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:

Adventure | Action | 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:

Kraken | Medusa | Zeus | Princess | Quest

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:

The Kraken was not the name of a titan in Greek mythology, but a sea monster from Scandinavian mythology.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Andromeda wakes up to find Perseus has left for the Isle of the Dead without her, we see her from behind standing and looking in the direction he's gone, and her long hair is tucked in under the blanket around her shoulders. When we see her from the front, her hair is clearly pulled out from under the blanket and blowing in the wind.

Quotes:

Princess Andromeda: [to Perseus] In my mind's eye, I see, three circles joined in priceless, graceful harmony. Two full as the moon, one hollow as a crown. Two from the sea, five fathoms down. One from the earth, deep under the ground. The whole, a mark of high renown. Tell me, what can it be?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Flash: The Trickster (#1.11)" (1991)

I Loved It !

It's nice to know that with all the different Herculeses running around that no one forgot Perseus (the great grandfather of Hercules as a matter of fact). While the creators took obvious liberties with the story, the special effects are stunning, some of Ray Harryhausen's best. Medusa is right dead on although the concept of her as a naga (snake-goddess) hit me out of left field. The visualization of Olympus and the gods on it was a boring and stagnant without any major grandeur. They're attired in white togas with no creative costuming what so ever and no glimpses of the other myriad gods of Olympus. Ursula Andress would not have been my choice for Aphrodite, but Susan Fleetwood resembles Isabella Rosselini of "The Odyssey" enough to pull off Athena, but kudos have to go to whoever got Sir Laurence Oliver to play Zeus. Even next to Roy Dotrice, John Rhys-Davies or perhaps Sean Connery, he is the only man who could give the role the command it deserves. More liberties were taken with Thetis as the wife of Poseidon,though, her presence forced into the story is only merely there to inflict the fateful curse. Harry Hamlin may not be an action star, but he does well in the role. Beautiful Judi Bowker makes for an entrancing Andromeda despite the trial she went through chained to a cliff at high tide. Burgess Meredith is whimsical and wise as the playwright who Perseus befriends, and Neil McCarthy emotes as best as he can as the new character Calibos inserted into the legend. The few things I can find fault with at all is the obvious overuse of previous footage whenever Perseus flies over Joppa. The tiny robotic owl Bubo is as charming as a big, stupid, purple dinosaur on PBS, but the images of Pegasus are as spectacular as you would expect. The images flying through the air again are foiled by the obvious overuse of stock footages and the telling scenes with stop-motion. Despite these few faults, this is a very enchanting fantasy and a very under-appreciated movie.