Desmond Davis’ “Clash of the Titans” (1981) reveals that mankind is a mere plaything for Greek gods, who watch us from above, adorned in robes and using action figures to keep track of where we are.
Did I say action figures? I meant to write dolls, but a movie that includes a winged horse, a lady with a head full of snakes and a mechanical owl has me wondering why my childhood shelf was adorned with Jedis and Ewoks but never a line of Greek monsters?
Perseus (Harry Hamlin) is understandably in love with Andromeda (Judi Bowker), who is due to be sacrificed to the Kraken, a massive, goofy sea monster. Thankfully, Perseus has both the guidance of Ammon (the always welcome Burgess Meredith) and the whinnying Pegasus to guide him on his journey.
“Clash of the Titans,’ a surprise hit in 1981 and a beloved favorite for fantasy fans, is still so much fun and charming – the latter quality is especially unexpected when the film begins with a mother and child being sealed in a coffin, which is tossed into the ocean (!).
For a film to begin that way, you wouldn’t expect what follows to be so joyous, goofy and overstuffed with delightful visions.
As producer and supervisor of the stop motion animation effects and characters, the film’s real MVP was Ray Harryhausen. The creatures here are still so wondrous, it doesn’t matter that they’re not life-like or match CGI precision.
What Harryhausen’s work here demonstrates is how a personal touch (both in the creatures designs and the movement of stop motion creatures) can astound an audience in a different manner than contemporary special effects. The latter aims for realism and often seems cold and hollow by comparison.
The blend of live action and animation isn’t always seamless, but the creatures have texture and character that still beat any CGI upgrade, including the actual remake of this movie (more on that later).
There are two showstoppers: the Medusa encounter (which made me turn my eyes away in fright when I first viewed this on HBO as a child) and the moment where the Kraken is unleashed; these sequences energize the third act.
As a child, nothing beats Bubo the mechanical owl, who is to this movie what R2-D2 is to “Star Wars” (1977).
It’s amusing to see Zeus, the Greek God, using dolls to position humankind, since no less than Laurence Olivier is playing him. I’d argue that Olivier’s last truly great performances were in “The Boys from Brazil” (1978) and “Marathon Man” (1976) but there is still passion and proper theatricality in how he presents his take on Zeus.
Hamlin is game in the lead role, but the movie really needed Olivier, Meredith and especially Maggie Smith to put over how silly this plays.
Harryhausen’s showmanship, the delight in the best scenes, and a total lack of a heavy hand in tone and storytelling make this such a fun trip, even 45 years later.
About the 2010 remake, I’ll say this – most will remember how it was the first post-“Avatar” (2009) film released in 3-D that infamously was not shot in the format, converted later and looked like junk to most filmgoers. It slowed down the enthusiasm of early 20th century 3-D films at the time, which were getting a newfound interest because of James Cameron’s planet Pandora.
With or without the 3-D, the visual effects are decent, but the movie bites. Bubo the owl makes a single scene cameo, then is literally tossed aside, which is all you need to know about it.
The sequel, “Wrath of the Titans” (2012) and the similar “Immortals” (2011) are actually better, but why bother? They’re not as fun as the original “Clash of the Titans,” which has Bubo, a terrifying Medusa and is neither Kraken-lacking nor short on golden moments, like Olivier playing with dolls.
Harryhausen retired from filmmaking after “Clash of the Titans.” If you’ve never seen the work of this master film magician, I recommend “Mighty Joe Young” (1949), “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963) and this one.
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