Clash of the Titans (1981); A Hardcore Review

In getting ready for the monumental 3D event of the early Spring, I decided to download and watch the original Clash of the Titans. Yes the very same movie made famous for some amazing stop motion animation and special effects by Mr. Ray Harryhausen. The same Mr Ray Harryhausen who was made homage to in
Monster's Inc for the sushi house named after him. The same movie made famous with a line from Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where Randal goes into the Quick Stop and proclaims, "I was trying to watch Clash of the Titans and all I can hear is those two yelling about Morris Day at the top of their lungs."
This movie had pretty much everything a flick involving the Gods should. Infidelity, bastard children, vengeance, brutality, egomaniacs, and some wicked stop motion animation. You have to remember that I went to school for animation in the early 2000's. And the cgi and ability has changed so much since then. It's change immensely since 1981 when this movie came out. I cannot get over how, even with the limited tech they had and the limits that compositing held, this movie holds up remarkably well. I mean to me, Gollum from LOTR doesn't even look all that realistic anymore. And that wasn't more than a handful of years ago. Some of the greatest movies of all time come from that specific time period, and the suspension of disbelief is what made it great. Now don't get me wrong, I love a movie with amazing animation in it, but there's nothing like the original Star Wars trilogy, or ET or the first two Aliens movies and Terminator 2. These films are epic, and will stand the test of time, not just cause of the generation who will never let them go, but mainly because they were phenomenally told narratives on good versus evil. And since then things have become so blurred in the 98% of Gray area we have called moral ambiguity.
Look, I loved The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and The Hellboy movies. Those you need on Bluray so you can admire the quality of the animation, costume and set design. And let's not forget how the quality of special effects has risen to a new level. It's just astonishing in scope. But there is legitimately something special about Clash of the Titans. The only other movie that came close to that, was done back in 1933, and it was called King Kong. It stood as testiment for almost 50 years. And even with the newest advent of using 3D in every other flick that comes out, I still need to harken back to movies like Clash and Star Wars to remember where I came from and what made me passionate about my imagination. It's what made me what to be a super hero. And even with the cheesy dialog and props that don't look quite right, it stands as lineage to what is.
You know I grade my reviews on a scare of a hardcore moment in professional wrestling history. The more hardcore the moment, the more I enjoyed the work I am reviewing. The more references to Hulk Hogan, the more I recommend you gouge out your eyes of puncture your ear drums. So, here we go...
It was a Friday night in late 1999. The Dudley Boys, on their last night with ECW had just won back the World Tag Team Titles. And they promised to lay them at the feet of WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. Was there nobody who would rescue the most coveted titles in team sports? That man came forth. His name is Tommy Dreamer. With a massively damaged back, and tortured soul from the Dudleys, he wouldn't back down. He stormed the ring and began defending the honor of the company he loved. But all too quickly the two toughest men in the tag team division began the ultimate destruction of the ultimate team player in Dreamer. But, then something happened. From out of the crowd came a man from Dreamer's past. A man Dreamer hated. A man who but once had never lost to Tommy. The delusional and egomaniacal man named Raven, slid into the ring, and DDT'ed one of the Dudleys and pinned him. Tommy began to get up as the ring bell sounded. Confused and in a daze one of the tag belts was slapped onto Tommy's shoulder by his arch nemesis, Raven. And just as quickly as it started, Raven slipped back into the embrace of the ECW crowd, arms out stretched, head thrown back in effigy.