The significance of the Rosenthal score lies in the fact that, like Herrmann, Rozsa, Goldsmith, Newman, the music is the creation of a man grounded firmly in music theory, discipline and history. He has knowledge of not just notes, keys and time signatures, but origins, modes, familiarity with the lives and passions of composers past, upon whose legacy all music still rests. So much of what passes for film music in recent years reflects the lack of discipline, the mere arrangement of chords and cue episodes without thematic unity, without any attempt to underpin the images on the screen save to envelope them in some fabric of sound design. Ex-rockers and Wagner wannabes composing in committee, whose scores resemble the stuff more aptly suited to cartoon musical highjinks, claim false heritage when they lump themselves among the men of the Golden and Silver Age of film composition. Rosenthal, and musicians like him, create fully half a film’s worth, or impact, with a contribution essential to the story unfolding for the viewer. Media Ventures types are backup bands. It is important to remember just how profound a score by someone like Waxman can get, compared to the humming and strumming of the music technicians now developing in the age of Bruckheimer.

If ever a movie score deserved a complete release, so that one might study the progression of themes, how they grow one out of the other, evolving and augmented through parallel key or harmonics or polyphony, concepts beyond the guitar-trained chord arrangers, it is Rosenthal’s Clash of the Titans. A case in point is the “sinister” theme that haunts the film, starting with the crime of King Acrisius, a theme developed then related to the Perseus/Andromeda romance which eventually conquers all, to be set in the stars forever as a sign of hope. The theme is heard under the goddesses discussing the conceits of Zeus just before the Kraken’s destruction of Argos, as Zeus toys with his replicas of mortals. Also, when the vulture is dispatched by Calibos to collect the spirit of Andromeda. This theme is woven and developed throughout the movie until the climax, where its apotheosis into the love theme is finally triumphant. Here is compositional skill equal to the great 19th Century masters, a talent beyond the capability of the untrained, unappreciative, unknowledgable.

Thus, closer attention paid to Rosenthal’s music for this wonderful movie is instructive on so many levels. Among film composers he is himself a Titan. And again I can only hope that a complete Special Edition of the score will one day appear for all of us to enjoy...as Zeus would say of his stars: “Forever!”
www.conversations.org/rosenthal.htm

Besides, the "star" of this movie was Ray Harryhausen stop motion special effects. He did the film to show that there was still a place for this kind of effect film in a post Star Wars Hollywood. Unfortunately, the expense of stop motion animation and the hash of Greek mythology that he served up proved him wrong.

One can only wonder what he thinks of all the CGI critters that would have been stop motion 30 years ago.

While Clash Of The Titans didn't perform as well at the boxoffice as its rival Raiders Of The Lost Ark (opening the same day), Clash was a huge boxoffice success for M-G-M that year, and Harryhausen himself earned millions, insuring that his retirement would be quite comfortable.

In my estimation, Clash Of The Titans features the best and the worst of Harryhausen in the same picture!

But...it DID make a lot of money.

"He did the film to show that there was still a place for this kind of effect film in a post Star Wars Hollywood."

Excuse me...but Star Wars (1977) was released at the very same time as Harryhausen's Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger. By that time, Harryhausen was already well into production of his next project, Clash Of The Titans.
He wasn't trying to prove anything...he was simply producing another film as usual.

quote:

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In my estimation, Clash Of The Titans features the best and the worst of Harryhausen in the same picture!

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Excuse me, I am not saying you don't have the straight skinny, but what do you base your claim of financial success on?

IMDB only lists the budget at 15 million. What is your source for the revenue of this picture? My evidence is mostly anecdotal so I would love to have a more firm source either way.

As for pre-production I suppose it could have started as early as 1977 but that would mean that it took about 4 years to get from preproduction to screen. That’s a pretty long lead time for a picture like this. If it did take that long, or longer, I have to wonder if this was indeed the last gasp of stop motion effects. Outside of The Nightmare before Christmas, I can’t think of any other films that made major use of this technique since Clash. If the picture was successful how come he never made any after it?

Let me say one thing. I do like this picture, I just feel that it was a final effort by a master in field who discovered that time has passed him by. I definitely feel a lack of vibrancy and presence in COTT that was clearly present in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and First Men in the Moon.

Monkey:

Indeed. McNeely certainly deserves credit for YIJ. That aside, you can certainly tell the difference between McNealy and Rosenthal on the discs, especially after you spin Titans.

IMDB only lists the budget at 15 million. What is your source for the revenue of this picture? My evidence is mostly anecdotal so I would love to have a more firm source either way.-------

Chris is absolutely correct. Like myself, he is a big Harryhausen fan and he probably read this information from articles or books on Ray and Clash of the Titans. One source for this information on it's box office: the magazine Cinefantastique. The 1999 Double Issue was completely dedicated to stop-motion animation, and in an article about Harryhausen's career from 1971-81, it states that Clash of the Titans made a lot of money, but it didn't make $200 Million like the other 'blockbusters' it was surrounded by. It does state that it generated many bad reviews though...too bad films these days like Spy Kids 2 and Harry Potter get away with so much awful effects and lazy scripts and yet they make big money and generate a immense amount of critical praise. Too bad the advent of CGI has caused so many films to go under. The creatures from Spy Kids 2 are truly ridiculous and awful (the designs are good, but the execution is so poor...these creatures were not meant to be brought to life by the means of CGI...but they're using it because everyone else is...HEAVEN FORBID THEY USE STOP-MOTION TO HOMAGE HARRYHAUSEN) and I can't believe people are calling the Spy Kids CGI cutting edge. Makes me sick.

-side note-

Surely, this is the only film in which a well recognized actress, Ursula Andress, receives star billing and yet only has one line of dialogue. Absurd as it may seem, I'd be interested to see the Olympus scenes left on the cutting room floor.