was expecting some cheesy, low budget, badly-acted made-for-tv series but was pleased to find an entertaining film that stays faithful to the original myth. Add to that a strong cast, good production values and impressive special effects and you have a film that you will want to watch again and again.

The story centers on Jason (Jason London), who returns to reclaim his kingdom from his uncle, Pelias (Dennis Hopper). In order to regain the throne and save his mother's life, Jason agrees to sail to Colchis and obtain the golden fleece. With a crew that includes Orpheus, Atalanta, the mighty Hercules and the shipbuilder Argos, Jason faces many dangers on his quest for the fleece. The argonauts encounter the bronze giant Talos, the women of Lemnos (led by their queen Hypsypile - Natasha Henstridge), blind Phineas (Derek Jacobi) and the frightening harpies, the clashing rocks and more. When Jason arrives in Colchis, he falls in love with the lovely Medea (Jolene Blalock) but must face more challenges (including its ruler, King Aertes - Frank Langella) before he can leave the island with the fleece.

This version is more faithful to the myth than the 1963 film. For instance, Orpheus, Atalanta, Castor and Pollux make their appearance here. Also, this version shows what happens when the argonauts return home and has a better, more tightly woven ending than the original. The special effects are impressive and I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes bickering between Zeus (Angus MacFadyen) and Hera (the lovely Olivia Williams). I also thought that this version's Hercules (Brian Thompson) was a lot more convincing than Nigel Green from the original. This film also does a great job of portraying the role of the gods in Jason's quest.

However, there are also a few weaknesses. For one, I certainly miss the Talos of the original. Watching Talos first come to life on the 1963 film still gives me goosebumps up to this day. That Talos was definitely one of Ray Harryhausen's greatest creations. I also preferred the many-headed hydra to this version's giant lizard-like creature. Jason London is a passable lead but I believe the filmmakers could've picked a stronger actor. He certainly is nice to look at and the supporting actors more than make up for his shortcomings.

All in all, I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to those who enjoy mythological, fantasy or action/adventure films. For those who enjoy Greek mythology, I suggest you also check out the 1963 version of JASON OF THE ARGONAUTS if only to see the fantastic Talos and the army of skeleton soldiers as well as CLASH OF THE TITANS (starring Harry Hamlin) and upcoming film TROY (starring Brad Pitt). Edith Hamilton's book MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES is also a great introduction to the wonderful world of Greek and Roman myths and legends.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not a welcome addition to the swords-and-sandal genre
Review: I've always loved sword-and-sandal flicks, so last night I rented a copy of Jason and the Argonauts hoping for some mythological mayhem. What I ended up with was a poorly-paced and tedious bowdlerized waste of video. The acting is terrible. The worst of all is Dennis Hopper's role as Pelias. Sometimes, acting is so bad it's funny. In Dennis Hopper's case, the acting is so bad it is not funny at all--it's just plain awful. I think he could have done a better job if he'd been reading lines off a teleprompter.

Another problem I have is with the casting for the part of Jason, played by Jason London. He is referred to as having a handsome face and being a hero throughout the movie, but this is a case of wishful thinking. Although Jason London is not an ugly man, he is decidedly plain. And his appearance certainly doesn't inspire paeans of heroism, either. He's rather spindly, and, to top it all off, he sports a mullet!

The bowdlerization is quite annoying. Someone castrated a perfectly-good tale for the sake of a PG-rating. Where is the blood, gore, and sexual tension of the original story? It's certainly not in this waste of a miniseries. According to legend, Medea is a frightening, cold-blooded, black witch. Although she does fall in love with Jason, her love is marred by obsession and cruelty. In order to help Jason make his grand escape from Colchis, she slows down her father's pursuit by murdering her brother (still a child in the myth, and not the hale and hearty admiral of the video), rending him into small pieces, and throwing the bits overboard from the Argo. The father, in his grief, slows his fleet to gather up the body parts of his beloved son. In the movie, Medea is portrayed as selfless and good, hardly the sort of woman she ended up being in legend when she tortures the philandering Jason's new wife and father-in-law to death and murders her own children.

Another problem is the treatment of Hercules. Although I almost smiled at his braggadocio regarding the twelve tasks he had earlier completed, the joke soon became old. What is lacking are his prodigious amorous achievements. This is hinted at chastely in the matriarchy of Lemnos when he sits in a pool surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous women, but the real reason he disappeared from the Argonauts isn't even hinted at: the handsome young Argonaut Hylas went missing at Cios. Hercules was passionately in love with this boy, and chose to stay behind to find him. I don't know why the Lemnians are portrayed so negatively. According to legend, the Argonauts stayed there for a year and had a whole nursery-load of children with these women. There are plenty of scary adventures in the mythos which aren't even touched on. I guess this scene of Amazons, er, Lemnians, is included for titillation.

The only thing that saves this movie from being an utter disaster are some of the special effects. The harpies of King Phineus are imaginatively done, if more bloodthirsty than legend has it. Instead of killing whoever eats, they instead stole the food and defecated on what was left. I guess this is just a little too scatological for modern-day audiences. Ah well. As I was saying, the harpies are wonderfully-done and are formidable enemies. Similarly, the taming of the fire-breathing bull (only one, opposed to the two in legend), is done rather well. It's too bad the rest of the movie doesn't measure up to these fine scenes.


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