Clash of the Titans review

Clash of the Titans

With a remake on the horizon, I decided to revisit my childhood by renting this classic to watch with my young son and sort of give him an introduction to the world of Myth and Monsters. The last film from Special Effects guru Ray Harryhausen boasted a fantastic cast that included Laurence Olivier as Zeus, featured cutting edge monster designs, and special effects that stand up well even with the modern CGI blends of today. Watching the film brought me back to my youth and reminded me that this was also my own introduction to Greek Mythology and inspired my love for heroic storytelling and fantasy films. I owe so much to this film, and so many others from that period of time, that I’m honestly surprised it’s taken me so long to rediscover it’s magic. I can’t remember having seen this film in some twenty years or so, but I remember owning a lunch box from the film as well as several of the action figures of that time. Although I’d not thought of them since, I remembered how Thalos had been my favorite figure and that I often included several figures from the Star Wars line in retelling the classic Greek myths in my room. I remembered exploring the local Library shelves for books, learning about Hermes, the original story of Perseus, Heracles, and on down the line. It all started with this film. And while it’s nice to reminisce, the question is whether the film itself can withstand the test of time and deliver the goods to an audience that is, frankly, spoiled rotten on gluttony of huge CGI effects.

The Gods are vengeful children playing with the lives of mortals to spite one another, lavishing gifts and praise to their children while punishing others for faults of their own making. Zeus orders the destruction of a city and it’s people when their King casts his daughter and her son to the sea. The child is Perseus, son of Zeus, guided to a safety upon an island where he knows little of the outside world and lives in peace and tranquility. He is delivered to the kingdom of Joppa by a spiteful goddess, whose own son was punished by Zeus and transformed into a beast that now terrorizes the city of his fiancée. Perseus finds and falls in love with the girl, the hauntingly beautiful Cassiopea, and he must solve the riddle, catch the winged Pegasus, defeat the cursed Calibos, seek guidance from the Fate Witches, cross the river Styx, defeat a two headed dog, cut off the head of the Medusa, and destroy the Kraken, all to win the hand of Cassiopea and save all of Joppa. And he does all this while wearing a toga. Ray Harryhausen brings the creatures of myth to life with his signature style of claymation, blending live actors with the art of his craft that delivers true heart and soul to the screen. The biggest highlight of the film, however, comes when Perseus confronts the Medusa… a dark and tense scene that uses a great many elements to draw the viewer into a dark nightmare, where the ever-present rattle of the approaching monster threatens to turn every corner and the labyrinthine pillars and statues offer both sanctuary and threat in the dim shadows. The mere sight of her turns all living beings to stone, and the blood is a vile and acidic poison. The scene is shear brilliance in an otherwise fantastic film that truly brings mythology to life.

5 out of 5.