Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 5, 2024

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of the When Titans Ruled the Earth release from Arrow Video.

Maybe sometimes "new and improved" turns out to be neither. 1981's Clash of the Titans is probably not considered a "classic" by large hordes of film goers, but it offers the final work of special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, and so has understandably entered the annals of beloved cinematic experiences for a certain demographic. It's not hard to imagine that among that group was Basil Iwanyk, who co-produced both films in this new set from Arrow and who is on hand in interviews offered as supplements on both discs, and he at least alludes to his desire to "update" the original film with the blandishments of then state of the art CGI. The result was big, noisy and, yes, filled with some at least intermittently impressive visual effects, but that still left critics cold (you know how they can be), even as ticket buyers lined up in droves and made Clash of the Titans an enormous international success. That of course led to Wrath of the Titans, which attempted to be bigger, noisier, and more consistently impressive, but which was met with the same critical approbation as the first film was. The sequel did manage to rake in over 300 million globally, but its budget was so immense that it may not have shown an "official" profit, leading to the cancellation of what had been announced as a third effort in the nascent series. Both of the "updated" Titans films were released on both 2D and 3D Blu-ray well over a decade ago, but Arrow has aggregated the two films together now, offering them in either 1080 or 4K UHD, and with Arrow's typically bounteous supply of bonus features and non disc swag in another really handsomely packaged release.

As mentioned above, both of the films in this set were released in 1080 years ago in both 2D and 3D presentations. Those interested in plot summaries and analyses of what the original release offered in terms of technical merits and supplements are encouraged to read Ken Brown's Clash of the Titans Blu-ray review for details.

Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Clash of the Titans is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow provides the same insert booklet for both its 1080 and 4K UHD releases, with the following information on the transfers:

Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans have been remastered by Arrow Films. Clash of the Titans is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with 5.1 audio. Wrath of the Titans is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 audio. On the 4K UHD release of the films are presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. On the Blu-ray release, the films are presented in standard dynamic range.

The 2K DI feature master data was supplied by Warner Brothers. The films were restored and graded at Duplitech.

Ken was generally if not totally pleased with the older Warner Brothers video presentation, but I doubt many will quibble with the upgrades on tap in this new Arrow iteration. A side by side comparison of screenshots shows that this version is just slightly darker and I'd argue better suffused. Ken thought there may have been some filtering applied to the Warner release, but I certainly saw no signs of that tendency here, though I will say, as I discuss in our Clash of the Titans 4K Blu-ray review, the grain field is very tightly resolved (which I think is a plus, frankly). Detail levels are typically excellent, and to my eyes the CGI looks more artful in this effort than in the sequel, at least at times. Fine detail on practical sets and costumes is typically precise looking throughout, with the possible exception of some of the most dimly lit material.

Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ken really loved the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the old Warner Brothers disc, and while I'm assuming the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on this disc is more or less identical to the old one, I'm just slightly "demoting" Ken's score by half a point, if only because in the intervening years since this film's release, other superceding "epic" soundtracks, especially those of the Atmos variety, may have spoiled me somewhat. That said, there is near constant immersion offered here, and as Ken mentions in his review, there's both really excellent discrete channelization and washes of panning effects and other swirling sounds throughout any number of the action sequences. While unabashedly "busy" at times, the track is very well prioritized, and dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional ENglish subtitles are available.

Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

With the exception of Maximum Movie Mode, Arrow has ported over the supplements from the older 1080 release from Warner Brothers, as well as offering one new supplement. See Ken's Clash of the Titans Blu-ray review for more details on the repeated supplements.

• Scaling Mount Olympus (HD; 20:45) is the first part of a newly produced interview with producer Basil Iwanyk (the second part can be found on Wrath of the Titans).


• Harnessing the Gods (HD; 35:05) is a set of archival behind the scenes featurettes. See the Focus Points list in Ken's review for details.


• Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages (HD; 7:58)


• Alternate Ending (HD; 5:23)


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 18:12)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:10)


• Image Gallery (HD)

See the When Titans Ruled the Earth Blu-ray review for more non disc supplements.

Clash of the Titans Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If updated special effects are your thing, you may well prefer this version of Perseus' tale to the older one with those "old school" Harryhausen effects. This effort has pretty much everything that money can buy, including an A list cast, but it's still kind of listless a lot of the time. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very appealing, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.