The 1981 Greek mythological adventure Clash of the Titans stands the test of time not for its corny acting, the appearance of legendary Laurence Olivier as Zeus or straightforward “save the damsel in distress” plot with the aid of god-gifted weapons. Now nearly 30 years removed from its debut and arriving on Blu-ray for the first time, Titans is the crowning achievement of visual effects master Ray Harryhausen who successfully brought mythological creatures like Pegasus, Medusa, the Kraken and Dioskilos to life alongside real-life actors.
Even with the Clash of the Titans CGI-riddled remake starring Sam Worthington as demigod Perseus who must save his love Andromeda from the vengeful wrath of Thetis just around the corner, it never gets old watching Harry Hamlin as Perseus nervously stalk coldhearted Medusa in her dark lair or meet the three old crusty Stygian Witches while the Greek gods provide commentary from somewhere up in the clouds. For adults today who grew up in the 1980s, Clash of the Titans was their first glimpse of Greek mythology that, thanks to Harryhausen’s work, is a memory not easily forgotten but easily enjoyed when revisiting.
High-Def Presentation
The rear cover reads “this film has been remastered utilizing state-of-the-art digital technology, while maintaining the visual appearance of the original theatrical release.” Such a statement suggests heavy film grain and a natural palette which is exactly what the 1.85:1 1080p VC-1 encoded transfer offers. The intense grain and shimmering colors might prove a turnoff for Blu-ray adopters more accustomed to modern, grain-free imagery. Film purists, however, should be reasonably pleased with the aged look Clash of the Titans maintains while producing more detail and color than any previous standard definition release without all the specs and dirt that marred those releases.
The good news is Warner has given Clash of the Titans a DTS-HD Master Audio track that booms the commands of Zeus and havoc of the Kraken with clarity expected from a film nearly 30 years old. The bad news is only a 2.0 track is offered which supresses all the audio to the front soundstage. Like the unfiltered video, this audio track will please purists but a film of Clash of the Titan’s scope would have benefitted from some extra bass and surround use.
Beyond the Feature
Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray is packaged in a Warner digi-book case with an embossed front and stuck-on paper sleeve on the back. Inside the book are several pages of production stills and character bios, a separate detached 10-page paper book with production stills from the Clash of the Titans 2010 remake, and $7.50 in movie cash to that same remake.
The disc boots up right into a roughly five-minute preview for the new Clash of the Titans in high definition. About one minute of this preview is comprised of shots culled from trailers, while the rest is all-new behind-the-scenes footage and new finished footage from the film. Medusa is revealed here in full with her face designed to be beautiful yet deadly (think Jennifer’s Body going for the kill) and the Kraken’s first rise from the water is clocked as a 40-second continuous CGI shot. The entire Kraken rising sequence is not shown, but more than what appears in the trailers is. If this preview doesn’t get you in the mood for Perseus and his modern or 1980’s adventure then nothing will.
The bonus features are rightfully all about Ray Harryhausen and his incredible stop-motion special effects style in live-action films which reached its pinnacle with Clash of the Titans. In A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen (12:12), the effects wizard discusses his history in film and how he became involved with Clash of the Titans. When a man of this stature and importance to film speaks, you listen. Also included is a Myths and Monsters Gallery presented as seven separate short one-to-two minute featurettes where Ray talks about a specific creature in the film. This would have played better as one featurette rather than having to continuously click through them.
The movie gods might have waited a few more years before bringing Clash of the Titans to Blu-ray had the remake not been green lit. After all, younger generations might find Harryhausen’s effects crude by today’s standard and flock to see Sam Worthington rather than catching the original first instead. Their loss; the original Clash of the Titans’ arrival and well-preserved presentation is a gift to fans of Harryhausen, Greek mythology and 1980s borderline B-movie fantastical adventure films in general.
– Dan Bradley
Shop for Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray at a discounted price from Amazon.com.
