I was about seven years old. I think I was at my grandparents’ house and had been put down in front of the television. From memory, it was a little past my bedtime. There was a movie on – The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974). It was amazing. I hadn’t seen anything like it before. It was colourful and action-packed. It featured a super, scantily clad woman (Caroline Munro) and lots of amazing creatures courtesy of the legendary Ray Harryhausen (I, of course, had no idea of who was behind the effects at the time). One scene in particular seared itself into my tiny child brain and, even today, gives me nostalgic shivers: the Centaur. The build up to the Centaur terrified me, hearing his hoofs clopping towards Sinbad shattered my nerves, and when he appeared it was no disappointment. Despite my enormous fear of the Centaur, his gruesome end shocked me to the core. The next day at school, I blurted out the details to a good friend of mine. Turns out he had also seen it and was equally traumatised and entertained. We spent most of the day talking about the film.
I’m not alone in the impact I felt seeing Ray Harryhausen’s Centaur. It is an experience shared by many; it may have not necessarily been The Golden Voyage of Sinbad that left its mark, but perhaps Jason and the Argonauts (1963) or Clash of the Titans (1981). The news Harryhausen’s death this week hit hard, but at 92, the man lead a long and wonderful life leaving us with many brilliant and memorable creatures and effects. His importance to cinema is undeniable and his work and influence will live on.
