MovieChat Forums > Clash of the Titans (1981) Discussion > Did the film look this bad originally in...

Did the film look this bad originally in theaters?

posted 14 years ago by VideoKidVsTheVoid
13 replies | jump to latest

I just got done watching the DVD version and the film's light/dark and color correction looked terrible. It jumped from dark to light and all over the place. The live-action and stop-motion composite scenes were especially bad. The live-action layer was always way to dark, while the stop-motion layer was bright. It completely ruins the effect and took me out of the film. I know composite opiticals must be difficult to match up and color correct, but I've seen better jobs in films that came way before this one. Did the film look this mismatched originally in theaters or is it just the DVD? I saw parts of this on TV as a kid, but I don't remember it looking like this.

[–] Enigmatic-Ocean 14 years ago

I have actually wondered about this same thing. I saw it in theaters when it came out and while I remember being in complete awe of the movie, I was only five. So, I don't really remember how it looked. I don't really get how it takes you out of the movie, but that's more of a personal thing. Whenever I see any of the CGI ridden crud that Hollyweird seems intent on forcing down the entire worlds throats I cringe. So, to each his own. I honestly love this movie even with all of it's flaws. I think that it's probably some of the finest stop motion that has ever been filmed.

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[–] VideoKidVsTheVoid 14 years ago

The stop-motion was great, I'm not complaining about that, it's just the visual quality of the film itself and how there is a noticiable difference of brightness in the layers. You can tell how and where the stop-motion part was layered onto the live-action part. It's the bad compositing that I'm talking about, not the stop-motion itself, I love that. I was wondering if the bad compositing was also evident in the theaters or if it is a side-effect of the DVD version. And I agree with you about CGI.

[–] Enigmatic-Ocean 14 years ago

My guess is that it was probably the same in the theater. I have an episode of Monstervision (I don't know if you are familiar with that show)and the host actually says the same thing that the stop motion is probably some of the best ever filmed, but it seems to flip between day and night durring many of the stop motion shots. I have the same problem with my DVD of Dragonslayer. The resolution is so high that you can see where everthing was matted together whereas in my video version you can't. However, that was the fault of the DVD company and not how the movie originally looked.

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[–] smcarter1966 14 years ago

I think the difference in the quality in some the shots has to do with Clash being the first film that Harryhausen had to get an assistant to help him out with doing the DynaMation effects.

That's my opinion, and as always, others may vary.

And by the way, Clash of the Titans is 30 years old today.

Happy 30th anniversary!!!!

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This gun shoots backwards.
I just killed myself.

[–] wbalert 14 years ago

I believe it was released 30 years ago this week. I was there and it was big, beautiful and sounded great. Thanks Ray.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] ContinentalOp 13 years ago

The dragon in 'Dragonslayer' was great, but it was not stop-motion by Go! Motion. The effects in this film, Clash of The Titans, were great and some of the best stop-motion ever filmed. Infact, they look more real than CGI because atleast they are actually solid in the real world and not a computer generated cartoon.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] ContinentalOp 13 years ago

I have not seen 'District 9' but if they are glorified cartoons (CGI), then the answer is probably less. At least stop motion models exist in the real world and have a ''corporeal'' form.

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[–] j-taylor-goddard 13 years ago

Another problem was that there were no real night time shots in the film - they were tinted daytime shots, and are blatantly obvious.

Just look at the dissolve in Joppa from day to night - the clouds don't even move!

Also, if you look at the production stills of the scorpion battle and Pegasus' taming, they are all broad daylight.

[–] prbronx5 12 years ago

I read somewhere that it had to do with the type of film stock used during the filming. One type was used for the live action stuff, making things look a little better. Another stock was used for the stop motion stuff because Harryhausen did this to make the animation appear cleaner. If I remember correctly, he did this on several movies.

It was accidentally done on Valley of Gwangi, causing Gwangi's color to change from green to blue throughout the movie. Maybe he liked how the stop motion looked on one of those particular stocks.

Also, in the 70s and early 80s, film stock was a little subpar and some movies appeared pretty grainy and or dark. Others looked kinda soft or dream like. The bigger budget movies that could afford the quality film looked great. Aliens 1986 was filmed on a cheaper stock and has been the subject of lot of complaints. Of course they pretty much fixed it's issues on the Blu-Ray version.

[–] libertarian45 12 years ago

I paid money to see this mess in the theatre when it was released based on the trailers and some of the great actors involved. I wanted my money back. It was wretched on the big screen. It was (and is) cheesy. I hate that owl which reminds me of that stupid robot dog on Battlestar. I was so very disappointed in 1981. I just watched it again on TV with my son. He enjoyed it and I liked explaining some of the legendary Greek characters to him. Still cheesy, though...

[–] residentevil6901 9 years ago

I don't think it looked bad then nor does it look bad now. Still looks great to me.