Clash of the Titans, the classic of 1980’s action/adventure films is getting a remake with modern day special effects.

In 1981, Clash of the Titans hit the theaters, and it was pretty much the event film of the year.  From the stellar cast which included the likes of Sir Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith and more, to the fully realized mythic creatures, I doubt there was a boy in grade school who didn’t rush to the theater to see it.

I was 9-years-old when I first saw it, and I remember being blown away by the creature special effects.  Sure they were a bit jumpy, but even then I was aware of stop motion animation, and I knew how much work each movement of the creatures was.  This was where I really fell in love with special effects, and especially with the work of Ray Harryhausen.

Mr. Harryhausen was the undisputed king of stop motion during its hey day, and Clash of the Titans was like his magnum opus.  From dealing with Pegasus to the Kraken, everything in the film was an amazing piece of work.  This isn’t to say he didn’t have other amazing works (the Sinbad movies, Jason and the Argonauts and so on), but you could tell he poured his soul into this movie.

Now, as with everything in Hollywood, it’s being remade.  While I normally freak out about remakes, this one isn’t bothering me that much.  The original was a special effects showcase with a decent story, so there isn’t any reason why this one can’t do the same with some 9-year-old out there and ignite their love affair with film.  Sure stop motion is pretty much a dead art form, but you never know if the next CGI whiz isn’t sitting out there.

Here is the just released teaser trailer for the new film:

And just for fun, the trailer for the 1981 original: