When the original Clash of the Titans came out in the summer of 1981, I had no idea what an influence the movie would be on me. At that time, I was excited to see another movie featuring the movie magic of Ray Harryhausen. He was pretty much the first non-actor that made me eager to see a film. You were in for a special effects experience when Ray’s name was in the credits. He learned stop motion from Willis H. O’Brien who brought King Kong to life. Ray’s Sinbad films and Jason and the Argonauts were prize Saturday matinee memories. His Clash of the Titans would prove valuable to me over the years as my quick memory reference when playing College Bowl games. The movie covered so many of the Greek Gods and mythological beasts. When the remake arrived in the Spring of 2010 (was that really 14 years ago?), I was curious to see how the creatures would look in the world of CGI. How would it rate next to Harryhausen’s Dynamation sensation? Now the film and its sequel are boxed up in When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash Of The Titans & Wrath Of The Titans (Limited Edition).
Clash of the Titans (2010 – 106 minutes) has a fisherman (Distant Voices, Still Lives‘ Peter Postlethwaite) find a floating chest in the water. Inside is a dead woman holding a live baby. He and his wife (The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Elizabeth McGovern) raise the child now named Perceus as if he were their own child. But he’s far from a common boy. His dad is Zeus (Taken‘s Liam Neeson) and his mother royalty. Older Perceus (Avatar‘s Sam Worthington) lives the life of a fisherman with his family on their boat until one day they approach the coastal city of Argos. A group of soldiers topple a massive statue of Zeus into the sea. Hades (Shakespeare In Love‘s Ralph Fiennes) sends his Furies to attack back. The family’s fishing boat is taken out as collateral damage. He finds himself with the King and Queen of Argos where they celebrate their campaign to stop worshipping the Gods. But the party comes to a harsh buzz end when Hades shows up. He plans on unleashing the Kraken if they don’t sacrifice the princess to him. Plus he lets Perceus know about his true dad. Io (Quantum of Solace‘s Gemma Arterton) confirms his true identity. Nobody wants to give into Hades so they plot to defeat the fearsome Kraken. Perceus and Io join up with Draco (Hannibal‘s Mads Mikkelsen) and others to seek out the knowledge that can stop the attack that can wipe out all of mankind. The good news for Perceus is that his real father doesn’t hate him as much as Hades. Zeus leaves his son a few “gifts” to help with the mission. Perceus isn’t liking his old dad trying to make up for lost years. Will this stubbornness ruin the chance to defeat the Kraken?
The updated version must be treated as a completely different beast from the original simply because there’s no curiosity on how the special effects were created. We know hundreds of people sat at computer stations cranking out CGI elements to make the Kraken and other mythological creatures. There was no wizardry from the fingertips of Ray Harryhausen. This change is good since you can just enjoy the action. A few of the monsters on the screen seem based on Harryhausen’s style and techniques to keep the flavor to the Greek tale. Mostly I appreciate Worthington on screen. He looks authentic battling giant scorpions and seems unimpressed by a bearded Liam Neeson. Worthington seems natural covered in dust. Clash of the Titans proved to be a huge hit and a sequel was on the way.
Wrath of the Titans (2012 – 99 minutes) is new territory since they never had a follow up to the Ray Harryhausen version. Perceus has decided to forgo being a half-god and fully embrace his human side. He and his son (The Hobbit‘s John Bell) are fishermen to the displeasure of Zeus. The God has a bit of family business when he descends to Tartarus to meet with Hades, Poseidon (Ivans Xtc‘s Danny Huston) and Ares (Zero Dark Thirty‘s Edgar Ramirez). They are supposed to discuss rebuilding the prison except Hades has other plans. He wants to imprison Zeus and use his powers to revive their father Kronos. Hades has Ares help for the sucker punch attack. An ailing Poseidon escapes and meets with Perceus to tell him of the plan. Perceus must now save his father from this horrifying scheme. His only hope is to team up with another half God, Agenor (Kong: Skull Island‘s Toby Kebbell) who isn’t a reliable character. They need to get a superior weapon made by Hephaestus (Underworld‘s Bill Nighy) or grandpa is coming back.
