The Giant Cave
 The
cave from which the Cyclops emerges from was a full miniature which
was later superimposed on the real cave which had been built on the
beach at S'Agaro in Spain. Due to the size of the Dragon model the
whole sequences in which the Mouth of the Cave appears in the film
took a considerable amount of time to shoot and animate.
The Serpent Woman's Dance
One of Ray's favorite scenes from the
film is the sequence with the Serpent Woman created by Sokurah the
magician. Ray used a mold of a boa constrictor skin and made the
plaster cast and rubber-textured skin to fit the model in. When Ray
was animating the model he used the music of the film Salome (1953)
a guide that provided him the perfect beat for the scene. To get
inspired to choreograph the dance scene Ray did some very arduous
research work in Los Angeles searching clubs that featured belly
dancers!
The
Shrinking of the Princess
 This
image shows Ray's design for the shrinking of the princess scene.
Ray used a long dolly track, they placed Kathyrn Grant on a support
and began with a close-up, slowly pulling the camera back at an
angle. All other sequences that involved specialist techniques were
similarly designed.
The Cyclops
 During
the location shooting Ray used what he called "the monster stick" a
simple stand-in device enabling actors to see how tall the Cyclops
would be and assisting them to get the correct eye-line. The stick
was usually just a pole on which he marked strong colors for the
different parts of the Cyclops (head, eyes, torso, arms etc.) Later
in the studio it was replaced with the actual Cyclops model, which
usually would stand in front of the stick on the back projection
plate.
Sinbad vs The Skeleton
 Kerwin
Mathews was a master at shadow boxing,
always maintaining the illusion that he was
actually fighting with a skeleton and always
managing to make the destruction of his
adversaries look so simple, as any hero
should. Enzo Musumeci-Greco worked with
Kerwin in arranging the fight sequence. His
invaluable input enabled Kerwin to look like
a professional and allowed Ray to create an
imaginative and exciting fight sequence with
the Skeleton.
Shooting Crew
 Here
is a very fun and interesting shot of the
shooting crew relaxing on a hot day at
S-Agaro beach. From left to right (fourth
in) Maurice Gillet (electrician), Wilkie
Cooper (cinematographer), Eugene Martin, Ray
Harryhausen, Charles Schneer, Kerwin
Mathews, Torin Thatcher and standing above
and between Kerwin and Torin is Nathan
"Jerry" Juran the film's director.
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