Warner Bros. | 1981 | 118 mins. | Not rated
For many, 1981’s Clash of the Titans is best remembered as the last film of to feature stop-motion animation effects by living legend Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen had made a name for himself with his work on such earlier films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), and One Million Years, B.C. (1967). While many, including myself, will freely admit that Clash of the Titans wasn’t Ray’s finest work, his effects still manage to upstage the bulk of the story. Only eight when the film came out, I can remember being absolutely amazed by every aspect of it, just a few years later when I saw it on VHS.
I thought when Sony gave us the Ray Harryhausen Collection, The Clash of the Titans would soon follow on high-definition. Sadly, over a year passed by without any inkling whatsoever. All hope seemed lost, until finally, thanks to the blockbuster remake hitting theaters next month, Warner Brothers had the perfect opportunity to dust off the original and take full advantage of the hype.
In this era of CGI, some of Harryhausen’s effects have a tendency to look quaint. However, produced in a pre-CGI era, his two headed dog, the clockwork owl Bubo, a slithering Medusa and the ancient Kraken are pretty amazing stuff. It’s clear that much work went in to each and every model; every detail meticulously crafted. The snakes that form Medusa’s hair have a life of their own and the fur on Droskilos the two-headed dog hardly ever leaves imprints from being moved by the animators. While Harryhausen’s work looks dated with their herky-jerky motion and their not so seamless integration with live actors, they’re still visually impressive.
For those not familiar with the plot in Clash of the Titans, the story recounts the journey of Perseus (Harry Hamlin), and his quest to save Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker). Born to the mortal woman Danae (Vida Taylor) of Argos and the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier), Perseus is forced into exile with his mother by his grandfather Acrisius (Donald Houston), who has been told a prophecy that he would die should he ever have a grandson. Angered, Zeus commands Poseidon (Jack Gwillim) to complete two tasks: ensure the mother and child make it to safety, and unleash upon the Kingdom of Argos an enormous sea monster called the Kraken—which destroys the entire city and its people.
Zeus takes revenge on Calibos (Neil McCarthy), son of the sea goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith), after he hunts down and destroys Zeus’ herd of flying horses, leaving only one survivor, Pegasus. He turns Calibos into a horned creature, angering Thetis, who is angered at the special treatment given to Zeus’ son Perseus.
To get even, she takes Perseus to Joppa, a city where she is worshiped as the patron goddess. But this backfires in two ways. First, Perseus is befriended by the wise Ammon (Burgess Meredith), who becomes his mentor, and second, he meets and falls in love with the princess Andromeda, originally intended as Calibos’ bride. In order to win the hand of Andromeda, Perseus must visit the three witches, cut the head off Medusa, and defeat the Kraken.
The film itself borders on campy, and the script is downright ridiculous at times, but with Clash of the Titans, Ray Harryhausen gives us plenty of moments to remember just why he’s consider the master of stop-motion animation.
Warner’s uses a VC-1 codec to transfer the movie’s 1.85:1 ratio image to disc, saying on the keep case “this film has been remastered utilizing state-of-the-art digital technology, while maintaining the visual appearance of the original theatrical release.” That might be something of a apology, implying that any deficiencies one may see in the picture are attributable to the condition of the original print. Fair enough.
Some of the image here is quite good—sharp, detailed, and colorful—but most of the good stuff is clouded in a mass of grain and noise, which Blu-ray disc reproduction excenuates. Likewise, the dark, often murky photography doesn’t help, the picture seldom clearing up except in scenes of brightest sunlight. Age spots can also pop up and mar the screen on occasion, making for a disappointing viewing experience given what most of us are used to in regards to a Blu-ray.
Audio is provided via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo, and it, too, varies. Sometimes it produces a remarkable effect in the rear speakers. Other times it sounds like ordinary monaural. The sound remains generally clean and quiet. It doesn’t distract from the film, but it doesn’t enhance the experience all that much either.
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese spoken languages; French, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and other subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
The Clash of the Titans Blu-ray doesn’t offer much in terms of special features, but it does recycle the Harryhausen pieces from the previously released DVD. All of this content is presented in standard-definition.
• 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 awesome mechanical owl), the scorpions, Medusa, the Kraken, and Droskilos.
• Clash of the Titans (2010) Sneak Peek (HD, 5:06) – As soon as the disc loads, viewers will be treated to an extensive preview to the blockbuster remake directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) and starring Sam Worthington (Avatar and Terminator Salvation) as the heroic Perseus. The sneak peek includes a fair bit of footage from the film as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the CGI development for the two baddies: Medusa and the Kraken.
• Clash of the Titans (2010) Booklet – A little glossy softcover booklet comes inside the cover containing a synopsis of the remake and a few pages of full-color images.
• Movie Cash – The release also includes up to $7.50 worth of movie cash towards ‘Clash of the Titans’ (2010) in theaters 4/2/10. The offer is only valid in the U.S. from 4/9/10 – 5/2/10 at participating theaters.
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