Clash of the Titans -remake

[Panache]

In both "Jason and the Argonauts" and "Clash of the Titans" there is quite a bit of fighting and death.

However there isn't any gore or nastiness and good and evil are very clearly marked. I'm not sure if the intended audience originally was children, but compared to a lot of the movies I have noted children watching today today they have pretty good messages.

Of course last Fall I let my then 6 year daughter and 9 year old son watch "Zulu" with me. When I mentioned this to a lady of my aquaintenance she was somewhat taken aback that I would let my kids watch a war movie. I responded that I knew she had let her son see the last Star Wars movie. I noted that I felt a lot better about my kids understanding the real life Battle of Rourke's Drift (OK it wasn't a perfectly historical re-telling but it did a lot of things right) and the courage shown there than the fall into evil and all the nastiness Anakin Skywalker did in "Revenge of the Sith"

Back to CotT.

I have no issue at all with someone taking on the story of Perseus and Medusa. It is a timeless tale. I just wish they went out and made their own story instead of remaking Harryhaussen's.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Doctor Strange]

The intended audience for Jason, as for the classic theatrical Warner Bros. cartoons, was the general audience, a concept that barely exists in today's narrowcasting world.

Sure, I saw first saw Jason at a matinee screening when I was eight or nine. (Just as I saw Zulu, The 300 Spartans, The Longest Day, The Ten Commandments, etc.) But seeing it as adult (as I have many, many times), I am always struck at the intelligence of the dialogue, especially the banter between Zeus and Hera ("You speak of the end of the gods...") It's on a far higher level than the equivalent portions of the 1981 Clash, despite the bigger names playing the gods. And Jason's treatment of Hercules - Nigel Green's portrayal, not as a traditional muscleman, but as a bigger-than-life personality - is also very smart.

Anyway, I predict that the new Clash will be dumber than the old one...

 

[Panache]

DS,

I concur that "Jason" is a better movie than "Clash". It is probably Harryhaussen's finest film.

Personally I thought that Niall MacGinnis* was absolutely wonderful as Zeus and loved the gameboard in "Jason" compared to Lawrence Olivier and the theater in "Clash".

I'm also sure that the new version will be dumber than the original. It is going to take itself too seriously and the creatures for all their cutting edge cg effects will have little of the personality of Ray Harryhaussen's.


Cheers

Jamie


*However to me he will always be Julian Karswell

 

[Doctor Strange]

Usually dependable reviewer James Berardinelli gives the new Clash a fair review, but says the 3D is awful and suggests you see it in standard 2D:

http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2049

And Jamie, the only reason that MacGinnis will always be Zeus rather than Karswell to me is that I saw Jason as a little kid, but didn't see Night of the Demon until comparatively recently. Oh, it was on my to-see list since I was a kid (ever since its demon was the cover photo of nearly the first movie book I ever bought, Carlos Clarens' An Illustrated History of the Horror Film, way back in the late 60s), but there must of have been distribution issues or something, because it eluded me for decades! Anyway, I agree that MacGinnis's Karswell is an oustanding performance.

I also absolutely agree that Jason is Harryhausen's best film! It's certainly nearly the only one that isn't (at least partly) undone by bad acting, a low budget, silly plotting, lame camerawork, etc.

MacGinnis's Zeus: If I had to punish *every* blasphemy, I would have *no followers*!

 

[Panache]

MacGinnis had most of the really good lines in "Jason and the Argonauts"

"Hera my dear, You really must learn to win without cheating... or to at least lose gracefully"

"The gods are best served by those who need their help the least."

"For the moment, let them enjoy a calm sea, a fresh breeze and each other. The girl is pretty and I am always sentimental. But for Jason, there are other adventures. I have not finished with Jason. Let us continue the game another day."

(actually that last one is pretty creepy when you know the legend of Jason and Medea! )

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Doctor Strange]

Yup, talk about a prophecy that witholds the impotant details! And even if you don't know about Jason and Medea's troubled future, that line smacks a bit much of sequel setup! (Of course, in those days, they still knew when NOT to make a sequel!)

