• Forget Desmond Davis, this is Ray Harryhausen’s film and last venture as producer and stop-motion effects master
  • This was an artifact even in 1981- I mean Empire Strikes Back was in 1980
  • Last archiveable film for Harryhausen and Laurence Olivier— both are better remembered in other films
  • These are fine actors- Olivier, Claire Bloom, Burgess Meredith—all past their prime and this isn’t a resume-builder for any of them. Maggie Smith comes off the best of the supporting crew- Harry Hamlin is the lead as Perseus- looks the part- but not a great actor
  • The plot is a soap opera (or greek mythology- haha) but it moves along very nicely- an undeniably charming adventure yarn– constantly introducing new characters and there is a good musical score to go along
  • Often the foreground/background don’t match with the rear projection and miniatures/clay figures
  • The kraken is akin to Harryhausen’s cyclops in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958
  • I don’t ever say this but I think this would play better on a VHS tape with the adjusted tracking- haha.
  • Fringe recommendation- not close to the top 10 of 1981