Wednesday, 10 February 2021

Clash of the Titans (1981)

I was weaned on tales of Greek mythology from a very early age.  I repeatedly borrowed D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths from the school library.  It was part of my Greek heritage, after all, and they were wonderful stories, besides.


Movie poster for "Clash of the Titans" (1981)


My mother took my siblings and me to see "Clash of the Titans" the summer it came out.  We were enchanted.  Although not as slick as "Star Wars", Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion special effects were charming.

I remember the Post Cereal promotion, with stickers featuring characters from the film.  You could even order a poster to stick them on.  I think we got the stickers for Ammon and Bubo, but never ordered the poster.

A few years ago, I rented "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" (1972), a film about the life of St. Francis of Assisi, and was pleasantly surprised to see Judi Bowker in it, the actress who played Andromeda in "Clash of the Titans".

Of course, I caught the 2010 remake, although only on itunes.  It was ok, but the original retains more appeal.  I liked the fact that we got a sequel, "Wrath of the Titans", but the planned third film was canned.

When Laurence Olivier uttered his famous line to "Release the Kraken!", I never thought I'd see the day the phrase would gain notoriety as a mantra for unhinged conspiracy theorists.  Life can be strange.

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