CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)
In 30 days, on the eve of the longest day of the year, your daughter Andromeda must be taken to the sacrificial rock at the edge of the sea, there bound and chained to the stone. She must be unknown to man, a virgin. A sacrifice suitable for the Kraken. She must be delivered to the Kraken at the setting of the sun or else the Kraken will destroy all Joppa and everyone within the city. For the insult you have done to me and the cruel injury inflicted on my son, I demand the life of Andromeda. In 30 days.
In this one Perseus (played by Harry Hamlin) son of the god Zeus (played by Laurence Olivier), decides to go on a quest to kill the Kraken, (not the NHL team in Seattle) which is a giant beast with the ability to destroy cities. The reason the Kraken is being released to destroy the city of Joppa, kill Princess Andromeda (and also just look really cool), is because Andromeda's mom is an idiot. She decided to insult Thetis (played by Maggie Smith) and that is just not cool back then. Thetis already had a beef with Zeus, because Zeus cursed her son Calibos, (played by Neil McCarthy) and now he looks like the freakin devil. Along the way, Perseus must face off against various stop-motion foes with the help of Rocky’s trainer Burgess Meredith, (who plays Ammon), Pegasus, a few soldiers, and a mechanical owl.
Overall I love the performances in this thing. Oddly the only character that seems out of place is the legendary Burgess Meredith. I just don’t think he quite fits this role. Judi Bowker is perfect as Andromeda, all the gods are spot on, etc. The direction is great, but I wouldn’t mind if someone tried re-mastering this film with a different more intense score. This might be one of Ray Harryhausen’s best efforts effects-wise, but JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS is way up there. There is a good balance in this thing contrasting the good vs the evil with Calibos, Medusa, and Perseus, but the Kraken itself could have used more screen time and lacked the menace it could have had in the final scene.
I am glad they took liberties with the mythos, but maybe when you are going to make a movie called "CLASH OF THE TITANS" you should have at least 1 “titan” in the movie. Medusa and the Kraken aren’t titans. Maybe you name this thing CLASH OF THE SCANDINAVIAN SEA MONSTER AND THE SNAKE-HAIRED LADY?
When I was a kid, I saw this movie so many times on cable that I had most of the dialog memorized. This is definitely a classic worth owning and I do feel it is superior to the 2010 remake (even though the CGI in that was top-notch). In light of the few issues I pointed out, this one gets a solid 6 out of 7 for me. It’s just a classic, I love the dialog and the look and feel of this whole thing.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF CHARLES H. SCHNEER PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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