10 Under The Radar Talents Who Made Cinema Awesome

3. Ray Harryhausen (Special Effects Pioneer)

Yet another figure with an enormous impact on modern blockbusters, Ray Harryhausen was one of the most important people in the development of modern special effects. His use of stop-motion animation on many films of the 40's, 50's, and 60's had huge impacts on later filmmakers, particularly sci-fi directors such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron. Harryhausen became so well regarded during his career that he was eventually involved in nearly every aspect of whatever films he decided to work on. In order for his designs to better fit with the films he worked on, he had input on story, characters, design, and tone. Despite being in many ways almost as much an "auteur" as many directors, Harryhausen received relatively modest billing, and was never really that well-known outside of film circles. Regardless, he helped make many of the best B-movies of the period, and created one of the most iconic movie scenes of all-time with his epic fight between animated skeletons and live action actors in 1963's Jason and the Argonauts. He is a textbook example of someone who impacted hundreds of movies, without receiving much in the way of popular recognition.