 

[Hondo]

So far reviews are so so, not great, in fact a bit silly.
Liam Neeson as Zeus! [huh]
Very bad dialogue is dispensed by very good actors surrounded by effects of assorted quality.
Give me the older "Clash of the Titans"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/02/MVK91CNGCI.DTL&type=movies

 

[John in Covina]

So far the reviews I have heard are it's SO-SO / OK, made for teenaged boys and don't see the 3D version that was a waste of effort!

 

[Doctor Strange]

This movie has gotten some of the worst reviews I've ever seen:

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/clashofthetitans

 

[Caity Lynn]

I kinda loved this movie. I've never seen the original though.
Good acting, the scorpion bits were a bit dragged out, I would have liked to have more input from the other gods, Medusa was great. The name however, perhaps a different name and not made it a re-make would have improved it. It should have been more accurately named "Clash of Zeus and Hades" the titans had really NO part in it at all. But over all I'd give it an 8.

 

[Dated Guy]

Again, with my being a bit older (seeing Jason and the Argonauts theatrically when I was 8 was the really significant event for me!), I was underwhelmed with the original Clash. Yes, Harryhausen's work was fantastic, but everything else about the film grated, from the wasted big-star cameos on Olympus, Burgess Meredith doing his whole Rocky mentor thing in Ancient Greek drag, that idiotic R2D2-inspired owl, the terrible matching of the actor and stop-motion models playing Calibos, the lame lead performances...

Understand: to a longtime Harryhausen fan, it was a very important event - finally, a big-budget film! - but the film itself was largely disappointing. What wasn't disappointing was visiting the NY Museum of Modern Art's Harryhausen retrospective celebrating his career when the film was opening: seeing many of his classic models "in person" was thrilling!

As for the new film, I have zero interest in seeing it. Another CGI crapfest: maybe I'll catch on cable eventually.

And John, of course they're going to remake Jason and the Argonauts: just get used to it, everything is going to be remade multiple times. That's the entertainment biz these days! (Jason was actually already remade as a TV film by the SyFy Channel a few years ago - and it was nowhere near as awful as that usually portends!)

Brother, you are certainly not alone with your views.....:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Feraud]

Pfft. Thumbs down. Not worth the effort.

 

[HosManHatter]

I can hardly wait! While there doubtless be more "eye candy" in the remake of COTs,nothing can equal the magic and the art of Harryhausen`s meticulate stop-motion work. Huge fan of any and all Ray Harryhausen films.His "obsolete" FX still WORK! Knowing that it was all done by hand only makes watching a Harryhausen film that much more exciting!

Yep,this is one remake I`m chomping at the bit to see!
HMH

 

[Feraud]

Eye candy is useless with a bad story.

One issue I had with this film was with Perseus's constant whining about not wanting to be a demi-god but a man. Get over it dude, you're a demi-god enjoy the ride..

 

[HosManHatter]

You make a valid argument,my friend.

Yeah,P-Dawg,quit trippin` off da Demi-God vershizzle?
Perseus`:everybody`s favorite holier-than-thou martyr!

Maybe he`s manned up some since the remake?

HMH

 

[Scotus]

Well, I thought the new _Clash of the Titans_ was great fun. I enjoyed it in 2D, which I prefer to these irritating 3D movies. The story was good and the monsters and so forth were great; a lot of fun.

 

[Scotus]

It should have been more accurately named "Clash of Zeus and Hades" the titans had really NO part in it at all.

Hmmm... I'd actually agree with that. It was more about Zeus and Hades and their sibling rivalry, wasn't it?

 

[John in Covina]

I got to see it today in 2D. (From what I understand it was not filmed in 3D so the computer effects to make it into 3D were not as effective as a film originally done in 3D.)

Fun romp and some of the special effects were pretty cool.

Perseus in trying to hold off his demi-god status was because he felt he'd lose his sense of humanity and the values his human family had raised him with. It has the whole "once the wheels are set in motion" bound by honor type rules that make for tragic bystanders thrust into harms way.

 

[Feraud]

Hmmm... I'd actually agree with that. It was more about Zeus and Hades and their sibling rivalry, wasn't it?

Such petty Gods.. :eusa_doh:

 

[MCPRE]

I absolutely love all of the older stop motion stuff, B & W or in color, the cheesier the better! Does anyone remember a Sinbad type movie that had skeletons fighting on some ancient like Greek ruins with a giant Laser destroying them. I remember this one as a child but have never seen it since.