Clash of the Titans (1981)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Desmond Davis

Writer:

Beverley Cross (written by)

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

An Epic Entertainment Spectacular!

Plot:

A film adaption of the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster to save the Princess Andromeda.

Plot Keywords:

Zeus | Medusa | Kraken | Princess | Myth

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	Zeus
Claire Bloom	...	Hera
Maggie Smith	...	Thetis
Ursula Andress	...	Aphrodite
Jack Gwillim	...	Poseidon
Susan Fleetwood	...	Athena
Pat Roach	...	Hephaestus
Harry Hamlin	...	Perseus
Judi Bowker	...	Andromeda
Burgess Meredith	...	Ammon
Siân Phillips	...	Cassiopeia
Flora Robson	...	Stygian Witch
Anna Manahan	...	Stygian Witch
Freda Jackson	...	Stygian Witch
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Thallo

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:PG (certificate #25716) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Neil McCarthy only played Calibos in head shots and half-body shots. All full body shots of Calibos were played by a stop-motion model.

Goofs:

Continuity: Later on in the movie, when Perseus and his guards are fighting the two-headed wolf, his two guards put a slash in the cheek of the wolf. There is a brief splash of blood shown on the left head of the wolf on the right side of its face. Then a couple seconds later, the blood is completely gone.

Quotes:

Ammon: Oh impetuous... foolish... Ah dear, the young. Why do they never listen? When will they ever learn?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Movie Stars: Leap of Faith (#1.4)" (1999)

I like it!

Robust fantasy / adventure based on Greek and Nordic mythology.

Mortal man Perseus (Harry Hamlin), who was sired by the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier), has his future determined by the vindictive goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith) and her deformed son Calibos (Neil McCarthy). He receives some divine help and acquires a faithful steed in the winged white horse Pegasus.

While it serves mainly as a showcase for the visual effects of the legendary Ray Harryhausen (who was also a producer), it's still fun to watch, with a cast full of top acting professionals (who else but Laurence Olivier could have played Zeus?). Young star Hamlin is serviceable, but he's at least more believable than co-star Judi Bowker (as his love interest, Andromeda) - she's beautiful but dull.

Laurence Rosenthal contributes a grand, sweeping, romantic type of score, and those scenes not shot in the studio are shot in some striking European locations.

The picture really comes to life whenever one of Harryhausen's animated characters is on screen. Overall, the picture moves rather slowly, with no sense of urgency - in that sense, it's really kind of an old-fashioned, traditional fantasy quest because more modern thrillers often work overtime to try to keep the audience's attention. It's never as exciting as it probably could have been, but it IS entertaining.

The best sequences for me were the ones with Dioskilos (the two-headed dog) and Medusa, the snake-haired she-demon.

I remember being intrigued by this movie as a child (I would have been eight or nine when it came out) and it probably still appeals more to the kid in me than anything else.

7/10