Clash of the Titans (Snap Case)
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Movie Reviews of Clash of the Titans (Snap Case)
Movie Review: Great mythology story...
Summary: 5 Stars
The great Ray Harryhausen considered this his "swan song". He did not disappoint his vast community of fans. Director Desmond Davis has assembled a great cast with a fine narrative script which puts lots of complicated stuff in a coherent fashion. Harry Hamlin is perfectly buff and handsome and Judi Bowker is as gorgeous as they come. Perfect! The great Gods are no less than Laurence Olivier, Claire Bloom and Maggie Smith. Ursula Andress is also there; doesn't do much, but she plays Aphrodite, and this IS a family film! She's stunning after all these years. Maggie Smith, in particular, is effective when she plays nasty characters, and she doesn't disappoint. The photography of Ted Moore is somewhat faded on this DVD version, not as clear and crisp as I recall when I saw it in the theatre. There are 3 witches, one of whom is the great Flora Robson, but the make-up was so fine and the direction so taut, you didn't know who was whom. It didn't matter. A great scene of rapid-fire dialogue. Charles H. Schneer produced all those Sinbad movies in a wide 2.35:1 widescreen; this was in 1.85:1 LBX. I like widescreen. The real star is Ray Harryhausen. His interpretation of Medusa is the best imaginable. Also Cerberus (the 2-headed dog) actually was supposed to have 3 heads...but who's counting..? The Harryhausen effects are the star...don't forget the scorpions that grow from Medusa's bloody head. Cool. If acting honors go out, they should go to Maggie Smith, in the minor role of Thetis. The only thing missing from this film was that Zeus did nothing to her at the end. (He should've done something...she was a real meanie). Check this out. True escapist fare. One of my faves. One interesting movie fact: the following year, 1982, Harry Hamlin played a gay character in "Making Love", directed by Arthur Hiller. A fine film. It hurt his career. Ten years later, it made Tom Hanks a legitimate star. Go figure!Movie Review: Clash of the Classics
Summary: 5 Stars
I must begin with this: there is nothing more fantastic than watching classic Greek mythology films with a bag of popcorn by your side. Greek mythology will never do you wrong. Of course, there are a few Greek mythology films that aren't exactly fantastic, but Clash of the Titans is definitely not one of those. Clash of the Titans serves to quench that thirst for adventure every time.
Clash of the Titans is a fantasy/adventure that follows the mythical journey of Perseus to battle the titan Medusa in order to save a princess from very certain death by that of the Kraken. If you're unfamiliar with Medusa or the Kraken, I'll sum them up for you in two words: very scary.
Although Clash of the Titans has a few silly moments, it is overall a very serious and exciting adventure. Watching Perseus overcome the greatest of obstacles is what good Greek mythology is all about. Throw in some help from the Greek Gods and you've got yourself a classic to remember.
What needs to be noted here, as with all of the Greek mythology and Arabian Nights movies of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, is the incredible art done by Ray Harryhausen, the most brilliant stop-motion special effects artist to step into motion pictures. If not for him, we would not have any clashing between any titans. Harryhausen really brings these creatures to life with such beauty they seem almost as real and scary as one would only imagine in dreams.
If you enjoy a great adventure story and haven't really had the chance to see one lately, I recommend you pick this one up quickly! It stands tall among the likes of "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad."
Movie Review: a stop motion classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie represents the peak of what can be done with stop motion animation. There are other movies that might be said to be just as good, such as Jason and the Argonauts or the Sinbad movies, but none have been better. In addition, the story line is particularly well developed, being a retelling of one of the less known greek myths, formerly known best by a few classical scholars and not particularly known to the general public.
Watching this movie in the era of computer graphics, I find that it still stands up well. Remember that the purpose of any animation effect is not to make the viewer believe that the creature exists but to show the viewer what it would look like if it did exist. Certainly no sane viewer believes the tyranosaur skeleton in Night in the Museum is real, any more than they believe that the skeletons in Jason and the
argonauts are real. They are simply there to stimulate our imaginations, and the success of the effect is how well they do that and how smoothly they advance the story line. In that regard, stop motion effects may actually be more effective, since they require much more time and labor to produce and thus the director is not going to introduce them unless they are absolutely necessary. CG creatures, on the other hand, are much faster and require less labor to produce (Although they are still not cheap). Thus the temptation exists to introduce CG effects that are not needed and may even impede the progress of the movie.
This movie is an excellent example of the use of special effects to tell a well written and well acted story. If you don't wish to buy it,you should rent it. you won't be sorry
Movie Review: Childhood favorite, now adulthood favorite.
Summary: 5 Stars
People have loved stories like this for thousands and thousands of years, so I feel it's cool to dig the movie a couple decades after my childhood. "Clash of the Titans" has it all and you know it. A classic mythological tale filled with heart-wrenching drama, more passion you can shake a stick at, and loads of adventure and so on. This Hollywood/Greek tale employs enough universal archetypes to leave famed mythologist Joseph Campbell smiling ear to ear and nodding his head with approval -but also hoping the kids don't skip their reading assignments (because this is a Hollywood re-imagining of the Greek myths, but we know that it's for fun!).
The fantastic casts includes Maggie Smith (Thetis, goddess mother of the cursed Calibos) who audiences will also know from the Harry Potter films, famed Shakespearean actor Laurence Olivier (as Zeus), and Harry Hamlin as our brave hero, Perseus. The plot is a hero's journey sorta deal. Hero gets into trouble and then gets out of trouble and through it all is aided and challenged by super-natural forces. If you haven't seen this particular movie when you see it you'll in a way feel like you have, but that is a good thing. There is an amazingly gorgeous girl to be saved, lots of monsters and warriors and a mechanical owl. The owl was my favorite as a child (still is). I loved the owl. It was forged by the gods to aid our hero along with some other cool weapons. As well as being a showcase of Greek mythological beasts, gods, and heroes, it is also the ultimate display of all time master of stop-motion, Ray Harryhausen. Stop-motion is still great. I hope the 2010 remake doesn't stink....
Movie Review: Ray Harryhausen's Last Hurrah (or...A Great Movie That Will Soon Get A Makeover)
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1986 just 5 years after the 1981 release of Clash of the Titans came a movie that set the new standard for "creature" special effects. That movie was Aliens, and comparing the creature special effects of Aliens to that of Clash of the Titans is like comparing Aliens to The Muppets.
But stop motion was a special effect that worked well for decades before green-screen technology. Indeed it worked well in Clash of the Titans. But it was the end of an era.
Ray Harryhausen was the absolute King of Stop Motion with such classics under his reign as Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Valley of the Gwangi and 20 Million Miles to Earth. However the aforementioned films enjoyed great longevity as FX classics because they were all made in the 50s and 60s. Clash of the Titans FX looked "very fake" in a relatively short period of time. And unfortunately, the enhanced, cleaned up picture on this DVD only highlights as campy what was once breakthrough.
But the effects aside, Clash of the Titans is a classic tale of Mythology to enjoy with the kids that you wondered if you'd even have as you sat watching this late at night during its run on cable TV in the early 80s. It's got a PG rating, but there is a bit that might have gotten it a PG-13 today (brief nudity, a scary/violent confrontation with Medusa).
So if you think your child is on the borderline of maturity to view 1981's Clash of the Titans, perhaps wait for the 2008 Warner Brothers remake (in pre-production according to IMDB and TheMovieInsider).