Clash of the Titans is a 1981 British-American heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Desmond Davis and written by Beverley Cross which retells the Greek mythological story of Perseus. It stars Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier. The film features the final work of stop motion visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen. It was released on June 12, 1981 and grossed $41 million at the North American box office, which made it the 11th highest-grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film by Alan Dean Foster was published in 1981.
Warner Bros. released a 3D remake on April 2, 2010.
Video Clash of the Titans (1981 film)
Plot
King Acrisius of Argos imprisons his daughter Danaë, jealous of her beauty. When the god Zeus impregnates her, Acrisius banishes his daughter and his newborn grandson Perseus to sea in a wooden chest. In retribution, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders Poseidon to release the last of the Titans, a gigantic sea monster called the Kraken, to destroy Argos. Danaë and Perseus safely float to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.
Calibos, evil son of the sea goddess Thetis, is engaged to marry Princess Andromeda, daughter of Queen Cassiopeia of Joppa; but for committing several atrocities against Zeus, including destroying Zeus's sacred flying horses (excepting only Pegasus), Zeus transforms Calibos into a deformed monstrous creature. In revenge, Thetis transports an adult Perseus from Seriphos to an abandoned amphitheater in Joppa, where he befriends an elderly poet named Ammon and learns that Andromeda is under a curse and cannot marry unless her suitor, upon the threat of execution if he fails, successfully answers a riddle concocted by Calibos. Zeus sends Perseus a god-crafted helmet from Athena which makes its wearer invisible, a magical sword from Aphrodite, and a shield from Hera. Perseus, wearing the helmet, captures Pegasus and follows Calibos' giant vulture carrying off Andromeda's spirit during her sleep to learn the next riddle. Perseus is discovered and nearly killed by Calibos, but manages to sever one of Calibos' hands, losing his helmet in the process.
The next morning, Perseus presents himself as suitor and correctly answers the riddle, winning Andromeda's hand in marriage. Finding that Thetis cannot act against Perseus, Calibos instead demands that she takes vengeance on Joppa. At the wedding, Queen Cassiopeia compares Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis herself, whereupon Thetis demands Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken on pain of Joppa's destruction. Perseus seeks a way to defeat the Kraken, but Pegasus is captured by Calibos and his men. Zeus commands Athena to give Perseus her owl Bubo; but she orders Hephaestus to build a golden replica of Bubo instead, who leads Perseus to the Stygian Witches. By taking their magic eye, Perseus forces them to reveal that the only way to defeat the Kraken is by using the head of Medusa, who lives on an island in the River Styx at the edge of the Underworld. The next day, the group continues on their journey without Andromeda and Ammon, who return to Joppa.
On the Gorgon's island, Perseus fights and kills Medusa's guardian, a two-headed dog named Dioskilos. Perseus then enters the Gorgon's lair, where he uses the reflective underside of his shield to deceive Medusa, decapitate her, and collect her head; but the shield is dissolved by her caustic blood. As Perseus and his party set to return, Calibos enters their camp and punctures the cloak carrying Medusa's head, causing her blood to spill and produce three giant scorpions. Calibos and the scorpions attack and kill Perseus' remaining escorts, but Perseus overcomes the scorpions and thereafter kills Calibos.
Weakened by his struggle, Perseus sends Bubo to rescue Pegasus from Calibos' henchmen and reaches the amphitheater in Joppa, where he collapses from exhaustion. Andromeda is shackled to the sea cliffs outside Joppa, and the Kraken itself is summoned. Bubo diverts the Kraken's attention until Perseus, whose strength was secretly restored by Zeus, appears on Pegasus. In the subsequent battle, Perseus petrifies the Kraken with Medusa's head, causing it to crumble to pieces. He then tosses the head into the sea, frees Andromeda, and marries her.
