The Fantastical Worlds of Ray Harryhausen

The work of stop-motion animation and visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen has been delighting movie lovers and inspiring other filmmakers for generations.

Such Harryhausen classics as "It Came from beneath the Sea" (1955), "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" (1956), "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958), "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963), "The 3 Worlds of Gulliver" (1960), "One Million Years B.C." (1966) and "Clash of the Titans" (1981) take viewers to magical worlds of fantasy and adventure, with dynamic action sequences (which he executed largely by himself) populated by pre-historic beasts, aliens, giant sea creatures and mythological monsters.

With unprecedented cooperation from, and access to, the Ray Harryhausen collection, an incredible array of original models, drawings, storyboards and behind-the-scenes photographs are on view in the Academy's Fourth Floor Gallery, demonstrating the ingenious filmmaking process of Harryhausen.

The recipient of the Academy's Gordon E. Sawyer Award recognizing technological contributions to the industry, Harryhausen created Dynamation, an original technique that allowed armatured models to be integrated into live-action footage – but it is his ability to bring these models to life in exciting and magical stories that has made him a legend.