I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Such a frustrating disappointment

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Sadly, this was the last movie for stop-motion man Ray Harryhausen, and therefore the last real fantasy epic made in Britain (whoever said KRULL, I said "real"!). While not as visually impressive as JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS - and let's face it, how could it be? This being an '80s film compared to a '60s film after all - CLASH OF THE TITANS certainly has moments where it recaptures some of the magic of Harryhausen's golden years and these alone make the film worth watching. Relying heavily on Greek mythology as a basis, CLASH OF THE TITANS is set aside from other muscleman entries by having a number of scenes set in the supposed palace of the Gods, who spend most of their time bickering and arguing like little children.Laurence Olivier is Zeus. No, he IS Zeus. I've heard some people complain about his performance but I can't imagine anyone else being as stern and authoritative in the role. Basically, it seems like it was written for him, and Olivier is great. Let's say no more about it. Zeus' companions are played by Maggie Smith (great at being "evil"), Claire Bloom and an almost unnoticeable Ursula Andress, a Goddess of Standing Around in the Background and Looking Beautiful. These scenes serve to give the movie a heavyweight backbone and act as a basis for the plot, which is basically a string of action scenes where Perseus and his companions battle whatever twisted creation comes next from the genius mind of Ray Harryhausen.I'm not sure of the budget with this film, but I'm guessing it was quite high with most of the cash being eaten away by the wealth of stars appearing. However, the photography is colourful and great to look at, the film is well made throughout and the various historical landscapes - generally swathed in atmospheric mist and fog - are all excellent, most being filmed in the Mediterranean to give an extra oomph. The only thing really lacking is a noticeable score along the lines of Bernard Herrmann, but I can forgive that.Harry Hamlin is cast as Perseus, the toned hero. It always amuses me how the Italians always had bodybuilders as their mythical heroes while us British made do with athletic but generally skinny guys along the lines of Kerwin Matthews and John Philip Law. Hamlin is probably one of the most wooden heroes in a film of this variety, and almost totally lacking in charisma too. Thankfully the producers recognised this flaw and so give him little emoting to do, instead just run around a lot and look pretty. Andromeda is played by Judi Bowker, a ravishing beauty who looks a lot like Linda Hayden, which is no bad thing.Also cast as a sidekick is the inimitable Burgess Meredith, who is still quite good even though he really doesn't have anything to do. Also appearing are the likes of Flora Robson and Freda Jackson as disturbing Stygian witches, extremely clichéd creations (and blind too) but still masterpieces of the grotesque. Being a post-Star Wars movie aimed at kids, they had to throw in a mechanical creation a la R2-D2, so we have to put up with an annoying tin owl which makes lots of stupid noises throughout the movie and seems more a home in a science fiction epic than a supposed fantasy. I remember thinking that the owl was really cute as a kid but it just grates now as an adult.Once again, Harryhausen's excellent stop-motion creations dominate the film and here are some of his finest models in his entire filmography. The best of the lot has to be the Medusa, a ferocious-looking creature who through the use of shadow actually manages to look quite terrifying, and certainly scared me LOADS as a kid. It certainly beats the Italian variant in MEDUSA VS THE SON OF HERCULES, what a load of rubbish that was in comparison! After Hamlin cuts off the monster's head (a great-looking prop too), we get to witness oozing blood from the neck wound, an image ingrained in my memory since childhood and still pretty disgusting to this day.Like the Baboon in SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER, there is also a "good" creature here, which this time is the Pegasus, again a well-animated beast which is slightly overused. Also appearing are a giant vulture (good), a horned troll-creature (very good, and almost devilish in look), a trio of nasty scorpions, a two-headed dog (very realistic this one) and to top it all, a gigantic Kraken which threatens to give the colossal statue in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS a run for its money. Other non-Harryhausen but fun effects include skeleton boatman Charon rowing across the River Styx (creepy, and a perfect representation of the Grim Reaper) and the destruction of Argos, complete with tidal waves and falling masonry - simply stupendous! Being the '80s, the audience demand for graphic violence was at a high, so we get to see the various creatures bleed a lot too as they are hacked to death by our heroes and there's a lot of general violence to enjoy. In all, CLASH OF THE TITANS was great fun as a kid and is still pretty enjoyable today, and even if it pales in comparison to Harryhausen's earlier work it's still a fitting finale for the master of stop-motion.