This is a fast-moving sequel that runs a brisk 90 minutes before the end credits. Once more Worthington doesn’t mind getting messy on the screen as he battles in the freshly ruined temples around Greece. The special effects crew does a fine just at creating nightmarish creatures including twin fighter that share a set of legs. Kronos looks impressive as he smashes and smites. Also being impressive is Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day) as Queen Andromeda. She looks in charge under the ungodly circumstances. Wrath of the Titans properly bookend the themes of Clash of the Titans. Perceus has to save mankind in the first and save his dad in the second. It’s almost a reverse of Taken as the fights to free a captive Liam Neeson. When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash Of The Titans & Wrath Of The Titans (Limited Edition) is a god-like double feature
There is also a Blu-ray set with all the bonus features available.
The Videos are 2.35:1 anamorphic for Clash of the Titans and 1.85:1 for Wrath of the Titans. Strange that they’d change aspect ratios. Both 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentations are in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). They look sharp as man battles mythology. The Audio is the original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio for both films. You’ll hear the clanging of metal and the scream of the Kraken clearly. The movies are subtitled in English.
Illustrated collector’s book containing new writing by author and critic Guy Adams and film scholar Josh Nelson
Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson that are suitable for framing.
Six postcard sized artcards that are also suitable for framing.
DISC 1 – CLASH OF THE TITANS
Scaling Mount Olympus (20:45) is a recent talk with producer Basil Iwanyk. He claims he discovered Perseus through reading. Later his dad took him to see Clash of The Titans on the same weekend they also saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. He likes Ray Harryhausen movies. He hired Lawrence Kasdan (the writer of Raiders) to punch up the script on Clash of the Titans (not credited on screen). He gets into how the project came together.
Harnessing the Gods are the featurettes about elements of the film including Sam Worthington is Perseus (3:45), Zeus: Father of Gods and Men (2:20), Enter the World of Hades (3:32), Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster (2:59), Tenerife: A Continent on an Island (4:26), Scorpioch (4:08), Actors and Their Stunts (3:50), Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape (2:33), Bringing Medusa to Life (3:49) and Prepare for the Kraken! (3:57).
Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages (7:58) is an appreciation at how the actor is game for any stunt. He loves it. The featurette shows all he went through before the camera.
Alternate ending (5:23) has Perseus show up in Olympus to lay down the law.
Deleted scenes (18:12) has a report on burning temples to the folks in Olympus and more. Most of these missing scenes are from Olympus.
Theatrical trailer (1:10) has the people sick of the Gods.
Image gallery has 34 press photos, behind the scenes shots and posters.
DISC 2 – WRATH OF THE TITANS
Unleashing the Beasts (13:36) is recent interview with producer Basil Iwanyk. Turns out that until six weeks after the release of Clash of the Titans, that they decided to make a sequel. The two writers came in solo to pitch and had ideas that sounded the same so they producers had them write the script together. They wanted more Gods and Titans in the movie.
Paths of The Gods is a series of shorts about the various mythical characters in the movie including Who Are the Titans? (3:22), Hephaestus: God of Fire (2:36), Lost in Tartarus’ Labyrinth (2:53) and Creatures of the Titans (4:04). They show off the art used to develop the CGI beasts.
Path of Men gives the behind-the-scenes footage for Battling the Chimera (3:56), Agenor: The Other Demi-God (3:02), The Cyclops Fight (3:36), Prison of the Titans (3:48), Minotaur: The Human Nightmare (3:04) & The Heavens Raise Hell on Earth (4:28).
Deleted scenes (17:16) has three scenes that were snipped.
Theatrical trailer (2:07) shows off the new creatures that Perseus must battle.
Image gallery is 50 press photos, behind the scenes shots and posters.
Arrow Video presents When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash Of The Titans & Wrath Of The Titans (Limited Edition). Directed by Louis Leterrier & Jonathan Liebesman. Screenplays by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Dan Mazeau & David Leslie Johnson. Starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Édgar Ramírez & Danny Huston. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 2 4K UHD Discs. Rating: Rated PG-13. Release Date: August 13, 2024.
