Classic film: Jason and the Argonauts

One of the gods of these spectacles is Jason and the Argonauts which celebrated its 50th birthday earlier this year.

Using the stop motion magic of Hollywood legend Ray Harryhausen and a rousing score from one of his collaborators Bernard Herrmann, it still bewilders and delights in equal measure. And it has aged remarkably. In fact Harryhausen thought it his greatest triumph.

We follow the very smiley Jason, played by Todd Armstrong, in by far his biggest role.

Determined to avenge his father's death and win back his kingdom of Thessaly from the usurper Pelias (Douglas Wilmer), he's tricked by the new king to sail to the other side of the world in search of the mysterious Golden Fleece.

Sure, Jason would perish during the task; Pelias puts his son Acastus (Gary Raymond) among the crew to try and sabotage the voyage.

The rest of the expedition is selected from a tournament, hosted by Jason, to find Greece's best fighters. Among them is a very hairy Hercules (Nigel Green).

And so the Argonauts, named after the ship – Argo – they sail upon, set off on their adventure. They encounter many mythical creatures along the way, and this is where the magic of Harryhausen plays its part.

Chief among these is the towering bronze statue of Talos that seeks to kill the crew after Hercules steals one of its treasures while on the Isle of Bronze.

While this is an alteration from the original tale for the purposes of the film, it is arguably the movie's most terrifying action sequence as the giant wreaks utter carnage.

There are others too.

The Harpies that plague poor old blind Phineas (Patrick Troughton) are another triumph, and the legendary fight scene with the skeletal soldiers is one of the most memorable in Hollywood history.

The film does not lack in human beauty either. Honor Blackman - yes, Pussy Galore and The Avenger Cathy Gale - gives a flirty, utterly delicious turn as Hera, wife of Zeus (Niall MacGinnis).

Then in more human form there is Nancy Kovack as Medea, the priestess who falls in love with Jason within 48 hours after he saves her from drowning.

The heroes are believable, the scale magnificent as you would hope from a tale of mythology.

The sounding is great throughout too, but not without the usual comical moments we're used to seeing in old epics.

It wouldn't be a 1960s production without somebody screaming in the background in utter disbelief at what they have just seen or heard.

This time it comes from one of the Gods in Olympia.

After Jason at first rejects the help of Zeus (what was he thinking?), one of those in the background agrees when he cries "Refuse the help of the Gods?!" at the top of his lungs.

Overall, though, the script has aged as well as the animation and there are a few moments of comedy too.

After one moment of blasphemy from Phineas a loud roll of thunder comes from the skies to which he rebukes: "You can growl away all you like, Zeus. I mean what I say."

Little areas now look a bit dated – CGI has come on leaps and bounds – but overall this fantastic romp has survived the test of time to still enchant young and old alike.

It leaves you, like Jason, seeking adventure and fortune.

Though I doubt we'd get away with running around the Midlands in a toga waving swords in 2014.

Movie fact file:

• Stars: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Honor Blackman, Douglas Wilmer, Niall MacGinnis

• Director: Don Chaffey

• Running time: 104 mins

• Released: 1963

• Awards: None

• Classic scene: Take your pick, but the epic battle with the skeleton soldiers born from the teeth of the Hydra on Colchis is one of the greatest fight scenes in movie history

• Classic quote: As Hera again tries to cheat in the game Gods play with mortals, Zeus bemoans: “You really must learn to win without cheating…or at least lose gracefully.”

• Did you know?: In the early stages of development, the twin monsters Scylla and Charybdis and the three-headed dog Cerberus were also intended to appear