One of the world’s most important cinematic collections opens to the Bradford public next week.

Almost a year after Ray Harryhausen pledged his collection of cinematic special effects to the National Media Museum, a display opens next Thursday.

On show will be the models of Medusa for the film Clash of the Titans and the models for Talos and a fighting skeleton from the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts. They will be displayed alongside examples of Mr Harry-hausen’s drawings, paintings, storyboards and models drawn from legends and classical mythology for his pioneering stop-motion animation.

This technique combines filming minute changes in the position of a model with live action cinematography – a technique subsequently developed by the UK’s Aardman Animation, creators of Wallace and Gromit.

With the help of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, the museum plans to catalogue more than 20,000 items that make up the collection.

Mr Harryhausen, now 91, said: “Knowing that my collection is going to be cared for by the museum, and that my foundation will continue to be directly involved, is a great comfort and an acknowledgement that my work and art will be preserved for new film makers to study and hopefully continue to appreciate.”

As the first Unesco City of Film with its own annual international animation festival, Bradford will be hoping to attract favourable attention from both movie-makers and film fans.

  • Read the full story in Wednesday's T&A