The myth movies of Ray Harryhausen privilege roles for the gods since both Harry-hausen and Cross realized at an early stage in the films’ development that the driving force behind the Greek stories is the gods - their capriciousness, their irresponsibility, their shallowness, their cruelty. The cinema audience identifies so strongly with on-screen heroes like Jason and Perseus because they know that they are dealing with forces beyond our control, above our mortal capabilities. In this way, Jason and Perseus - heroes who do not play a significant role in Homeric epics per se - are given Homeric epic qualities on screen owing to their direct involvement with the gods. The gods give the films their structure and force. Realizing this, let the final word go to Roger Ebert who, writing in the Chicago Sunday Times in April 1980, commented:
The Clash of the Titans is the kind of movie they aren’t supposed to be making anymore: a grand and glorious romantic adventure, filled with quarrelling gods, brave heroes, beautiful heroines, fearsome monsters, and awe-inspiring duels to the death. It has faith in a story-telling tradition that sometimes seems almost forgotten, a tradition depending upon legends and myths, magical swords, enchanted shields, invisible helmets, and the overwhelming power of the gods.
GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
There are few books that tackle cinema’s response to Greek myth and religion directly, although Solomon’s excellent study (2001) contains a comprehensive account (chapter 3) of Greek and Roman mythology in American and European movies. He also analyzes the popularity of the peplum movies mass-produced in Italy throughout the 1950s and 1960s side by side with the art-house genre of classically inspired films made by the greats of European cinema in the same period. Disconcertingly, but accurately, he notes (2001:131) that ‘‘a truly superb film of ancient Greek myth still waits to be made.’’ Winkler’s thought-provoking work (2001) combines film theory and the classics to re-examine mythic or classical resonances in films as diverse as Star Wars, 9 to 5, The Usual Suspects, and Chinatown. For a stimulating approach to film and (Christian) religion I recommend Walsh 2003, especially the first chapter, ‘‘Telling Sacred Stories in Cathedral Cinemas,’’ which explores the correlation between cinema-going and divine worship. Of particular importance for this current chapter are two recently published, lavishly illustrated books on the work of Ray Harryhausen, both written by Harryhausen himself with the aid of Tony Dalton. Harryhausen and Dalton 2003 is a thorough chronological record of all of Harryhausen’s work and includes discussions not only of his animation techniques but also the wider context of fantasy movies. Two separate, and detailed, chapters are given over to Jason and the Argonauts and The Clash of the Titans. Harryhausen and Dalton 2005 is a beautifully illustrated compendium of original sketches, model work, and film stills chronicling Harryhausen’s complete oeuvre; chapter 7 (‘‘Zeus Complex’’) is given over to the films discussed here.
World History
