The sword and sandal fantasy epic is back this week in the form of Louis Leterrier's latest movie The Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 movie of the same name.
The film sees a return to the big screen for Sam Worthington, who is still basking in the Avatar glory, and he is joined by an all star cast of Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes.
In "Clash of the Titans," the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods.
But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld.
With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.
Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds.
Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at some of those other great sword and sandal fantasy films.
- Jason and the Argonauts
The movie was released way back in 1963 and yet it still remains a classic in this genre of film, was well as leading the way in the special effects department.
Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of Thessaly. When he saves Pelias from drowning, but does not recognize him as the man who had earlier killed his father, Pelias tells Jason to travel to Colchis to find the Golden Fleece.
Jason follows his advice and assembles a sailing crew of the finest men in Greece, including Hercules. They are under the protection of Hera, queen of the gods. Their voyage is replete with battles against harpies, a giant bronze Talos, a hydra, and an animated skeleton army.
Looking back on Jason and the Argonauts is seen as a masterpiece, particularly from a technical perspective.
Ray Harryhausen stop-motion scene's and the use of miniatures were pioneering in terms of special effects, despite them seeming primitive today, at the time they were cutting edge inspiring a generation of filmmakers.
While the acting is great it is the monsters that really steal the show for this film The Hydra, Talos the Bronze Giant and The Harpies but it is the skeleton army that is most remembered.
Jason and the Argonauts' is a tale of love and betrayal, friendship and fortune and nearly 40 years after it was first released it still holds up as one of the classic mythological fantasy which provides a framework for some splendid stop-frame animation.
- Sindbad and the Eye of the Tiger
And Harryhausen's stop motion animation paved the way for other movies that soon followed. It wasn't long before he was working on Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the third Sinbad movie.
Princess Farah refuses to marry Sinbad until Prince Kassim, her brother, is able to give his consent. However, the Prince's wicked stepmother, Queen Zenobia, has changed Kassim into a baboon in order to have her own son crowned as caliph.
Sinbad, his crew, the Princess and the transformed Prince travel to a distant land, fighting every obstacle Zenobia places in their path, to seek the advice of a legendary wise man who can possibly tell how to end the spell.
Once again the stop motion animation work on the movie is the real highlight of the film as Harryhausen developed a whole host of creatures including The Troglodyte.
- Ulysses
The sword and sandal movie seemed to be a favourite of actor Kirk Douglas, going on to star in Spartacus in 1960. However Ulysses, which was released in 1955 saw the actor take on the title role.
Doomed to journey aimlessly across the sea after the Trojan War, Ulysses battles many adversaries on his way home from war to his wife Penelope, where he must meet and master a final challenge.
- Clash of the Titans
The original Clash of the Titans, which was a movie based on the myth of Perseus, was another fantasy film that Ray Harryhausen worked on as his stop motion animation was used once more.
The cast included Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress and acting legend Laurence Olivier, who took on the role of Zeus.
By answering a seemingly impossible riddle, Perseus, the son of Zeus, wins the hand of the Princess Andromeda in marriage. Trouble appears in the shape of Calibos, the princess's former love, and his mother, the Goddess Thetis.
In order that the dreaded Kraken not be released, Andromeda has to be sacrificed and Perseus searches for the Medusa; her head is the only thing that can stop the Kraken.
The movie was a huge box office hit taking $41 million, easily making back it's $16 million budget, it was the eleventh highest grossing movie of 1981.
- 300
The sword and sandal fantasy movie have been very few and far between in recent years, sure we have had the likes of Troy and Gladiator but it's Zack Snyder's 300 that has been the closest to past movies in this genre.
Gerard Butler plays Leonidas, the king of ancient Sparta. The city is famous for its warrior philosophy, and Leonidas won't kneel to the demands of Persia's King Xerxes (Lost's Rodrigo Santoro).
Instead, Leonidas leads his 300-strong army against Xerxes's army of millions. Meanwhile, his wife (Lena Headley) campaigns in Sparta for the city to send reinforcements as she butts heads with the treacherous Theron (Dominic West).
300 broke the record for the biggest opening weekend in the month of March, which was previously held by Ice Age: The Meltdown, grossing over $70 million.
Clash of the Titans is released 2nd April
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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