5. Skeleton Warriors (Jason And The Argonauts, 1963)
Perhaps the most celebrated scene of the film, and certainly the one most people would associate with the name Harryhausen, is the one in which our heroes are engaged in a swordfight with skeletons across the sandy ruins of Colchis. Summoned by a spell cast on a slain Hydra; each of its teeth is transformed into the most terrifying of soldiers. Harryhausen considered this his greatest film, and given the range of special effects- each producing a perfectly realised movie monster- it's hard to disagree. There's the Hydra, a writhing beast at the mercy of Jason's sword, the bat-like Harpies who swoop in on the orders of Zeus, and the magnificent bronze statue Talos, who stumbles into life when Jason steals his treasure. The scene where Talos stands above the sea, sword in hand, and picks up the ship is truly breathtaking.