When Titans Ruled The Earth: ‘Clash Of The Titans’ & ‘Wrath Of The Titans’ Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review

The ultimate struggle for power. Men against kings, kings against gods. From such conflict legends are born!

In Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of a god but raised as a man, is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson), king of the gods, and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, can Perseus accept his power and defy fate to create his own destiny?

Wrath of the Titans picks up ten years on from his heroic battle with the monstrous Kraken, with Perseus now living a quiet life by the sea with his young son. But war is raging between the gods and the Titans, and Perseus learns of a treacherous plan for world domination by his power-hungry uncle Hades and godly half-brother Ares (Édgar Ramírez). No longer able to ignore his calling, Perseus joins forces with warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy) to enter the underworld, rescue the banished Zeus and overthrow the Titans once and for all.

A star-studded cast delivers legendary performances under the direction of Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) and Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, Battle: Los Angeles) in two action-packed tales of mythic high adventure.

For thoughts on Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Arrow Video presents Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans with terrific 2160p transfers in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio for Clash and 1.85:1 for Wrath. These have been newly remastered by Arrow Video and presented in 4K resolution graded in HDR10/Dolby Vision. Even with the 2K DI origins, the upscale to 4K resolution is a fortunate benefit to these features that are executed with a fantastic encode. These films were previously released by Warner Bros. on Blu-Ray in the early 2010s, but we only have this disc for Wrath to compare, and this upgrade is a good one. 

With films as visually busy with tons of stylized special effects and discrete details, you want them to have a blockbuster presentation to make them sing. The level of discrete detail and clarity on display in the non-CGI environments is exciting as you soak in every facet of the historical costume designs and ornate production elements. The craft perspective alone is worth the price of admission, and this presentation puts them on their highest level of display. The CGI is not always flawless, but it renders as well as the source will allow. This world feels tactile and three-dimensional thanks to the robust depth of field. 

Dolby Vision brings the heat with its dynamic color output that takes the earthy palette and finds more faithful saturation. The palette is locked into its ideal shade that may not be a Technicolor spectacle but looks nice all the same. The new master features some flourishes within the lighting and production design that unleash a pleasing amount of depth. Everything is deftly suffused in this transfer to immerse you in this heightened world. The disc handles contrast with ease. Black levels are perfectly deep with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights show no signs of blooming. This transfer reveals nothing in terms of damage or unwanted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. Arrow Video has done right by these tentpole fantasy films.  

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray set comes with a mighty DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track for each film that delivers a formidable experience, but there will be enthusiasts who understandably bemoan the lack of a Dolby Atmos track. It does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity to not give the audio an upgrade along with the video, but the original 5.1 track sounds pretty incredible. The franchise is nearly wall-to-wall with big action showcases that put the low end to work with a palpable bass response. The films are replete with environmental effects that engage the surround speakers making you feel as if you are in the thick of the action. 

The weighty sound design is just as important to the experience as the cavalcade of special effects, and this track brings it to life with effortless skill. The track has a complex and precise sense of directionality with sounds always springing from the appropriate channels. Dialogue comes through clearly in the front channel without being trounced by any sound effects or the score. The epic score from Ramin Djawadi and Javier Navarrete sets the stage for this journey which fills the room effectively. There are no missteps with fidelity or damage to the track. This audio presentation is excellent work from Arrow Video even if some fans may want more. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. 

Special Features

The first pressing of the Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-Ray of When Titans Ruled The Earth includes a 60-page bound booklet featuring new writing by author and critic Guy Adams and film scholar Josh Nelson. These both provide great insight into the film, the creatives, and the behind-the-scenes details in a thoughtfully written style. The release also comes with a double-sided fold-out poster for each film and six postcard-sized artcards. The on-disc special features are as follows: 

Clash Of The Titans

• Scaling Mount Olympus: A new 21-minute interview with producer Basil Iwanyk in which he discusses his childhood love of Greek mythology, why he wanted to remake Clash of the Titans, the development of the script by Travis Beacham, why Stephen Norrington did not work out as the director, what Louis Leterrier brought to the production, the pressure Sam Worthington put on himself, the emotional support given to Liam Neeson following the loss of his wife, the importance of The Kraken, and more. 

• Harnessing The Gods: A multi-part archival featurette totaling 35 minutes is provided that looks at the characters, the design of the monsters, the shooting locations, the stunt work, and much more that gives you great insight into the production process.

• • Sam Worthington Is Perseus (3:45)

• • Zeus: Father of Gods and Men (2:20)

• • Enter the World of Hades (3:32)

• • Calibos: The Man Behind The Monster (2:59)

• • Tenerife: A Continent On An Island (4:26)

• • Scorpioch (4:08)

• • Actors and Their Stunts (3:49)

• • Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape (2:33)

• • Bringing Medusa To Life (3:49)

• • Prepare For The Kraken! (3:57)

• Sam Worthington – An Action Hero for the Ages: An eight-minute archival featurette that takes a look at the fearless efforts of actor Sam Worthington. 

• Alternate Ending: A nearly six-minute alternate ending is provided that seemingly fits better with Wrath of the Titans. 

• Deleted Scenes: There are 18 minutes of unused footage provided that did not make the final cut of the film. 

• Theatrical Trailer: The minute-long trailer is provided. 

• Image Gallery: A selection of stills from the production of the film is provided. 

Wrath Of The Titans

• Unleashing The Beasts: Another 14-minute interview with producer Basil Iwanyk in which he discusses the delayed development of the sequel, the lessons they learned from the first film, the change in tone for the follow-up, why Louis Leterrier did not return, the refined confidence of Sam Worthington, the recasting of Andromeda, and more. 

• Path Of The Gods: A multi-part archival featurette totaling 13 minutes is provided that looks behind the scenes of the production process.

• • Who Are The Titans? (3:22)

• • Hephaestus: God of Fire (2:36)

• • Lost In Tartarus’ Labyrinth (2:53)

• • Creatures of the Titans (4:04)

• Path Of Men: A multi-part archival featurette totaling 22 minutes is provided that looks behind the scenes of the production process.

• • Battling The Chimera (3:56)

• • Agenor: The Other Demi-God (3:02)

• • The Cyclops Fight (3:36)

• • Prison Of The Titans (3:48)

• • Minotaur: The Human Nightmare (3:04)

• • The Heavens Raise Hell on Earth (4:28)

• Deleted Scenes: There are three unused scenes totaling 11 minutes of unused footage provided that did not make the final cut of the film. These are not presented in finished form. 

• Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided. 

• Image Gallery: A selection of stills from the production of the film is provided. 

Final Thoughts

Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans are a prime example of mindless popcorn entertainment. The films have a myriad of issues in terms of character development and plotting as it relates to actual Greek mythology, but you still mostly have fun while you are watching due to the sheer ambition and the amazing actors that they have collecting a paycheck. These films also mercifully cut the fat and keep these epic stories at a reasonable runtime to avoid fatigue. They are not films we are willing to put on for any occasion, but we might just pull them off the shelf when we want something loud, dumb, and not related to comic books. Arrow Video has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a magnificent A/V presentation and a nice balance of new and archival special features. If you love the series, this is the ultimate way to own it. Recommended 

When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash of the Titans & Wrath of the Titans will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray on August 13, 2024. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray. 

Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.