Ray Harryhausen has provided the special effects for many movies, some of them quite good. In "Clash of the Titans," however, one gets the feeling that instead of the special effects being used to dramatize the story, the story is guided by the desire to display some special effects. The result is rather lackluster. The story in the movie, however, such as it is, is a big improvement over the original myth. In fact, this movie, when compared to the source material, provides an excellent example of the need to modify ancient tales in order to make them suitable for modern audiences.As for the story in the movie, much is driven by the lunacy of the gods. When the unmarried Danaë has a child (Perseus) out of wedlock, her father, King Acrisius, feels that he and all of Argos have been dishonored by her sin. He is especially put out by the fact that he had locked her in a room where no man could get at her beautiful body, but she got pregnant anyway. (In the original myth, Danaë's son was destined to kill Acrisius, which was his motive for trying to keep her away from men, but in the movie, Acrisius is simply jealous of her beauty.) To purge the dishonor, he condemns his daughter and her child to die in a coffin set adrift at sea. Zeus, it turns out, was the father, having visited Danaë as a shower of gold. Zeus is horrified that Acrisius of Argos would commit a murder, so to punish him, he has Poseidon unleash the Kraken, a sea monster, to wipe out the entire city of Argos.Perseus falls in love with Andromeda, who is under the spell of Calibos, the hideously disfigured son of Thetis. Perseus chops off the hand of Calibos, who then begs his mother for justice. She is reluctant, because she suspects her son wants revenge rather than justice. But when Queen Cassiopeia dares to claim that her daughter Andromeda is more beautiful than Thetis herself, that is just too much. As punishment for insulting her beauty, she demands that Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken. Almost as an afterthought, she says that this will give her son justice too. So, Andromeda must be punished for what Perseus did to Calibos as well as for a remark made by her mother Cassiopeia, a remark, by the way, which happens to be spot on. A running theme through all this is that guilt and punishment are not individual matters; instead, punishment may fall on anyone who is associated with the person who committed the misdeed. Unfortunately, such insane notions of justice are frequently found in the myths of ancient religions, and there are still vestiges of such notions even today.Anyway, Perseus has to figure out a way to kill the Kraken and save his beloved Andromeda. After much to do, he learns that he must obtain the head of Medusa, a gorgon whose look will turn any living creature to stone. Perseus chops off her head and returns in time to let the Kraken get a good look at it, turning him to stone. Andromeda is saved, and she and Perseus are married and live happily ever after.Now compare that with the original story. When Perseus set out to get the head of the Medusa, he didn't know Andromeda from Adam. He just needed a wedding present for a king who was getting married. Perseus got the head, put it in a bag, and headed for home, hoping he would be in time for the nuptials. On the way there, he saw the beautiful, naked Andromeda tied to a rock, while being threatened by Cetus, the other name for the sea monster. He decided to save her, but first he made sure nothing happened to his wedding present by putting it behind some rocks for safekeeping. Then he killed Cetus with his sword. Having seen Andromeda naked, he just had to have her, so they got married. Then he grabbed the bag with the head in it and headed off for the wedding that started it all.The story is vastly more complicated than that, especially since different versions stand in contradiction with one another. But the point is that the story in the movie is a definite improvement, and so much so, that it proves that we should not be terribly concerned with how faithful a movie is to the source material, so long as the movie is enjoyable. Unfortunately, "Clash of the Titans," while an improvement over the original myth, is only fair.

Clash of the Titans (1981): Dir: Desmond Davis / Cast: Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith: Ray Harryhausen creates his masterpiece with this stunning fantasy film. The title is symbolic in terms of players. The titans could be Perseus verses the evil Calibos who was struck down and deformed by Zeus. It could ultimately be Medusa verses sea monster the Kraken but it is Perseus who beheads Medusa to turn the Kraken to stone from her gaze thus saving the Princess Andromeda from sacrifice. Directed by Desmond Davis with impressive sets and locations of palaces, caves and swamps. Harry Hamlin is a suitable Perseus who was raised after he and his mother was abandoned at sea. He will grow to pursue Andromeda's hand but to do so he must face extreme dangers in the forms of Medusa whose hair is ridden with snakes and her eyes turn flesh to stone. Judi Bowker is stunning as Andromeda whose soul is cursed to revisit the domain of Calibos but she refuses his advances thus further enduring his curse. Burgess Meredith plays playwright Ammon who provides Perseus with advice and companionship particularly during the taming of Pegasus. Laurence Olivier plays the authority of Zeus who utters the famous command, "Let loose the Kraken!" Maggie Smith plays sea goddess Thetis, vengeful mother of Calibos. This is mythical magic at its very best. Score: 10 / 10

Fantasy adventure classic that tells the story of the Greek hero Perseus (Harry Hamlin) and features the last film work of legendary stop-motion effects wizard, Ray Harryhausen. In a way, it's a loving tribute to a kind of movie that had died out by 1981. We still have attempts to make these types of movies today (even a remake of this film), but the results are not the same. I'm not saying they aren't sometimes enjoyable in their way but CGI just doesn't have the charm and appeal of old-school special effects. The focus today is on realism, not imagination. Frankly, trying to tell a story that involves gods, winged horses, and Medusa "realistically" makes no sense to me. Embrace the fantasy or just avoid it altogether and make another movie about cops or drug dealers. The cast here is good, even Harry Hamlin. Yes, some of these great older actors appear to be slumming but they all treat the material seriously and refrain from hamming it up. There's a lesson that could be taught to today's cynical thespians, I think. Mini-rants aside, this is a very fun movie for those who enjoy old-fashioned sword & sandal movies and classic special effects. Fans of Greek mythology should have a field day with it, as well.