Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Clash of the Titans (1981) (1 Viewer)

[Brandon Conway]

Indeed. What they do just in TV nowadays blatantly trumps anything in big budget film from 25-30 years ago.

 

[Bryan^H]

Just finished watching it.
I'm impressed with the presentation. The grain in a few scenes was a bit much, but they were few and far between. The scene with the gods toward the beginning was unusually soft, but overall the video image was sharp and the color was rich, and vivid. Oddly enough one of the darkest scenes in the film(The lair of Calibos) had stunning detail, and stood out for me as the high point of the presentation.
The audio was a little low(had to raise the volume quite a bit) compared to other Blu-Ray discs. Sounded great though.
Very happy with this purchase. Well worth the upgrade.

 

[John Morgan]

I don't understand the two track only stereo on this release? Wasn't every legit stereo film at least three front channels, not counting any surrounds? And should one engage their Dolby Pro Logic to get the theatrical sound layout? I would think by 1981, every stereo film had some sort of surround.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Originally Posted by John Morgan

I don't understand the two track only stereo on this release? Wasn't every legit stereo film at least three front channels, not counting any surrounds? And should one engage their Dolby Pro Logic to get the theatrical sound layout? I would think by 1981, every stereo film had some sort of surround.

Many films did have surround sound, but it was matrix-encoded stereo decoded through some sort of prologic processor. Except in cases where separate elements already exist, Warner's practice for Blu-ray has been to offer lossless encoding of the original stereo tracks. They've done this with films released considerably later than Clash of the Titans (e.g., Dead Calm).

As I've said elsewhere, I'd prefer to have the original mix left alone, unless there are (a) original stems to work from, and (b) sufficient time and money to do a remix properly, preferably with input from the original creative team. Too many 5.1 remixes come out sounding hollow and artificial, with little or no sonic improvement (at least to my ear).

 

[John Morgan]

Ahhh, I see. I had thought all films that ended up with the decoding into center and rear were initially done for a discreet 4 track master that then went to the encoding process. So does this mean we should turn on our matrix option to hear the film as it was heard in the theaters or keep it two track stereo?

Originally Posted by Michael Reuben




Many films did have surround sound, but it was matrix-encoded stereo decoded through some sort of prologic processor. Except in cases where separate elements already exist, Warner's practice for Blu-ray has been to offer lossless encoding of the original stereo tracks. They've done this with films released considerably later than Clash of the Titans (e.g., Dead Calm).

As I've said elsewhere, I'd prefer to have the original mix left alone, unless there are (a) original stems to work from, and (b) sufficient time and money to do a remix properly, preferably with input from the original creative team. Too many 5.1 remixes come out sounding hollow and artificial, with little or no sonic improvement (at least to my ear).

 

[Michael Reuben]

Originally Posted by John Morgan

Ahhh, I see. I had thought all films that ended up with the decoding into center and rear were initially done for a discreet 4 track master that then went to the encoding process. So does this mean we should turn on our matrix option to hear the film as it was heard in the theaters or keep it two track stereo?

There must be some instances where 4-track masters still exist, but who knows how much of that stuff was preserved or what shape it's in? (This was the analog era, after all.) And while I don't have this particular disc, I would certainly try the matrix option, especially now that we have DPL2.

 

[Citizen87645]

Movie Haiku

Gods give Perseus
Helmet, sword and shield to fight
But he's saved by wits

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Originally Posted by Cameron Yee

Movie Haiku

Gods give Perseus
Helmet, sword and shield to fight
But he's saved by wits

Harry Hamlin
Looks like a goof
Princess got great butt

 

[dpippel]

Colin - 5-7-5

 

[dpippel]

Clash of the Titans
Cheesy effects with big heart
Needs better Blu-ray

 

[Worth]

The original photography and optical printing leave a lot to be desired, but I don't see how the blu-ray could be much better, short of going back to the elements (if they still exist) and re-compositing everything digitally.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Originally Posted by dpippel /forum/thread/298642/htf-blu-ray-review-clash-of-the-titans-1981#post_3668595

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by Worth

The original photography and optical printing leave a lot to be desired, but I don't see how the blu-ray could be much better, short of going back to the elements (if they still exist) and re-compositing everything digitally.

That wouldn't be possible with many of the effect shots. In many cases Harryhausen would photograph some live action first, then rear project it into his miniature set, and advance it one frame at a time along with his puppets.

In other cases, something would be photographed with part of the frame blacked out, then the film would be rolled back to the start in the camera, the exposed side blocked out, and something new photographed on the unexposed side. So many of these effects shots are done in camera. There is nothing to re-composite.

I believe there are some shots that use opticals, but I don't know how many.
Doug

 

According to a review on dvdtalk, there is a line missing from the blu-ray. At 12:07, Zeus opens his mouth but nothing is on the soundtrack. He is supposed to say, "She's a honey." I guess the line is on the other language tracks. Odd.

 

[Brandon Conway]

The EN SDH subtitles say "[Inaudible Dialogue]."

 

I find it odd that he would say what it states in the review. She's a honey? The dvd did not have the line either.

 

[Brandon Conway]

And for what it's worth, none of the 7 audio dubs on the disc have the line.