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We welcome you to join us in the Matthews theater on Saturday, January 21 from 2-4 pm for a free screening of the 1963 film Jason & the Argonauts.
This cult classic was a leader in special effects for its time, featuring the mind-blowing stop motion scenes of film artist, Ray Harryhausen. Who can forget the incredible battle against the skeleton army?
As told by the original Greek epic, Jason and his crew set sail in search of the legendary Golden Fleece. The first stop made by the Argonauts, Jason’s crew of highly skilled warriors, is to an island populated solely by women who, unknown to Jason and his men, had killed their husbands.
After the first of many adventures, Jason and the Argonauts come to the Straits of Bosphorus, known to the Greeks as the end of the world. The Greeks believed this to be a perilous location and trusted that the rocks would crash into and ships that made an attempt to pass. However, Jason had earlier helped a prophet who instructed him to send a bird ahead, allowing the rocks to reopen for his ship instead of crashing into it.
At the almost-end of his journey, Jason is faced with yet another set of challenges given to him by King Aietes, the holder of the Golden Fleece. Given a list of tasks deemed to be impossible, Jason accomplishes them all with the help of one person- Medea, the daughter of King Aietes. Medea had taken a liking to Jason and offered her help in these challenges in exchange for him agreeing to marry her.
Jason and Medea return to Greece to reclaim his fathers throne, but their success is short-lived. They become exiled to Corinth where Jason, breaking his promise to the gods to only be true to Medea, accepts the offer of the king for his daughters hand in marriage. Medea, enraged by the exchange, proceeds to kill all the women, and her children with Jason. She later finds her way to marriage with Achilles on Mount Olympus.
About the NEA Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.
Visit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
El proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest
