Clash of the Titans
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Synopsis
Picture 8/10
Arrow Video presents Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans in its 2D version (no 3D) as part of their 4K UHD box set, When Titans Ruled the Earth. The film is presented on a triple-layer disc with a Dolby Vision-enhanced 2160p/24hz encode in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, using a master provided by Warner Bros. Unfortunately, the overall presentation feels held back by the film’s original digital photography and dated CGI, resulting in an image that’s often murky and soft.
Some of the haziness might be deliberate—scenes set in Olympus have an otherworldly, gauzy appearance as though the filmmakers smeared a thick layer of Vaseline over the lens, which works to a degree. But the same fuzzy, flat quality extends to many sequences set on Earth, though not to the same degree. Darker scenes suffer the most, with limited shadow depth and a lack of detail in the blacks, and the CGI is particularly unconvincing. The Medusa hunt is a prime example: her textured scales look lifeless and flat, making an already lackluster scene even duller.
I had hoped HDR would breathe some life into the visuals, but it only manages to clean up gradients and smoky effects. Most of the image remains drab, and even the gods’ shiny armor—seemingly designed to dazzle—fails to impress. Liam Neeson’s Zeus should be blinding with light reflecting off his armor, yet it all looks muted and flat, lacking the dynamic range HDR is meant to provide.
While the film’s 2K finish might contribute to the underwhelming presentation, it doesn’t fully explain the missed opportunity here—other 2K-to-4K upscales, like Arrow’s stunning release of Hugo or even Wrath of the Titans (also included in this set), have proven that 2K sources can still shine in 4K. The encode itself is solid, and I’m confident it outdoes Warner’s Blu-ray edition thanks to better compression, but outside of that, the improvements are minimal. Ultimately, this feels like a serviceable upgrade but not a particularly significant one.
Audio 8/10
Arrow includes the film’s original 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD MA. The audio is sharp and clear, with impressive range and fidelity—exactly what you’d expect from a modern Hollywood blockbuster. The mix is competent but unremarkable, delivering the expected effects without any real surprises. The film’s score and action sequences make full use of the surround channels, with effects directed effectively and well-managed bass, particularly during the Kraken’s arrival. However, while this moment sounds good, I was left wanting a bit more oomph; the mix could have used more channel separation and punchier volume to truly elevate the sequence. Still, for what the film demands, it gets the job done effectively.
Extras 6/10
Arrow’s Warner deal continues to be a curious one, and I find their early selections puzzling, particularly Clash of the Titans and its sequel (even if I’m not a fan, the 1981 original seems a more obvious choice). Given the level of passion Arrow poured into their release of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I thought maybe these were films someone at Arrow had a soft spot for—perhaps even a need to defend. So, I approached the features on this disc hoping to be convinced that this film (and its sequel) deserved the spotlight. Instead, I came away even more perplexed about why Arrow bothered.
The set's only new feature is a 21-minute interview with producer Basil Iwanya. To its credit, it’s a genuinely engaging conversation, with Iwanya reflecting on his childhood love for the original film and sharing behind-the-scenes insights about the project, including the surprising involvement of Lawrence Kasdan during its time in development hell (looking this up, I see it was announced in the trades, but I missed this). He discusses the casting process, the decision to shoot on real locations (a rarity nowadays), and the ill-fated 3D conversion. I saw the film in theaters but can’t recall if it was in 3D—probably for a reason. Iwanya stops short of calling it terrible, but he makes it clear that the film wasn’t shot with 3D in mind, and the conversion, pushed by the studio against Leterrier’s wishes, was widely panned (in his interview for Wrath of the Titans, Iwanya notes this was one reason Leterrier didn’t return to direct).
While the interview offers a more candid perspective than you’d ever get from a studio-produced piece, it’s also the only new content from Arrow. The rest are recycled archival features from Warner’s Blu-ray edition, the most substantial being Harnessing the Gods, a collection of ten making-of featurettes totaling about 35 minutes. These feature interviews with the cast and crew and, while mostly promotional, include some genuinely interesting tidbits about the film’s effects work. Despite heavy CGI, I appreciated their effort to incorporate practical effects where possible, acknowledging CGI’s limitations—something today’s Marvel films seem to overlook. This approach helps explain why one of the film’s standout sequences, the giant scorpion fight, looks as decent as it does.
There’s also a painfully dated 8-minute promotional piece titled Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages, which feels like it was made solely to convince studio execs they’d found their next big star. Additional extras include a trailer that plays like a teaser, a gallery of production photos and poster art, a set of deleted scenes, and an alternate ending. These last couple of items were probably the most interesting of the archival features since they suggest a different narrative direction involving Zeus, with Luke Evans (who barely appears in the final film) originally having a more substantial role. The alternate ending was also clearly dumped as they were working on it as most of it features incomplete effects.
Why was it changed? I have no idea because this is never brought up. The absence of deeper insight into these changes—or much of anything else—makes this release feel half-hearted. Arrow has delved far deeper into their other recent Warner title, like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., sometimes to an almost obsessive degree, and has also given even the most dire films thorough attention. Here, it seems like they just couldn’t be bothered. Maybe licensing restrictions played a role, as they did with Arrow’s release of Cruising, but whatever the case, if you’re expecting the usual exhaustive treatment Arrow is known for, you’re likely to be disappointed.
Closing
This release feels like an odd, half-hearted effort from Arrow: slap on an existing, underwhelming master and recycle old bonus features. For fans of the film simply looking for a slight visual upgrade, there’s little doubt this looks better than the Blu-ray, but beyond that, there’s hardly a compelling reason to pick this set up for this film alone.
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