Film

Clash of the Titans

Name: Clash of the Titans
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Released: 1981
Cast: Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress

Other titles called Clash of the Titans: the 2010 film.

Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion monsters are the real stars here, not the wooden hero chasing them. Medusa, the Kraken, a giant scorpion army – it's clunky, earnest, gloriously silly high-camp mythology with a cast of British theatrical royalty visibly enjoying a paid holiday. Watch it for the craft in the creatures, not the acting, and you'll have a wonderful time.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love old-fashioned myth adventures with stop-motion monsters, Ray Harryhausen creatures lumbering across painted landscapes, and a hero who gets by on stubborn charm more than psychology.

Skip it if you need modern effects or a brisk pace, since the creature set-pieces are charmingly dated and the stretches between them can feel leisurely.

What it asks of you: Just under two hours, with episodic quests that unfold at a gentle, storybook rhythm, asking you to enjoy the spectacle of each trial rather than track any complicated plotting.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Jason and the Argonauts1963

Harryhausen's finest hour – the skeleton army fight alone justifies the whole genre. If Clash's creatures delighted you, this is the same animator working at the absolute top of his craft.

But Even more dated dialogue and pacing than Clash, with a hero who's an even blanker slate than Perseus.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad1958

Another Harryhausen quest picture, this time Arabian Nights flavoured, with a cyclops and a sword-fighting skeleton that still hold up beautifully against modern effects.

But Thinner plot and characters than Clash – it's really just a delivery mechanism for the monster set pieces.

Excalibur1981

Same year, same myth-drenched sincerity, but Arthurian rather than Greek – gorgeous, hallucinatory, and far stranger and more violent than you'd expect.

But Considerably darker and more sexually frank than Clash, with a heavy, portentous tone that some find exhausting.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Clash of the Titans

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Thief of Bagdad1940

Clash inherited its entire model of hero-versus-marvel spectacle from this earlier generation of hand-crafted fantasy filmmaking – same appetite for wonder, forty years before Harryhausen got his hands on it.

Decades before Harryhausen, this Technicolor fantasy did flying carpets, giant genies and impossible quests with astonishing practical trickery – proof the wonder came first, the stop-motion second.

But Very old-fashioned storytelling rhythms and a fairy-tale innocence that modern viewers may find slow.

Conan the Barbarian1982

Sword-and-sorcery pulp taken dead seriously, with Schwarzenegger's best-ever physical performance and a genuinely eerie villain in James Earl Jones.

But Nastier and more brutal than Clash – this is R-rated myth, not family matinee fare.

The Princess Bride1987

All the quest-fantasy pleasures – giants, swordfights, true love against the odds – filtered through constant wit and warmth rather than solemn myth-making.

But Comedic where Clash is earnest; if you wanted the straight-faced epic, the constant jokes might grate.

Troy2004

A bigger-budget, more muscular take on Greek myth, with Brad Pitt's Achilles and genuinely spectacular battle sequences replacing stop-motion with scale.

But Strips out the gods entirely, turning divine myth into grounded war epic – a very different flavour of ancient Greece.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief2010

The same pantheon of gods and monsters, but dropped into modern America and aimed at teenagers – a lighter, funnier entry point to Olympian myth.

But Younger and glossier than Clash, with CGI polish replacing practical monster-making charm.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief poster

Immortals2011

Visually stunning, slow-motion-heavy Greek myth action that leans hard into stylised violence and painterly composition rather than storytelling.

But Plot is thin and the tone is far more brutal and self-serious than Clash's pulpy fun.

3002007

Not myth exactly, but the same ancient-Greek machismo and spectacle, rendered in stylised, comic-book slow motion that's become genuinely iconic.

But Historical rather than fantastical, with a jingoistic streak and stylisation that can feel more music video than movie.

Xena: Warrior Princess1995

It's Clash's exact mythological toy box – same monsters, same gods meddling in mortal affairs – rebuilt in a trashier, funnier register that shows how thin the line is between epic and camp.

The same Greek gods, monsters and quests as Clash, but on a TV budget and played with gleeful, knowing camp – gods bicker, heroes wink at the camera, and nothing is sacred.

But Cheap-looking sets and stunts, and a tone so campy it might feel like parody rather than homage if you wanted it played straight.

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan2012

This is the making-of story behind Clash's real star attraction – the monsters – told through the career of the artist who animated them frame by painstaking frame.

A warm, detailed documentary on the man whose stop-motion animation is the actual reason Clash is remembered at all – Medusa's slither, the Kraken's rise, explained by the hands that built them.

But No drama, no story – just interviews and archival footage, so it's a niche watch for anyone not already curious about the craft.