Title: Clash Of The Titans (12)
Year: 1981
Running Time: 113 minutes
Director: Desmond Davis
Cast: Harry Hamlin (Perseus), Laurence Olivier (Zeus), Claire Bloom (Hera)
Notes: The last film from stop motion effects expert Ray Harryhausen. Won two awards. Rating: 9
Thoughts: Perseus battles Medusa, the Kraken, and more as he seeks to save Andromeda.
The cast list is deep with Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith, and more adding their names. As a result the acting is strong, and the story is kept going.
Oddly there aren't any actual Titans in this film - and the Kraken is an import from Norse mythology, the actual beast being called Cetus. But in 1981, no-one cared about such things, and after all I am questioning the accuracy of mythology.
The animated monsters do look very dated today and even when this film was made they really were on their last legs. That's a shame as without Harryhausen's earlier work the whole fantasy genre might have never got going.
There are some classic scenes here such as the encounter with Medusa, and the film features all sorts of excitement along the way. I detest, and always have, the clockwork owl Bubo, but that aside this is a real classic.
Placing myself back when this came out, rather than looking back with CGI burnt eyes, this is a highly rated telling of the myths.
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