I learned how to say the words 'Harry Hamlin' and use them in a sentence back in 1981, when MGM's mythological masterpiece Clash of the Titans slipped into theaters between the second and third chapters of George Lucas' Star Wars epics. While the movie -- with a small $16MM budget and an impressive cast of later-day Hollywood heavy-hitters like Lawrence Olivier, Ursula Andress, and Burgess Meredith -- couldn't hold a Grecian torch to Star Wars' widescreen special effects, its evolved into something of a midnight hit since I first saw it at Tucson's El Dorado Six, and developed a respectable cult following. Besides, I never was the kind of boy who'd judge a movie by the size of its CGI, anyway. After all, what little I did know of Ray Harryhausen, the film's producer, already told me that Lucas' movies owed much of their existence to the director and animation pioneer who, much like myself then and now, had grown up with a passion for dinosaurs and fantasy.
I'm still following Harryhausen's stuff, especially through Portland, Oregon -area Bluewater Productions' line of Ray Harryhausen Presents comic books. My appreciation for his model-figure style of animation hasn't diminished a bit, either. But after seeing the newly-released theatrical trailer for March's Clash of the Titans remake, I've no qualms about passing the Olympic torch to a new generation of Gods and Goddesses.
Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation, Avatar) steps into Hamlin's Perseus' sandals and squares off against Ralph Fiennes' Hades, God of the Underworld and all-around uber-villain, while Liam Neeson succeeds Olivier as the all-powerful Olympian, Zeus, in Warner Bros' Titans redux, directed by Louis Leterrier. As with its predecessor, the hero of Leterrier's Clash of the Titans is Perseus, who sets out to defeat the vengeful Hades before the dark deity can wrest control of Mount Olympus from his brother Zeus. That Zeus also happens to be an unaware Perseus' father adds to the drama, no doubt.
(For the classical mythology buffs on the comicsblog tonight, both movies do stray from the original Greek tale. Find out what Perseus' real story is here and here.)
Warner Bros' official movie site states the movie's "The ultimate struggle for power [that] pits Men against Kings and Kings against Gods. But the war between the Gods themselves could destroy the World!" Even from this synopsis, and certainly from its very title, Titans has all the makings of a superhero sword-and-sorcery mash-up. The formula alone is evidence that Warner's remake leaves Harryhausen's Saturday afternoon cinema approach back in the 80's. And the stunning special effects, if not the top-tier thespians who'll raise their swords and remove their shirts when the movie hits in March, all but remove any trace of the movie that once made Harry Hamlin's chest famous.
The first Clash of the Titans theatrical trailer - which we've got in HD for you below -- was released in mid-November, but the film's posters hit the internet less than 15 hours ago. Abbracadabbling's one of the first to post these mythological masterpieces, and if you're jaw dropped as much as our's did when we first saw 'em, then all the trouble we went through to get these babies certainly paid off. We'll see you at the theater when the film opens -- on March 26th, 2010.
(Presented in High Definition)
CLASH OF THE TITANS
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