Line #20 Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts


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4	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jasonandtheargonauts.png]]
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6	''Jason and the Argonauts'' is a 1963 SwordAndSandal {{fantasy}} film directed by Don Chaffey. It is loosely based off a [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek myth]], the most famous source for the myth being the ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius of Rhodes (2nd century BC). The film is most famous for its StopMotion sequences created by Creator/RayHarryhausen (who also produced the film). Music/BernardHerrmann composed the soundtrack.
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8	The story revolves around the hero Jason (Todd Armstrong), rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly, whose throne was usurped from his father by EvilUncle Pelias (Douglas Wilmer). Pelias offers to give Jason the throne if he sails to the end of the world to claim the Golden Fleece, something which many have tried but failed. Jason gathers a BadassCrew, including [[WorldsStrongestMan Hercules]] and other Greek heroes, and sets sail aboard the ship ''Argo''. Together, the Argonauts encounter all sorts of adventures along the way. Jason's love interest is Medea (Nancy Kovack), a high priestess of Hecate, and the gods Zeus (Niall [=MacGinnis=]) and Hera (Creator/HonorBlackman) play important roles in the story as well.
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10	The myth has also been adapted into a 2000 television miniseries [[Series/JasonAndTheArgonauts of the same name]].
11	----
12	!!The film provides examples of:
13
14	* AdaptationalContextChange: In the myths Talos was created to guard Crete and went rogue, hurling boulders at passing ships. He was the last obstacle the Argonauts faced and was tricked by Medea. Here he's the first major obstacle the heroes face.
15	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: The fleece's guardian was a dragon in the original myth. It is a hydra in the film.
16	* AdaptationalNameChange: Jason's father is renamed from Aeson to Aristo.
17	* AdaptationalVillainy: Acastus betrays the Argonauts to Aeetes. He didn't betray them in the original myth and ended up becoming King in his father's place. He did end up banishing Medea from the kingdom, but then again she did cause his father's death.
18	* AdaptedOut:
19	** All of the other named members of the Argonauts like Theseus,Pollux, Castor, Orpheus, Peleus, Laertes, Telamon, and Deucalion are absent unless they're meant to be some of the unnamed crew members.
20	** Jason's tutelage under the centaur Chiron.
21	** Medea's brother Apsyrtus and his murder.
22	** Their return journey to Thessaly is omitted.
23	* AndTheAdventureContinues: Zeus stops Hera from "clearing the board" because he's not done with Jason yet.
24	* AnimateDead (In both senses of the word!): Aeetes summons the skeletons of warriors killed by the Hydra to stop the Argonauts.
25	* AttackItsWeakpoint: The Talos fight. An example of ShownTheirWork since this is how Talos was defeated in the myth.
26	%%* BigDamnHeroes
27	* BlessedWithSuck: Phineas is given the gift of making prophecies but has lost his eyesight.
28	* ButNowIMustGo: Hercules leaves the Argo on the Isle of Bronze, after [[spoiler:causing Hylas' death]]. Hera explains Zeus has other plans for Hercules at the moment.
29	* ChekhovsGun: Jason receives an AmuletOfDependency, which is not from the myth. It is a gift used to [[spoiler:call for Triton's aid in escaping the Clashing Rocks]].
30	* ClimbingTheCliffsOfInsanity: Climbing down cliffs.
31	* CosmicChessGame: Zeus and Hera influence and observe Jason's journey using a chesslike board with pieces resembling Jason and the people and creatures he encounters.
32	* CostumePorn: For the royal characters, anyway.
33	* CreatorInJoke: The skeletons' shields depict creatures from Harryhausen's previous movies.
34	* DeathByAdaptation:
35	** In the original myth, Hylas was kidnapped by a nymph who fell in love with him. Here, he's crushed by the falling Talos.
36	** The fleece's guardian was merely put to sleep by Medea in the myth, but Jason kills it here. It was also a dragon, not the Hydra.
37	** [[spoiler:Acastus is killed after betraying the group]]. In the myths he ruled for many years.
38	** Pelias kills Jason's father. In the myth, he overthrew and imprisoned him, but did not kill him. They were also half-brothers in the myth.
39	* ADeathInTheLimelight: Euphemus looks like he's going to get an Awesome Moment - only to drown trying to catch Acastus.
40	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Between Hercules and Hylas in the competition to be an Argonaut. Hylas is able to cast a discus farther by skipping it over the water, to Hercules' great amusement, and they become best buds. [[spoiler:When Hylas dies later as a result of Hercules' actions, he is heartbroken enough to leave the quest then and there.]]
