Studio: Warner Bros
Starring: Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Laurence Olivier, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Claire Bloom, Sam Philips, Flora Roeson
Director: Desmond Davis
Rated: 14A
Time: 118 mins.
Back Cover
Before history and beyond imagination! The machinations of gods above and the fates of man and monsters here below play out in a Clash of the Titans. Decades prior to the sensational 2010 version of the tale, Harry Hamlin took up sword and shield to play valorous Perseus, mortal son of Zeus (Laurence Olivier) who sets out to fulfill his destiny by rescuing beloved Andromeda from the wrath of goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith). Perils await Perseus time and again. And eye-filling thrills await viewers as stop-motion effects legend Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts) unleashes snake-haired Medusa, fearsome Kraken, winged Pegasus, two-headed dog Dioskilos, giant scorpions and more. Rejoice, fantasy fans: the movie gods gift us with adventure that’s innovative, heroic, titanic.
Movie Review
Clash Of The Titans has been made twice. Neither version is very good. The 2010 version has the expected better SFX, filmed in mind numbingly boring shades of grey, and the 1981 Harryhausen version is hobbled by an all star cast that collectively turn in uninspired performances leaving the film flat.
The one thing they have in common is neither has a compelling story.
On paper the Harryhausen version has a killer cast led by a pre-L.A. Law Harry Hamlin. He gets no help from Olivier, Bloom, and Smith despite their collective impressive acting resumes. None of them make convincing Greek Gods. Olivier was reported to be in ill health during production. As Zeus he had the appropriate carriage of a god but he was unable to generate the power and authority the role needed. Bloom and Smith can be excused slightly but both are simply too long in the tooth for Goddesses. Ursula Andress fit the bill physically but she has no lines and disappears after the opening scenes on Mount Olympus never to return.
Harry Hamlin fares better but his performance is hampered and constantly undercut by the SFX. Anyone who grew up watching Harryhausen movies are predisposed to affection for his stop motion creatures. In Clash Of The Titans the creatures do not meld well with the live actors. Save for infrequent moments the discontinuity between the creatures and the actors constantly clash. Partly because the movie tries to push the interaction between the two beyond the capabilities of the technology of the time. Partly because the resolution of High Definition video formats are merciless. They remove any illusionary boundaries and makes it obvious where one image element ends and the next begins. And that none of them ever meet.
The most impressive sequence is in the lair of Medusa’s temple. Because the sequence is a cat and mouse game there is minimal interaction between live and SFX elements. So the illusion rarely breaks down under the increased resolution that Blu-Ray affords.
Clash Of The Titans offered Harryhausen the best resources for one of his films: top notch actors, budgets and big studio backing. They were all there. Yet the end results add up to a picture that is less than the sum of it parts and is less satisfying than many of his smaller budgeted movies.
Crave Factor – 6.5
Video
The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
As expected the video quality is all over the map. Whenever one of Harryhausen creatures appear the combined layers of elements cause a drastic drop in image quality. Dirt and grain level increase dramatically.
What was not expected, was the same image drop outs with live action elements only. Sometimes those moments are startling in their clarity and other times they appear just as muddied as those scenes with SFX elements. I can only surmise that the various shooting units were using different film stock to account for the wide range in image quality.
HD is too uncompromising for Harryhausen films. At least this one.
Crave Factor – 6
Audio
The stereo soundtrack for Clash Of The Titans has been upgraded to a DTS-HD one. This improves the clarity but adds little in the way of LFE, nonexistent for the most part, and opens up the score somewhat. Dialogue is clear, if a little harsh at times. There is some stereo panning of sound effects but overall this is a pretty tame audio experience.
Somebody had grand visions for disc sales or owned stock in subtitles! This disc must break a record for the number of languages included on the same disc! Czech, German, Portuguese, and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks; French, Spanish, and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 tracks; and optional English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Thai and subtitles.
Crave Factor – 6
Extras
The Blu-ray recycles the same material from the previously released DVD. All of this content is presented in standard-definition (1.33:1 aspect ratio).
- A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen (SD, 12:12) – The FX and stop-motion wizard discusses how he became fascinated with fantasy, the story for the film, the cast, the shooting locales, and more.
- Myths And Monsters Gallery (SD, 8:34) – An addendum to the above featurette, Harryhausen returns for this collection of segments that highlight seven of the film’s creatures: Calibos, Pegasus, Bubo, the Scorpions, Medusa, the Kraken, and Droskilos.
- ‘Clash of the Titans’ (2010) Sneak Peek (HD, 5:06) – As soon as the disc loads, viewers are forced to watch a preview for the remake. Please make these optional!
Crave Factor – 6
Menu & Packaging
Clash Of The Titans receives the Warner Brothers digi-book packaging with an attached booklet in the inner front cover. The lead actors and the creatures are featured.
Crave Factor – 7
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
For a true experience of Harryhausen magic seek out Jason And The Argonauts instead. It is similar in story but the characters, creatures, music and action of Jason And The Argonauts come together in a far more enjoyable and enthralling experience.
