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This film is one of the reasons for my being a student of the classical world! After being spoiled by the talents of Harryhausen, I just do not get excited about today's CGI effects... Not quite accurate portrayal of Perseus, but that just doesn't affect the enjoyment of this film. Fantastic film, fantastic cast!

This movie used to be on tv all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the battles with Medusa, Calibos, and the Kraken. However, it was only recently that I went back and watched it start to finish. The first act is a little slower, as it turns out. However, once the quest begins, it's non stop fantasy action. Of course, the animation is legendary, with some great character designs. Overall, I have no real criticisms other than the slow start. And be sure not to let the deviations from traditional mythology spoil the fun. That would just be wrong.

One of the all time great sword-n-scorcery movies. All star cast. And to top it all off Ray Harryhausen effects.

I am not here to comment on the admittedly laughable acting. I am not here to ridicule the uninteresting and thoroughly unoriginal storyline. But if anyone, anywhere in the world, endeavours to say a bad word about Ray Harryhausen's special effects, that's where my moral sense of outrage kicks in and I jump into action. Harryhausen's efforts may not closely resemble the flashy, ultrareal CGI-effects we're used to seeing right now. Heck, they may even be primitive for the time they were made in. But darnit, they're vintage! What Harryhausen and his two (that's right, just two!) assistants bring us is unfiltered movie magic, and one of the last true testaments to a dying artform. I know at least a few people who agree with me, which is always a comfort.

I ignored this film when it first came out in 1981. There were just too many cool films to see that year. Friends who saw it told me it was a laughable hoot. Despite it's august cast and attempt to cash in on the mythic quest themes of Star Wars, it rapidly sunk from sight. In 1995, looking for a film appropriate for my 7 year old daughter, I pulled this film out of the 'family' section of my local library. The critics are right. The F/X are clunky, even by 1981 standards.Harry Hamlin is wooden. Judy Bowker is forgettable, and Laurence Olivier hams it up shamelessly...and yet...IT ALL WORKS! The sets and lighting perfectly capture our deepest feellings of mythic Greece. There isn't a drop of contemporary forays into irony & cynicism. It is unalloyed GOOD vs EVIL lovingly given to us by the effects wizard Harryhausen. His monsters have a childlike beauty that makes them 'scary' without trying to gross you out. It's the myth, the quest, and finally the theme that love does conquer all. No need for smart-alecky, eye-winking protaganists. Just a good old fashioned story told straight and true. My now 14yr. old daughter, wife and I just saw it again last night. See it with the child in your life, or the child in you.

Thank you Mr. Harryhausen, for this and all your wonderful films.