41	* DemBones: The skeleton fight scene. The skeletons are {{Perpetual Motion Monster}}s and Jason actually ''can't'' defeat them by fighting--they keep getting up and all they need is one slip in the heroes' guard to kill. So Jason jumps off the cliff instead. They all stupidly chase Jason over the cliff and he survives the plunge, but they just sink to the bottom.
42	* DemotedToExtra: In the Harryhausen film only Hercules, Hylas, Argus and Acastus receive any development whatsoever and other Argonauts are only mentioned by name.
43	* DisproportionateRetribution: Poor Phineas. He's condemned to have harpies attack and steal his food for the rest of his life. It's left him quite bitter at the gods.
44	--> "Zeus, I was a sinner! But I didn't sin ''every day...''"
45	* DivineAssistance: Hera is allowed to help Jason five times during his adventures. Jason also uses an amulet he receives from Phineas to get help from the god Triton (Poseidon's son).
46	* DoubleMeaning: Jason tells a camp's general that he is visiting Thessaly to reclaim his rightful throne from Pelias, who had [[TheUsurper usurped]] it twenty years before. The general tells Jason, "When your father defended his throne, no man fought harder than I." The general is [[KingIncognito secretly Pelias himself]], so the second meaning is, in a sense, "truer" than the seemingly straightforward one (he fought hard enough to ''win'', after all).
47	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Jason manages to get the fleece and get the woman, but only after hardship, betrayal and the deaths of a fair few of his comrades-in-arms.
48	%%* EveryoneChasingYou
49	* EvilIsHammy: Aeetes, the SorcerousOverlord of Colchis devours the scenery.
50	-->'''Aeetes:''' DESTROY THEM! KILL! KILL, KILL! KILL THEM ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!
51	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The Clashing Rocks. When Jason asks what they are, Phineas says "they speak for themselves, don't they?"
52	* ExpressiveMask: The animated skeletons have angry "eyebrows".
53	* FaceHeelTurn: Acastus betrays the Argonauts to King Aeetes and helps lure them into being imprisoned. Then again the "Face" part is debatable as he was kind of TheMole for Pelias.
54	* FanDisservice: It's a film with a lot of shirtless, sweaty men. Including an old man and a very hairy Hercules. Gah.
55	* FinalBattle: Jason and three RedShirt Argonauts versus a horde of reanimated skeletons. And it's epic.
56	* ForbiddenFruit:
57	** Hera warns the Argonauts not to take anything but supplies from the Isle of Bronze. Then Hercules and Hylas find a gods' jewelry box, with a brooch pin that Hercules fancies as a javelin. This awakens Talos, who was guarding the tomb and tries to kill the Argonauts. It also results in [[spoiler: Hylas's]] demise.
58	** A literal example is the banquet on Phineus's island. Every day it's loaded with delicious food. Attempting to eat any of it summons the harpies.
59	* {{Futureshadowing}}: The finale of the movie has Zeus and Hera look in their pool in Olympos where they scry Jason and Medea kissing each other. Hera casts a sad look at them, and Zeus then comes in and admits that it might be for the best to let them have their moment since they will have future adventures (which Zeus says in an ominous manner). Much of this foreshadows the ultimately tragic fate of the two characters:
60	--> '''Zeus''': "For the moment let them enjoy a calm sea, a fresh breeze and each other. The girl is pretty, and I was always sentimental. But for Jason there are other adventures. I have not yet finished with Jason. Let us continue the game another day."
61	** Of course the line also served as a SequelHook to other films that [[DevelopmentHell ultimately never saw the light of day]].
62	* GiantFlyer: The harpies.
63	* GodsHandsAreTied: In this version, Zeus decrees that Hera is only allowed to help Jason five times, since Hera bluffs that this was the number of times his elder sister Briseis called upon her by name to protect him. This is a handy explanation for why Hera, as Queen of the Gods, can't just [[DeusExMachina come in and magically solve every problem for our heroes]], which works fine in a myth but would be pretty anti-climactic in a film. (Of course, she still finds ways around it...)
64	* GratuitousPrincess: Inverted. Medea is a princess in the original myth but here is just a priestess to Hecate.
65	* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: The harpies steal from Phineus's table and the Argonauts have to defeat them. They are ferocious, killing two Argonauts. They are caught in a net by the Argonauts and locked in a cage while Phineus now eats the food in front of them.
66	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Hercules. Spelled out by Hera when he leaves the quest to look for Hylas.
