Clash of the Titans (1981) – Classic of the Titans


First of all I’ll confess that I was four years old when ‘Clash of the Titans’ was released and therefore a story involving Gods, monsters, flying horses and clockwork owls seemed like the greatest adventure ever told.  Therefore, my review is tinged with more than a little nostalgia.  Anyway, ‘Clash of the Titans’ is based on the Greek mythology of Perseus and his quest to destroy various (stop motion!) beasties and save the princess – truly a tale from yesteryear!

The phrase ‘They don’t make ‘em like they used to’ is particularly applicable for many reasons.  For a start it may not be totally politically correct to focus an entire story about a man rescuing a ‘helpless’ maiden from being sacrificed to a monster.  Secondly, there isn’t a single computer generated special effect to be seen here (don’t get me started on the remake!) – all the creatures are lovingly crafted by effects guru Ray Harryhausen and – yes – today they do seem a little dated and you can tell what’s been overlaid in post production, plus the acting is a little on the ‘dramatic’ side compared to modern standards.


But, whatever ‘flaws’ it contains, they all come from how well the film has aged.  If you grew up on this sort of thing then it will be as exciting and epic today as it ever was.  Yes, the clockwork owl is a little on the ‘uber-cute’ side, but – again – I was only four when I first saw this and I wanted Boo-boo for Christmas.


If there was ever one gripe I probably could say about it was that its leading man never really seemed that charismatic.  Yes, he looked the part, but always came off as a little stiff (and possibly in dire need of animating himself!).  Luckily, you have superb performances from acting heavyweights such as Laurence Olivier as ‘Zeus’ himself to more than make up for any (mortal) acting slip-ups.


‘Clash of the Titans’ is one of those rare films that never seemed to get made after the eighties.  As soon as 1990 kicked in, films rarely were something that the whole family could sit round the TV on a Saturday afternoon and enjoy together.  For all its scares and hideous monsters, ‘Clash of the Titans’ is a film that can – and should – be appreciated by everyone.  Don’t judge it by today’s standards, just marvel over what can be done with make-up when the hideous Calibos comes on screen and that’s nothing compared to how well the snake-haired Medusa is animated.  Then you have the dramatic musical score which tops off the film perfectly as one of sheer grandeur and scale.  I guess the remake proved that this is a film of its time, but one that deserves its place in film history.


10/10 The Monty Python Knights of Camelot are currently looking for this