“battle of the titans‘ is a spectacle of epic proportions, directed by Louis Leterrier (“Fast & Furious 10”) with lots of CGI and a top-notch cast. In addition to “Avatar” protagonist Sam Worthington, you can see Liam Neeson (“Taken”), Ralph Fiennes (“Schindler’s List”), Nicholas Hoult from “Mad Max: Fury Road”, Gemma Arterton (“Prince Of Persia”), Alexa Davalos (“Riddick”) and Mads Mikkelsen, currently in theaters with “Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny.”
Clash of the Titans airs today, July 19, 2023 at 8:15 PM on Kabel 1. The channel broadcasts a repeat at 03:10 that same evening. If these dates don’t suit you, the FSK 12 title is available as Blu-ray, DVD or paid video-on-demand:
If you enjoyed the battle of the gods, you can continue with the sequel “Wrath of the Titans”. Almost all the main actors whose characters survived the first part are back, as well as some newcomers. You can currently experience the sequel as part of your Netflix subscription. Alternatively, there are of course also purchase and rental versions:
“Clash of the Titans” on Cable 1: That’s the story
Ancient Greece: The simple fisherman Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite) pulls a helpless baby from the waves of the ocean. He adopts him as his son and names him Perseus. He has no idea who the little one really is. He grows up to be a man (Sam Worthington), but like the entire city of Argos, he seems to be constantly haunted by misery and misfortune.
The frustrated, starving residents call for a fight against their Olympian gods, whose arbitrariness and indifference they blame for their plight. The evil ruler of the underworld Hades (Ralph Fiennes) asks his brother, the father of the gods Zeus (Liam Neeson), to put people in their place.
When Hades retaliates, Spyros is killed and Perseus swears vengeance. Then the demigod Io (Gemma Arterton) reveals to him that he is the biological son of Zeus. Nevertheless, Perseus, with the commander Draco (Mads Mikkelsen) and his soldiers, continues to fight against the gods and must also face gigantic mythical beasts controlled by Hades…
In the footsteps of Ray Harryhausen
Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 fantasy classic of the same name, the last monster movie from legendary special effects guru Ray Harryhausen. Instead of his iconic stop-motion animation, Louis Leterrier used impressively effective computer graphics for his production, even today. According to our FILMSTARTS three-and-a-half star review, the Frenchman delivers occasionally kitschy, but fast-paced entertainment with an often visually stunning interpretation of iconic mythical imagery, including a strong coming-of-age story.
On the other hand, the 3D cover for the cinema, which was only given to the film at the last minute during post-production, was not nearly as successful. This was due to the mega success of “Avatar”, which just a few months earlier had shattered all box office records and made it visibly sloppy. The arid landscape plateaus and zero-distance battle sequences simply weren’t composed for effective three-dimensionality. Therefore, the result seemed incomplete and could not even stand direct comparison with James Cameron’s super hit in that respect. Fortunately, the original 2D version can be seen on TV tonight.
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