67	* TheHighQueen: Hera is this for the Gods. While she's sometimes this in the myths too, this is one of the rare stories where she's portrayed as this - rather than the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen other kind of queen]].
68	* HydraProblem: Averted. Despite having a Hydra, it remains with only 7 heads as Jason never tries to decapitate any of them in the first place.
69	* IslandOfMystery: The Isle of Bronze has ancient Greek architecture full of treasure and a giant bronze statue that comes to life.
70	* IsleOfGiantHorrors: The Isle of Bronze is inhabited by giant bronze statues that would [[LivingStatue come to life]] if anyone trespasses in the tombs they were guarding. Hercules inadvertently ends up awakening the LivingStatue of Talos [[NiceJobBreakingItHero when he steals from the crypt he was guarding]], who nearly kills the Argonauts. Though the Argonauts manage to defeat Talos, [[LaserGuidedKarma Hercules' best friend Hylas was killed during the battle]].
71	* ItsAllMyFault: Hercules blames himself when [[spoiler:Hylas disappears on the Isle of Bronze and leaves the quest to find him, or rather, to find his body because he was crushed by Talos]].
72	* JerkassGods: Surprisingly averted - likely due to the original myth featuring one of Hera's positive portrayals. The Gods seem friendly enough and Hera especially tries to stop Pelias from murdering a girl in her temple. She's quite willing to help Jason, though Zeus restricts the number of times she may do so.
73	* LargeHam:
74	** King Aeëtes romps home with the prize. "DESTROY THEM! KILL! KILL, KILL, KILL THEM ALL!!!"
75	** Acastus.
76	* LeftHanging: The movie ends with the heroes escaping from the skeletons, but we never see a resolution between Jason and Pelias. Rather than continuing Jason's story, Harryhausen did Sinbad sequels instead. (Possibly because Jason and Medea have the most DownerEnding possible.)
77	* LightningBruiser: Hercules is suggested to be this as well as TheAce. Jason doesn't even bother auditioning him the way he does everyone else, because he knows there is ''nothing'' Hercules couldn't do better than anyone else.
78	-->'''Hercules''': Which champion do you want me to beat?
79	-->'''Jason''': No-one! I know you can beat us all, your place is reserved!
80	* LivingFigurehead: The ''Argo''[='=]s figurehead (which the shipwright, on a whim, put on the ship's stern) depicts Hera and the goddess herself speaks through it several times to give Jason guidance. When she does, the figurehead's eyelids move.
81	* LivingStatue: Talos.
82	* MercurysWings: Hermes himself appears, wearing a bronze helmet with small wings.
83	* MetaphoricallyTrue: When Jason meets Pelias (not knowing who he is), he says he'll need the help of this fine army commander to take back his throne. The reply he gets is "When your father defended his throne from Pelias, no man fought harder than I." Which is true.
84	* MightyGlacier: Talos is invincibly big, strong, and tough, but doesn't move very fast. It doesn't make him ''any'' less dangerous. He's, well, a giant bronze statue and the Argonauts don't have anything that can really hurt him.
85	* TheMole: Acastus, sent by Pelias to kill Jason when he looks like getting the Golden Fleece. Jason twigs to his purpose just before they reach Colchis, but Acastus escapes and warns Aeetes about the visitors. And then tries to steal the Fleece for himself, which gets him killed by the Hydra.
86	* NayTheist: Jason doesn't believe in the gods, so Hermes brings him to Mount Olympus. Jason still refuses Zeus's help (but accepts Hera's, since she's already started), though Zeus is pleased by this. He's not so pleased later when Jason declares "screw the gods!" at the Clashing Rocks.
87	* NeverMyFault: Pelias tries to blame Zeus for the slaying of Briseis in Hera's temple, as it was Zeus who decreed that Pelias would take Thessaly's throne but be killed by the king's children. Hera says that he did it all his own self.
88	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Hercules causes the statue of Talos to awaken when he steals a javelin-sized brooch pin from a divine treasure trove. Talos proceeds to pursue the Argonauts relentlessly, destroys the Argo and while Jason is able to "kill" the statue by removing a plug from his ankle, [[spoiler:Hercules drops the brooch-pin and Hylas goes back to get it and is crushed under Talos as he crumbles and crashes down onto the beach. Hercules blames himself for all the misfortune and the death of Hylas and leaves the Argonauts to wander the Isle of Bronze in search of Hylas.]]
