I’ve always been a fan of fantasy and to a lesser extent sci-fi. There’s something about mythology, heroes, dragons, monsters, wizard and magic that I love. In 1981 I saw Clash of the Titans at the pictures. To the best of my knowledge and memory (which, if this series of posts is anything to go by, has been proven to be weak) this was the first film, or certainly one of the very first films, I went to see without immediate family. So I guess I went with some friends.
I certainly remember feeling grown up, but my lasting movie memory was the opening few minutes. There was a beach, and along it walked a naked woman. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in a cinema, and there was a naked woman on the screen!
Titans in the UK had an A rating, which when I started writing this post I thought meant it was suitable for 15’s and over only, but according to Wikipedia’s history of BBFC ratings meant it was ok for anyone over 5 to go in alone, with parental advice that it might contain scenes not suitable for anyone under 14. So I would have been 10 in 1981 when it was relased.
Of course I loved the mythology and I was scared by the Medusa and relieved when her head was removed and disgusted to find it was in a bag, and then amazed by the mechanical owl. But mostly, I remember the woman on the beach.
Ooh. Clash of the Titans. I saw that at a drive-in theatre in Michigan one summer with my (all-girl, almost all-older) cousins. Even better, it was a double-feature with the Bo Derek “Tarzan, the Ape Man” movie.