Clash of the Titans (1981 Version)

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: March 2, 2010

Rated: PG

Runtime: 118 Minutes

The Movie:

Harry Hamlin stars as Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus. As Perseus sets out to fulfill his destiny by rescuing Andromeda from the wrath of goddess Thetis, perils awaits Perseus as he must conquer the likes of Medusa, Pegasus, Dioskilos, giant scoprions and the Kraken.

I remember watching this movie in school several times when we were studying Greek mythology. And at that time, I remember really enjoying this movie. As I grew older, I finally decided to re-visit this movie on dvd, and while I still enjoyed it, it didn't have that effect on me as it did when I was a kid. Now re-visiting this on blu-ray, sadly, I can say I'm no longer a fan of this movie. The only part that I still enjoyed was the scene between Perseus and Medusa.

One thing that really bothered me with this movie was how everytime a new character appeared, they would "introduce" themselves of who they were and where they were from. I get it that not everyone is into greek mythology, but there are otherways to introduce characters to the audience then what was done in this movie.

I felt that the actor that played Perseus, Harry Hamlin, simply put no effort into his performance. And for a big-budget movie (atleast it was considered to be in its time), it felt more like the movie was more focuses on the special effects than it was on its cast. Granted I wasn't alive when this was released, but I have seen a good amount of movies that date back to the 1940's, 50's, 60's and so on, so it's kind of easy to notice who was a known actor at that time, and who wasn't.

Clash of the Titans was the final movie to use stop-motion animation from the legendary Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen is more well known for movies like Jason and the Argonauts, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Let's face it, the only reason this movie finally saw a release on blu-ray was to just promote the remake that came out earlier this year.

Presentation:

The first thing you are going to notice on the back of the blu-ray case is "This film has been remastered utilizing state-of-the-art digital technology while maintaining the visual appearance of the original theatrical release." Reading that got my hopes up that this film was going to look great. While I can say that this movie definitely looks better than I remembered when seeing it years ago, unfortuntately this transfer didn't leave me satisfied.

During the scenes between the actual actors, the film can look good with some decent object detail and colors looking semi-strong. But then all of a sudden the film becomes grainy, which can be considered as a warning to prepare you for the special effects. And, you know, I'm sure when this movie came out in 1981, that people went crazy over how it looks. And of course some films fare better with age, while others don't. I am a fan of stop-motion technology, but sadly, the way it was used in this film, it doesn't allow the film to age very well.

Audio:

I was surprised to see this release only get a 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio track. While the dialogue is clear in most scenes, there are a few scenes that do suffer. The sound effects seemed to be lacking in sound as well (probably due to age). However the track that is given is used well and will probably please viewers.

Someone mentioned on their review that there was audio missing around the 12-minute mark of the film that involved Zeus. I didn't even notice it the first time through, but I did go back and check and yes, there was obviously a line of dialgoue missing.

Bonus Material:

• Conversation with Ray Harryhausen (480p, Runtime 12:00 minutes) - An interview with Ray Harryhausen
• Myth and Monsters Gallery (480p, Runtime 10:00 minutes) - A short seven-part featurette that focuses on the creations of the Kraken, Medusa, Calibos, Pegasus, Bubo, Dioskilos, and the Scorpions.

Bottom Line:

If you are a die-hard fan of this movie, then I guess you will get this no matter what. I, personally, don't think this movie maintains what it had back when it was released almost 30 years ago. The transfer is acceptable, and the sound is ok. No new special features (or barely any special features at all), is a huge let down. There's no reason to upgrade to the blu-ray if you are already an owner of the movie on dvd. Rent it if you want to re-visit this film before seeing the remake that was released into theaters earlier this year, otherwise, just skip it!