Beverley Cross Movies

The eschewing of modern optical effects techniques in favor of the classic stop-motion animation work of special effects legend Ray Harryhausen was a delightful highlight of this action adventure that attempted to give Greek mythology the Star Wars (1977) treatment. Harry Hamlin stars as Perseus, a mortal who, due to the interference of the mighty god Zeus (Laurence Olivier), finds himself in the city of Joppa, far away from his island home. There, he falls in love with Andromeda (Judi Bowker), an imprisoned princess. To free her, win her hand, and thus half of the kingdom, Perseus solves a riddle, but Joppa's enraged ruler orders Andromeda fed to the Kraken, a towering sea monster that's the last of the powerful Titans. In his quest to save Andromeda, Perseus must endure a series of trials with the help of the winged horse Pegasus and a friendly playwright, Ammon (Burgess Meredith). His ultimate goal is to secure the head of the grotesque Gorgon named Medusa and use it to turn the Kraken into stone, but dangers await, including the hideously deformed Calibos (Neil McCarthy). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a six-part BBC presentation first telecast in England in early 1971. After a successful run in Canada, the production settled into a CBS network berth beginning August 1, 1971. Keith Michell stars as King Henry in each of the series' 90-minute installments, which trace the monarch's lives and loves from age 18 to his dotage. The six wives are played by Annette Crosbie (Catherine of Aragon), Dorothy Tutin (Anne Boleyn), Anne Stallybrass (Jane Seymour), Elvi Hale (Anne of Cleves), Angela Pleasence (Catherine Howard), and Rosalie Crutchley (Catherine Parr). Adapted for television by Rosemary Anne Sisson and narrated for its CBS run by Anthony Quayle, The Six Wives of Henry VIII scored a considerable ratings coup, and was rebroadcast on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre in 1972. That same year, Mitchell starred in a related theatrical-film effort, Henry VIII and His Six Wives. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The internationally produced historical epic Genghis Khan sometimes wavers uncertainly between spectacle and self-parody. Though Omar Sharif essays the title role, top billing is bestowed upon Stephen Boyd as Genghis Khan's mentor-turned-enemy Jamuga. It's hard to generate audience sympathy for a Mongolian leader who laid waste to much of the civilized world, but Sharif manages to pull it off. While the battle scenes are impressive, the most memorable sequence involves an outsized fireworks display (which turns out to be a clever bit of military strategy). James Mason is amusing as an epigrammatic Chinese leader, Eli Wallach is appropriately hissable as the film's main villain, and the late Francoise Dorleac is decorative as the romantic bone of contention between Genghis Khan and Jamuga. Most of the film was lensed in Yugoslavia, a country that served as a generic location for many a historical pageant of the 1960s and 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Greek mythology is done up brown by the special-effects expertise of Ray Harryhausen in Jason and the Argonauts. Jason (Todd Armstrong), rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly, is spared from death through the intervention of the goddess Hera (Honor Blackman). The other celestial inhabitants of Mount Olympus watch in amusement as Hera surreptitiously aids Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece. Obstacles to this goal include a giant come-to-life statue named Talos, the screeching harpies plaguing blind prophet Phineas (Patrick Troughton), a set of huge clashing rocks, the seven-headed hydra, and an army of skeletons (this bravura climactic sequence assured Harryhausen's place in the hearts of 13-year-old boys of all ages). Supporting characters include Nancy Kovack as a pre-infanticide Medea and Nigel Green as a pacifistic Hercules. Bernard Herrmann's surging musical score was icing on the cake for this greatest of all Ray Harryhausen creations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi