Clash of the Titans

A favorite from my childhood that inspired a life-long interest in mythology. Harryhausen at his best! The performances are not particularly special, but the movie captured my imagination 30 years ago, and it continues to delight.

Old but gold. I loved this when I was young and now when I am 24 years old I still love it.

A fun swords-and-sandals adventure that I have fond memories of watching when I was a kid. It's still perfect for a lazy weekend's viewing. Perseus battling with the suitably creepy Medusa is definitely the film's highlight.

Love these types of films, on the lines of Jason and the Argonauts, the seventh voyage of sinbad and always love the effects all the films give and this is still a good film and not outdated and entertaining.

It didn’t need a remake..

The effects aren't going to sit well with millennials and today's jaded audiences, but if you look passed that there's a wonderful fantasy tale here.

Sure, it is easy to point at the effects today, where we are treated to great computer imagery. And you could say that even for 1981 this looks outdated, more like from the sixties. But that's not the point, it was a style of filmmaking. Ray Harryhausen at it's best. He influenced the likes of Spielberg, Lucas, Cameron and many more. It's fair to say that without Ray there would be no Star Wars, no E.T., no Terminator and ultimately maybe no LotR or Marvel movies. Or at least not at the time they were made. It's a process, one thing leading to another. You should keep that in mind before judging this movie.

An adventurous quest by the son of Zeus to marry Andromeda and complete tasks the gods have thrown his way. They portrayed the destruction of Argos at the start very well. It really gave us a glimpse of the mania Zeus has for Perseus. Giving us only a glimpse of the Kraken was a great choice as it gives us something badass to look forward to. The adventures are fun and fast but still have time for slow beautiful shots of Perseus riding Pegasus. Calibos is annoyingly always there to mess up Perseus’ plans right after he completes a big task. Meanwhile the gods are bickering over Andromeda among other things. Parents fighting over which son gets to marry her. I thought they portrayed the gods well. Everything has to be so drastic with them. Oh you slandered my name in my temple? Your entire people deserve the Kraken. As Perseus’ adventures came to a close, his epic standoff at the waters of Joppa just began.

I liked the film but didn’t love it. It has a sweet personality and a fun pace but I was wanting more. I will say that Ted Moore flaunts some great cinematic shots. I wanted more plot to come from the gods & their mythology. They leaned into it heavily at the end but it was a little too late. I’d recommend this if you like sword & sandal/ fantasy with good action and adventure, quirky characters & effects, & of course… the KRAKEN.

It has less means than the new version, but Harryhausen at his best, the supporting actors are better and it is better carried

Fans of stop-motion animation know this movie as a great achievement. This was special effects genius Ray Harryhausen's last movie and he demonstrated what an expert he truly was. Many people scoff at this movie's effects because they seem crude coming after the jaw-dropping "Star Wars". I choose to appreciate them because they seem like a tribute to the great stop-motion films of the past, like "King Kong", "Jason and the Argonauts", the "Sinbad" movies and others.

There are many impressive creature creations. Medusa, the Kraken, the giant scorpions; they all deserve consideration as the greatest entries in the stop-motion Hall of Fame. The scene with Perseus hunting for the head of Medusa remains tense and suspenseful. Medusa slithers around her lair hunting for Perseus, the silence broken only by her flying arrows and rattling tail. The Kraken is also impressive, a giant beast from the sea summoned by Zeus and released by underwater god Poseidon.

Where "Clash of the Titans" falls apart is the frustrating scenes with the gods who bicker and place curses on the favorite mortals of each of them. I also continue to wonder why Poseidon has to pull a lever to release the Kraken? If the Kraken is so powerful, how can it be caged? If Zeus is really all-powerful, why doesn't he just retrieve the magic invisible helmet for Perseus after he loses it? Why does the blood of Medusa only turn into giant scorpions when her head is poked with a big fork? But putting all of these questions aside, "Clash of the Titans" is a fun last hurrah for one of stop-motion animation's greats.