☆ ☆ ☆
Clash
of the Titans (1981) – D. Davis
The final Ray Harryhausen film returns to
ancient Greece (the milieu of Jason and the Argonauts, 1963) to tell the story
of Perseus (Harry Hamlin). As before,
the Gods squabble and intervene in human affairs – both Zeus (Laurence Olivier)
and Thetis (Maggie Smith) have produced human offspring, Perseus and Calibos,
respectively. Calibos (a Harryhausen
creation) has been punished by Zeus for killing all of the winged horses
(except Pegasus) and turned into a deformed satyr. Perseus and Calibos clash over their love of
Andromeda (Judi Bowker), who is subsequently cursed by Thetis to be eaten by the
Kraken (a seamonster titan). The only
way the Kraken can be stopped is with the head of Medusa, which Perseus
attempts to secure. As before, the
stop-motion animation is really the reason to watch these films, as the plot
itself, despite the presence of name-brand actors (including Burgess Meredith),
is rather soapy. Surprisingly, there is
some occasional nudity here!
Nevertheless, Amon found this an enjoyable adventure, although I felt it
showed a decline after the wonders we had seen earlier in the Harryhausen canon
(I’m not a fan of the mechanical owl).
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