The gods predict that Perseus and Andromeda will live happily, rule wisely, and produce children, and Zeus forbids the other gods to pursue vengeance against them. The constellations of Perseus, Andromeda, Pegasus, and Cassiopeia are created in their honor.
Maps Clash of the Titans (1981 film)
Cast
- Harry Hamlin as Perseus
- Judi Bowker as Andromeda
- Burgess Meredith as Ammon
- Maggie Smith as Thetis
- Siân Phillips as Cassiopeia
- Claire Bloom as Hera
- Ursula Andress as Aphrodite
- Laurence Olivier as Zeus
- Pat Roach as Hephaestus
- Susan Fleetwood as Athena
- Tim Pigott-Smith as Thallo
- Jack Gwillim as Poseidon
- Neil McCarthy as Calibos
- Vida Taylor as Danaë
- Donald Houston as Acrisius
- Flora Robson, Anna Manahan and Freda Jackson as the Stygian Witches
Production
In 1978, Andor Films submitted a copy of the script to the British Board of Film Classification, seeking advice on how to secure either a "U" or an "A" certificate. The draft script included scenes which the BBFC considered would not be acceptable under those certificates, including the Kraken tearing Pegasus to pieces and Andromeda being naked during the climax of the film. Changes to the script and, on submission, some cuts to Perseus' final battle with Calibos were made and the film secured the "A" certificate: "Those aged 5 and older admitted, but not recommended for children under 14 years of age".
Ray Harryhausen used stop motion animation to create the various creatures in the film, including Calibos, his vulture, Pegasus, Bubo the mechanical owl, Dioskilos, Medusa, the scorpions, and the Kraken. Harryhausen was also co-producer of the film, and retired from film-making shortly after it was released. Despite Bubo's similarities to the droid R2-D2 of the 1977 film Star Wars, Harryhausen claimed Bubo was created before Star Wars was released. The BBFC, reviewing the film for certification in 1981, said Harryhausen's effects were well done and would give entertainment to audiences of all ages, but might appear a little "old hat" to those familiar with Star Wars and Superman.
Columbia Pictures were initially set to distribute the film having made most of Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer's films, but after a change of guard at the studio, they dropped the project during pre-production, leading to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to pick it up instead.
Stars Harry Hamlin and Ursula Andress were romantically involved at the time of production. Their son, Dimitri, was born in 1980 after filming was completed, and their relationship ended in 1982.
Jack Gwillim, who appeared as Poseidon, had earlier played the role of King Aeëtes in the original Jason and the Argonauts in 1963.
The film's screenwriter, Beverley Cross, was married to Maggie Smith, who played Thetis, until his death in 1998. Cross worked with producer Charles H. Schneer before, writing the screenplay for Schneer's production of Jason and the Argonauts.
Reception
Clash of the Titans was released on June 12, 1981. By the time it finished its theatrical run, it had grossed $41,000,000 in North America.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 40 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A goofy, old-school sword-and-sandal epic, Clash of the Titans mines Greek mythology for its story and fleshes it out with Ray Harryhausen's charmingly archaic stop-motion animation techniques."
In a book published in 2000, Stephen R. Wilk suggested that "most people today who are aware of the story of Perseus and Medusa owe their knowledge to...Clash of the Titans."
Locations
Other locations include:
- Cornwall, United Kingdom.
- The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, at Pinewood Studios, United Kingdom.
- Paestum, Italy
Legacy
The four-issue comic book mini-series Wrath of the Titans (2007), released by TidalWave Productions as part of their Ray Harryhausen Signature Series, picked up the story 5 years after the events of the film.
The 3D remake Clash of the Titans (2010) and its sequel Wrath of the Titans (2012) were released by the property's current rights holder Warner Bros.
See also
- List of stop motion films
- List of historical drama films
- Greek mythology in popular culture
References
External links
- Official website
- Clash of the Titans at AllMovie
- Clash of the Titans on IMDb
- Clash of the Titans at Box Office Mojo
- Clash of the Titans at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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