Clash of the Titans

I learned that today is a very special anniversary: Clash of the Titans is 35 years old. Now people probably don't know all that much about the original, since there was a remake of it. That is a shame: the remake did not have the special effects and wonderful creatures done by the great Ray Harryhausen. I did not bother seeing the remake yet, although I caught glimpses of it on TV and I'm not planning to watch it any time soon. The original, however, is a childhood favourite of mine. I must have watched it first when I was five or six. It is the movie that started my long love story with Greek mythology. Yes, it is sometimes cheesy and the acting is hammy and/or wooden. But what a casting! What characters in their own right are the monsters of Harryhausen! And with all its flaws, it still understood very well the morally ambivalent nature of Greek gods and heroes. In the movie as in the source material, they are neither completely good nor completely evil. Zeus acts out of selfish reasons, Thetis (brilliant Maggie Smith!) is at worst an indulgent mother, Calibos himself is truly a tragic character. The Kraken does what he does on order, giving punishment according to the gods' desires and Medusa... Well, what else would you do if you were a monster like Medusa, stranded on an island and cursed by the gods? Medusa, by the way, still gives me the creeps to this day. So yes, great stuff. And to celebrate its anniversary, here is its trailer.

Medusa and a birthday memory

This picture was taken at the Natural History Museum, it is from a section that was still uncompleted when I went, showing the statue of Medusa next to a earthly(volcanic?) phenomenon. I do not know exactly what the section will look like and what exactly it will be about, although I assume it will show how natural phenomenons may be at the origins of old myths such as this one. In any case, I found the statue of Medusa very impressive. I grew fond of Greek mythology in general and the myth of Medusa and Perseus in particular watching Clash of the Titans as a child. Then I knew very little about Greek mythology, but the movie gave me a crash course.

Soon after, on my eight birthday (I think it was my eight birthday, it may have been earlier), I received my first book about Greek mythology.  As it was my birthday today, I had a thought about it.

R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen

My brother PJ gave me the news via Facebook, the great Ray Harryhausen died today. It is a bit late, so I will be brief: I LOVE Ray Harryhausen movies, especially Clash of the Titans which made me discover him. Harryhausen was a true artist, as he was a creator, a craftsman. His creatures got me into Greek mythology. I once uploaded on Vraie Fiction a short movie of him, you can find it here. But there are so many movies he worked on to enjoy, some I have only discovered recently, some I will in the near future. I am uploading a video taken from a documentary when he explains how he made some of his creations. It gives an idea of his gift.