Pop Culture Movies and More: Clash of the Titans (1981)

Sent with his mother to their deaths at the wild open sea by King Acrisius of Argos, the newborn Perseus, son of the King of the Gods, Zeus, escapes his cruel fate and grows up into a man with a mission in life. Without delay, Perseus has to return to the affluent city of Joppa, where the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia, the beautiful Princess Andromeda, is to marry the hideously grotesque monster, Calibos, the mortal son of Thetis, the sea goddess. However, in his quest to rescue the cursed Andromeda, Perseus will soon find himself up against formidable adversaries, only the gifts from the Gods themselves could give him a fighting chance. Will heroic Perseus fulfil his destiny? For lovers of Greek Mythology movies, this is certainly one for you. I love this film for plenty of reasons but to narrow it down to one, it would have to be the incredible stop-motion effects. They are very impressive and another testament to the creative work of the legendary Ray Harryhausen. His work is so inspirational and has been featured in countless movies following a similar style and mostly fitting that fantasy genre. To name a few he lent his creative touch to are: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and One Million Years B.C. (1966). Harryhausen pioneered the use of stop-motion animation effects and made it into a form of art. All of these films, including this, were influenced by the work of King Kong (1933), which inspired Harryhausen in stop-motion. This film uses this form on multiple creatures both good and bad. It is used to bring to life that of Pegasus, Bubo the owl, the Kraken, Giant Scorpions, Calibos, the Two-Headed Dog, the Giant Vulture and the coolest/most terrifying, Medusa. That whole sequence where Perseus and two other soldiers enter Medusa's lair is easily my favourite part of this film. It is so tense and seeing the rattling of her snake-like tail as they move closer in among the crowd of past victim statues is brilliant and still effectively scary. Armed with a bow and arrow too makes her a deadly foe when matched with her power to turn living creatures to stone upon looking at her eyes. When she uses her powers, I love the bright green glow they give off. The stop-motion effects used on her alone are unbelievable. Medusa's snake hair each moves individually alongside the rest of her movements, which could only have taken so much time and process to get it to look as good as it does. After all these years to still look that superb is a grand feat for this film. Joined with the phenomenal effects and visuals are the characters who bring a great level of enjoyment to this epic story. One of the highlights of this film for me is Perseus' friends and gifts from the Gods. On his quest, he is joined by Ammon, who is a great asset to the adventure, giving tips and knowledge that can save Andromeda's life. I like it when he sees the items Perseus has been given by the Gods and his remarks to them with that astonished look, full of wonder. These gifts are awesom!. He is given a helmet, which renders the wearer invisible, a sword that can cut through marble leaving no mark and a shield that will come in handy in the fight against Medusa. Later on, a fourth gift is sent in the form of Bubo the mechanical owl who only Perseus can understand. He is one of my favourite characters and acts as a kind of comedic aspect to the film with his clumsy movements and actions. I think he is the most recognisable part of the film and was a fabulous inclusion to the story. I have fond memories of seeing these sorts of fantasy/Greek Mythology movies on television growing up, mainly being shown on repeats around Christmas and how I would watch them with the rest of my family. I miss when films had this sense of adventure and wonderment that seems overlooked in today's cinema with the overuse of CGI. Overall, this is a fantastic fantasy movie that is overflowing with grand stop-motion, and entertaining characters with a thrilling story to match. Clash of the Titans is a certified pop culture classic sure to spark your imagination.