Stars:
Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress,
Claire Bloom, Sian Phillips, Flora Robson, and Laurence Olivier
Writer:
Beverley Cross
Director:
Desmond Davis
Feature
length: 118 minutes
Extras:
A Conversation With Ray Harryhausen, Map Of Myths And Monsters Gallery, Cast and
Filmmaker Credits, Theatrical Trailer
Languages:
English Dolby Surround 2.0 and French Monaural
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese,
Chinese, Bahasa, Thai, and Korean Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Snap Case
Chapter
Stops: 30
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1981/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“Clash
Of The Titans” was the last big screen collaboration between Producer Charles
H. Schneer and Producer and Effects Guru Ray Harryhausen, before Harryhausen
retired. I remember going to see “Clash Of The Titans” in theaters when I
was a boy and just watching it over and over in theaters and then watching it
over some more when it premiered on HBO. I think I might even still have the
vinyl soundtrack record from 1981. Even though we have CGI effects today that
are far more realistic and refined than what Harryhausen was able to accomplish
in “Clash Of The Titans,” I still think that the human touch Harryhausen
brought to his creations is lost in most computer generated effects save for a
few. The cast includes “Sian
Phillips” (I Claudius), Clare Bloom, Ursula Andress, Maggie Smith, and
Laurence Olivier as “Zeus.” Harry Hamlin does an amiable job as
“Perseus” and Burgess Meredith has best dialogue in the film. I particularly
love the line “A divine gift should never be questioned, but merely
accepted.”
The
crowning achievement to Harryhausen’s onscreen magic “Medusa” is the
film’s showcase sequence, but there are plenty of monsters and mythological
creatures to satisfy children of all ages. Long requested by fans, Warner Home
Video presents “Clash Of The Titans” in a matted widescreen presentation
that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of approximately (1.85:1).
The transfer is mixed with some scenes looking very clear and vibrant while
other scenes have a lot of visible grain and anomalies. The English Stereo
Surround is clear, but somewhat hollow sounding at times. A French Language
Monaural Soundtrack and English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired coupled with French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Bahasa,
Thai, and Korean Language Subtitles are encoded as options on to the dual
layered DVD as well.
There
is a twelve minute featurette with new videotaped interview with Ray Harryhausen
as well as a “Map of Myths and Monsters” where DVD users can highlight
various creatures and receive a videotaped explanation from Ray Harryhausen on
how and why the creatures in the films were chosen and how or why they might
have been changed for the film. Select cast and filmmaker credits and the
widescreen (1.85:1) theatrical trailer with English Monaural Sound wrap up the
extra features included on this DVD. The main menu features Laurence
Rosenthal’s score for the film and the menus standard interactive still frames
that are easy to navigate.
Not
perfect, but still a must have for Harryhausen fans, “Clash Of The Titans”
will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 from Warner Home Video.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.