How Did Motion-Smoothing Reinvigorate 'Jason and the Argonauts'?

There is nothing better than sitting down and watching a classic adventure movie. There's something about the music and bold acting that makes you feel a rush of energy. The problem is that some of the effects don't withstand the test of time. 

One of my favorites is the 1963 movie Jason of the Argonauts. It was shot in Eastman Color and has a Bernard Herrmann score. It was very advanced when it came out.

The film was made in collaboration with stop-motion animation master Ray Harryhausen, whose work now has been subjected to a motion-smooth to make it look even better. Check out how CaptRobau used an AI program to interpolate the scene to a higher frame rate to see what that would look like.

I think it makes the images clearer. It's hard to see the tangible changes in all the scenes, but seeing the giant walk smoothly and the skeletons fight smoothly definitely makes the work hold up a little more.

I think the ethical question might be—while this is okay to have fun with online—should we alter these movies now? 

The answer is probably not. It's cool to play around, but at the end of the day, you want to see how the directors intended them to be, even if it takes you out of it. I think part of appreciating art is learning what capacity the artists had at the time and what wonders they did with it. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Source: CaptRobau