Clash of the Titans (1981)

Clash of the Titans is a grand and glorious romantic adventure, filled with grave heroes, beautiful heroines, fearsome monsters, and awe-inspiring duels to the death. It is a lot of fun.

These fantastical He-Man epics were common in the early ’80s (Legend, Conan the Barbarian, and The Beastmaster were all variations of the same theme), and while Clash of the Titans remains one of the genre’s homelier entries, there’s no faulting a film this lovingly and aptly arcane.

The effects might not hold up, but the performances by the likes of Smith, Olivier and other classically trained British actors, as well as Ursula Andress, elevate this to something more than a throwaway fantasy adventure from the early '80s.

Clash of the Titans is profligate in its use of talented people who are not particularly at home in this sort of film, though they all pay serious attention to their work.

Despite its general failure, some scenes from Clash of the Titans remain memorable. Chief among them is the duel with Medusa, a scene that ripples with tension.