Arguably one of the most celebrated visual effects men of all time, Ray Harryhausen brought monsters to vivid life. Using stop-motion photography and wonderfully detailed models and miniatures, Harryhausen’s resume reads like a who’s who of monsters in cinema. From the skeletal warriors of “Jason and the Argonauts” to the Kraken of “Clash of the Titans”, the impact of Harryhausen’s work has been felt over five decades.

With Sony’s new Ray Harryhausen Collection now on Blu-ray, old fans and newcomers alike can enjoy four of the legendary producer/effects master’s most popular films. The set includes three of Harryhausen’s classic black & white “monster movies” (including colorized versions), featuring the previously available “20 Million Miles to Earth – 50th Anniversary Edition”, as well as all-new, exclusive-to-this-set releases of “Earth vs. The Flying Saucers” and “It Came From Beneath the Sea”. The fourth (and, in my opinion, best) film in the set is the classic “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”

Like most monster movies, Harryhausen’s films were a bit light on plot, but no one went to see these flicks expecting to see “Lawrence of Arabia”. The stars of these films were Harryhausen’s creations and the “animation” which, while certainly rough by today’s CGI standards, was mind-blowing stuff back in its day. The thing is, these films are still entertaining as all get out, and make for great treats for the youngin's (or the inner youngin'!)/. I mean, hell, I could watch The 7th Voyage of Sinbad a hundred times and not get tired of it.

As a matter of fact, growing up I think I may have done just that!

Video quality is pretty consistent across the set’s three sci-fi entries (each presented in 1080p 1:85.1, in original black & white or colorized), with noticeable grain and the occasional scratches and artifacts rearing their heads every so often. There’s an occasional softness to the image, and detail is a bit sparse. The colorized versions are actually quite vibrant (even though they won’t fool anyone into thinking these films were actually shot in color), but I’m a purist, and prefer the original black & white. Blacks are occasionally washed out, but, given the fact that each of these films are over 50 years old, I think they’ve held up better than anyone could reasonably have expected them to.

The real star of this set is “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, however, as this particular transfer has held up marvelously. Presented in 1080p 1:66.1, Sinbad looks exceptionally vibrant and warm. Detail is much stronger here than on the other three films. Sure, the level of detail sort of shows the “seams” in the FX work, but fans of this particular style of filmmaking should expect that anyway.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes on each of the films are, once again, excellent considering the source material. Dialogue is a bit “hollow” sounding, but it’s crystal clear and mixed right out in front, complementing surprisingly resounding bass and very natural sounding highs. Bear in mind, these films were all originally released in mono, so don’t expect 20 Million Miles to Earth to compete with, say, “I Am Legend” in terms of fidelity. However, for a quartet of remastered ol’ mono soundtracks, Sony’s done wonders with these titles.

Extras are abundant and spread out over all four discs!! Here’s the breakdown:

20 Million Miles to Earth:
*    Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects artists Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett, and producer Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Remembering 20 Million Miles to Earth
*        Featurette: The Colorization Process
*        Featurette: Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen
*        Original Ad Artwork: A video montage and discussion of the original marketing and advertising campaigns by Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Interview with Joan Taylor
*        Featurette: David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero
*        Video Photo Galleries
*        Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book 20 Million Miles More

It Came from Beneath the Sea:
        Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects artists Randall William Cook and John Bruno, and producer Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Remembering It Came From Beneath The Sea
*        Video Photo Galleries
*        Featurette: Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen
*        Original Ad Artwork: A video montage and discussion of the original marketing and advertising campaigns by Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero
*        Featurette: A Present-Day Look at Stop-Motion
*        Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book It Came from Beneath the Sea…Again!

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers:
*        Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects artists Jeffrey Okun and Ken Ralston and producer Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Remembering Earth vs. The Flying Saucers
*        Featurette: A Present-Day Look at Stop-Motion
*        Video Photo Galleries
*        Featurette: Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen
*        Original Ad Artwork: A video montage and discussion of the original marketing and advertising campaigns by Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Interview with Joan Taylor
*        Featurette: David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero
*        Featurette: The Hollywood Blacklist and Bernard Gordon
*        Still and Production Art Gallery
*        Digital Sneak Peek at Flying Saucers vs. the Earth Comic Book

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad: 50th Anniversary Edition:
*        Audio Commentary with Ray Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steven Smith and producer Arnold Kunert
*        Featurette: Remembering The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
*        Featurette: The Harryhausen Legacy
*        Featurette: The Music of Bernard Herrmann
*        Music Video: Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He’s Been Good To Me
*        Photo Gallery
*        Featurette: A Look Behind the Voyage (includes interview footage)
*        Featurette: This is Dynamation (Special Effects)

As you can see, Sony takes their b-movies very seriously, and Harryhausen fans won’t know what hit ‘em!

The Ray Harryhausen Collection is a fantastic set of films that will please both "Dynamation" enthusiasts and new viewers hoping to glean some insight as to the impact these films had on some of today's most influential filmmakers (Sam Raimi, Tim Burton, etc). These are fun, family friendly flicks that look and sound better than ever on Blu-ray, and pack enough quality extras to make this set something well worth adding to your collections!