HOME TRAILERS RELEASE DATES PODCASTS REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS BOB $TENCIL NEWS FEEDS ABOUT APPS

LATEST NEWS

Even Without Harryhausen, Clash of the Titans Should Still Look Great

by Alex Billington
April 27, 2009

One of the many reasons why the original 1981 Clash of the Titans is so great, is that the effects and creatures were designed and created by the one-and-only Ray Harryhausen. Unfortunately because he is now 88 years old, he is no longer working on any features, which means as much as I'd love to see him work again, they'll be starting over from scratch on the upcoming Warner Brothers remake directed by Louis Leterrier. As I was looking over the press release sent out today announcing that production had started on Clash of the Titans, I noticed that a lot of the technical people working on this all seem just as talented.

We already know that the cast features Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Jason Flemyng, and Alexa Davalos. And we also know that Louis Leterrier is directing from a screenplay by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. So let's get on to the technical details behind this.

Shooting the film as the director of photography is Peter Menzies, Jr., who previously shot Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The General's Daughter, The 13th Warrior, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Four Brothers, Shooter, and Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk most recently. Working as the production designer is Martin Laing, who designed the futuristic worlds of City of Ember and McG's Terminator Salvation. Working as costume designer is Oscar winner Lindy Hemming, of GoldenEye, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Batman Begins, Casino Royale, and The Dark Knight most recently.

And on the special effects side, working as the visual effects supervisor is Nick Davis, of Entrapment, Troy, and The Dark Knight most recently. Working as the prosthetics supervisor is Conor O'Sullivan, of The Last Samurai, Rescue Dawn, and The Dark Knight most recently (seeing the pattern?). Working as the special effects and animatronics supervisor is Neil Corbould, of The Day After Tomorrow, Kingdom of Heaven, Superman Returns, and Defiance previously. And working as the makeup and hair designer is Oscar winner Jenny Shircore, of The Phantom of the Opera and Elizabeth: The Golden Age previously.

If you didn't notice the pattern, at least three of those working on the technical side of this, including the visual effects supervisor, also worked on The Dark Knight. It definitely looks like Warner Brothers is sparing no expense and really going all out to make sure this looks incredible. Even as a huge fan of the original, I'm actually looking forward to seeing this remake, partially because I'm excited to see what a new generation of artists and filmmakers can do with such a classic story. Stay tuned for updates on this!

Explore tags: Hype, Movie News, Opinions

Scott McHenry

I'm predicting that this will break into my top 5 when I see it
John J

Does anyone else agree with me that the creatures in the original were more scary and enjoyable because they were stop motion. Take a look at medusa. Will creating her in CGI make her more scary? It's the same of Talos in Jason & the Argonauts. The jerkiness of the stop motion made him more effective as a character.
Cody

God like half the effects crew from TDK is there and the FX in that were so good you could barely notice they used any.
xerxex

Alex really Clash of the Titans wasn't good, at all just watch Jason and the Argonauts now that is some good effects. Now don't wish me dead the effects in COTT we're great it was just the acting that ruined it for me.
avoidz

As long as it doesn't look like another collection of videogame cutscenes...