89	* NoEnding: Jason has defeated the skeletons, and the Argo is about to sail away from Colchis with the Golden Fleece, but even assuming they're not attacked by Thessalian warships they still have to find a way back through the Clashing Rocks, navigate all the way back to Thessaly and defeat King Pelias. Zeus says, "For Jason there will be other adventures", but they were never filmed. [[DownerEnding which given how Jason and Medea's story ends]] in the ''Theatre/{{Medea}}'' stage play, it was probably the right call.
90	* NoMisterBondIExpectYouToDine: King Aeetes treats Jason and his followers to a lavish banquet despite knowing full well that he intends to steal the Golden Fleece, likely so as to lull them into a false sense of security and make them easier to imprison.
91	* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Hercules blames his actions for the death of [[spoiler:Hylas]] and stays behind on the Isle of Bronze to find the latter's body and give him a proper sending off.
92	* OhCrap: When Hercules [[spoiler:realizes he has awakened [[LivingStatue Talos]]]].
93	* OurHydrasAreDifferent: The Hydra appears as the guardian of the Golden Fleece and is killed when Jason stabs it in the heart, bypassing its traditional ability to regrow severed heads, and its teeth are later used to animate skeletal warriors. It's effectively a CompositeCharacter of the actual Hydra, the Colchian dragon (which guarded the Golden Fleece in the original myth) and Cadmus' dragon (whose teeth grew into fierce soldiers when sown).
94	* PrimalStance: The skeletons stand at attention when they first emerge, but when Aeetes exerts them to "KILL THEM ALL!", they all hunch over. In unison.
95	* TheQueensLatin: More like The Queen's Ancient Greek, but the gods speak rather posh.
96	* TheQuest: Get the Golden Fleece and overthrow Pelias.
97	* RedShirtArmy: Jason apparently picked the best athletes in Greece, yet hardly any of them actually do anything interesting apart from the two who get killed by the skeletons at the end. Oh, and Euphemus, the guy who jumped in after Acastus and drowned trying to catch him.
98	* RightfulKingReturns: This is what Jason would ''like'' to do, but he wants to have something more inspiring for his people than just stomping up to the palace and killing Pelias. Hence, the quest.
99	* RuleOfCool: The fight between the hero and a skeleton went down so well in Harryhausen's previous ''Sinbad'' movie that Harryhausen decided to make the hero fight ''seven'' skeletons.
100	* SameLanguageDub: The two lead actors, Todd Armstrong (Jason) and Nancy Kovack (Medea), both ''American'' actors, were dubbed by British actors, Tim Turner and Eva Haddon respectively.
101	* SandalPunk: A Greece where fantasy monsters and automatons are real.
102	* SceneryPorn
103	* SequelHook: The film ends with the Argonauts having successfully acquired the Golden Fleece, but doesn't show Jason's return to overthrow Pelias. The sequel didn't happen most likely because what follows is in no way akin to an adventure story but falls into pure {{tragedy}}, as shown in the play ''Theatre/{{Medea}}'' and its adaptations.
104	* SmiteMeOMightySmiter: Jason gets fed up with the gods shortly after helping Phineas escape his divinely-decreed punishment and calls for the end of the gods when it looks like the ''Argo'' will be destroyed in the Clashing Rocks. This impresses Hera and she moves Triton to intercede.
105	* StockFootage: Pelias conquering Aristo's kingdom at the start reuses footage from ''Film/HelenOfTroy''.
106	* StylisticSuck: Harryhausen deliberately animated Talos to move stiff and jerky as opposed to his smoother puppetry, in order to capture how a giant metal creature would really move.
107	* TakeAThirdOption: Jason's solution to the skeletons. He can't kill them, and certainly doesn't want them to kill him, so he [[spoiler:jumps off a cliff into the sea. They mindlessly follow and sink straight to the bottom.]]
108	* TokenEvilTeammate: Acastus as the king's son.
109	* TreacherousQuestGiver: Pelias sends Jason on the quest to find the Golden Fleece in order to forestall the prophecy that Jason will kill him, and in the hope that Jason will never return.
110	* UngratefulBastard: Pelias sends Jason to die even though the young man saves him from drowning.
111	* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: Medea was Aeetes's daughter in the myth, but is just a priestess to Hecate here.
112	** Pelias was Jason's uncle in the myth, but the film never indicates that they are related.
113	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Apart from Zeus saying that Hera is allowed to help Jason's baby sister Philomena, no mention is made of her after she's left on Hera's statue. What's more is that Jason never asks about his sister or even meets her in Iolcus.
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Context Film / JasonAndTheArgonauts