Clash of the Titans
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- Not to be confused with the Nelvana/Teletoon series, Class of the Titans.
| Clash of the Titans | |
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| Directed by | Desmond Davis |
| Produced by | Ray Harryhausen Charles H. Schneer |
| Written by | Beverley Cross |
| Starring | Laurence Olivier Harry Hamlin Maggie Smith |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | June 12, 1981 |
| Running time | 118 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| IMDb profile | |
Clash of the Titans is a 1981 fantasy movie based on the myth of the boast of Cassiopeia.
Among its stars were Harry Hamlin (as Perseus), Maggie Smith (as Thetis), Claire Bloom (as Hera), Ursula Andress (as Aphrodite), Judi Bowker (as Andromeda), Burgess Meredith (as Ammon), Sian Phillips (as Cassiopeia), and Sir Laurence Olivier (as Zeus).
Stop motion animation is used to a large extent in the film to animate the various monsters. The special effects creatures were created by Ray Harryhausen, who retired from filmmaking shortly after the movie was released.
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[edit] Plot Summary
King Acricius, the ruler of Argos, expresses anger towards Zeus for impregnating his daughter, Princess Danae. He then casts Danae and her infant son Perseus out to sea in a wooden chest. Unknown to everyone, a white bird who witnessed everything was really Poseidon, who informs Zeus of Acricius' unfaithfulness. Zeus orders Poseidon to release a Kraken to destroy Argos. While Argos is completely devastated, Danae and Perseus are safely brought to an island where they live a happy life and Perseus grows up to manhood.
Calibos - the spoiled son of Thetis, Greek Goddess of the Sea - was a handsome young man destined to marry Princess Andromeda, the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia; thus, one day, he would become ruler of the rich city of Joppa and eventually all of Phoenicia. Zeus entrusted Calibos to care for the Wells of the Moon; Calibos instead hunted, trapped and killed everything that lived there, including Zeus’ sacred herd of flying horses, leaving only the stallion Pegasus. As punishment, Zeus transforms Calibos into a monster; thus he is shunned and forced to live as an outcast in the swamps and marshes. Thetis, furious at her son's fate, vows that if Calibos cannot marry Andromeda, then no other man will either.
Perseus is brought by the gods from his island home on Seriphos to Joppa. He learns of Andromeda and her plight: she cannot marry unless her suitor successfully answers a riddle, which is given to her by Calibos. Any suitor that fails to answer the riddle correctly is burned at the stake. Using a number of gifts given him by the gods, including Pegasus and a helmet given to him by Athena that renders its wearer invisible, he discovers the answer to the riddle. Calibos nearly captures him, but Perseus cuts off his hand with a sword (another divine gift, this one from the goddess Aphrodite).
At the next ceremony for a new suitor, Perseus enters and guesses the riddle correctly and presents Calibos's severed hand, winning Andromeda. At the wedding, Queen Cassiopeia foolishly compares Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis herself, which angers the goddess. Thetis demands the life of Andromeda as a sacrifice to a sea monster (the Kraken) in 30 days; otherwise, the Kraken will destroy Joppa.
Perseus seeks a way to defeat the Kraken, who is known as the Last of the Titans (a reference to the race of monsters that pre-dated the gods.) He visits the Stygian Witches, three blind women who disclose that the only hope of survival in combat against the Kraken is by using the head of another monster, Medusa the Gorgon. Medusa, once a beautiful woman, was transformed by a jealous Aphrodite into a monster so horrible that mere eye contact will turn any living creature to stone, including the Kraken. She makes her home on the Isle of the Dead, which lies across the River Styx, at the very edge of the Underworld. Perseus travels there and kills her, removing her head, though he must contend with Calibos along the way - until he is finally killed with Aphrodite's sword (which Perseus had earlier used, fittingly enough, to behead Medusa).
Just as Andromeda is about to be sacrificed to the Kraken, Perseus appears astride Pegasus and turns the Last Titan to stone with Medusa's head, which is then cast into the ocean where it can do no more damage. Perseus frees Andromeda and they live happily ever after. Many years later, after their deaths, the hero and heroine become constellations at the decree of Zeus, who does the same for Pegasus and Cassiopeia.
[edit] Comparison with the Greek myth
There are numerous departures from the original Greek myth of Cassiopeia:
- The sea monster sent to kill Andromeda is called the Kraken, a Scandinavian name. The Greeks called it "Ketos".
- Perseus tames and rides the winged horse Pegasus, a feat that was accomplished in Greek mythology by Bellerophon. In the original myth, Pegasus is born of Medusa's blood when Perseus decapitates her with his sword, and he does not ride Pegasus at all. Nevertheless, portrayals of Perseus riding Pegasus long predate the film.
- Pegasus, along with all of Zeus's winged horses, are red in the original myth.
- The movie shows Perseus throwing Medusa's head into the sea in the end. In the Greek story he first uses it to dispense with an unwelcome wedding guest, then presents it to Athena, who placed it on her shield.
- Bubo, a mechanical owl that flies heavily and tweets and beeps around, was invented for the film. He remarkably resembles the robot R2-D2 of the contemporary Star Wars, but Harryhausen had started work earlier[1].
- No mention is made of Medusa's two sister Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. Also, the home of Medusa is an island in the Underworld, beyond the river Styx, as opposed to the original story, which places her in Libya.
- Dioskilos, the guardian of Medusa's shrine, a ferocious dog with two heads is possibly based on Orthrus or Cerberus.
- Both Medusa and the Kraken were referred to as Titans (hence the title of the movie), but actually neither Medusa nor the Kraken were Titans in the Greek myths.
- Thetis is portrayed as a goddess, not a sea nymph as she is in the myths.
[edit] Trivia
- From an off-screen romance that occurred during the filming of this movie, Hamlin and Andress have a son named Dimitri.
- A scene in which the Kraken rises from the sea can be seen in the introduction of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.
- As of May 1, 2006, writer Travis Beacham is writing a new script for a planned remake of the film. [1] The general plot outline seems to be the same, but a "darker, more realistic" tone is going to be infused into the story.
- The Archie Sonic Comic special Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles shares the same name of the title film but is named "Crash of the Titans".
- A cartoon about teenagers descended from Greek heroes bears the name Class of the Titans, as an homage to the film.
