CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)

CLASH OF THE TITANS is a 1981 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Desmond Davis and written by Beverley Cross, loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Starring 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.

Co-produced between the United States and United Kingdom, it was theatrically released on June 12, 1981, and grossed $41 million at the North American box office, making it the eleventh-highest grossing film of the year. A novelization by Alan Dean Foster was also published in 1981. A 3D remake of the same name was released by Warner Bros. on April 2, 2010.

Plot
King Acrisius of Argos imprisons his daughter Danaë, trying to prevent a prophecy that her child will bring about his demise. When the god Zeus impregnates Danaë, Acrisius banishes her and her newborn son 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, the spoiled son of the sea goddess Thetis, is betrothed to Princess Andromeda, daughter of Queen Cassiopeia of Joppa; but for committing several atrocities, including destroying Zeus' sacred flying horses (except for Pegasus), Calibos is transformed into a deformed monster to fit the ugliness of his cold heart.

In revenge, Thetis transports an adult Perseus to an abandoned amphitheater in Joppa, where he befriends a soldier, Thallo, and an elderly poet named Ammon. Perseus learns that Andromeda is under a curse and cannot marry unless her suitor 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. After capturing Pegasus, Perseus follows Calibos's giant vulture carrying off Andromeda's spirit during her sleep to learn the next riddle. Perseus is discovered and nearly killed by Calibos. In the ensuing fight, Calibos loses his left hand, and Perseus loses his helmet.

The Gorgon Medusa
The next morning, Perseus presents himself as a suitor and correctly answers the riddle—that answer being the ring given to Calibos by his mother which is still attached to the amputated hand—winning Andromeda's hand in marriage. Finding that Thetis cannot act against Perseus, Calibos instead demands that she take vengeance on Joppa.

At the wedding in Thetis' temple, Cassiopeia declares that Andromeda's beauty is greater than Thetis'. Thetis, using the statue's head to speak through, declares that Cassiopeia will pay for her boasting and for the injury inflicted on Calibos and demands Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken on pain of Joppa's destruction.

Perseus seeks a way to defeat the Kraken. However, Pegasus is captured by Calibos and his men. Zeus commands Athena to give Perseus her owl Bubo, but she refuses. Instead, she orders Hephaestus to build a mechanical replica that leads Perseus, Andromeda, Ammon, Thallo, and some soldiers 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 the gorgon Medusa, whose gaze can turn any living thing into stone. Medusa lives on an island in the River Styx at the edge of the Underworld. The next day, the group continues on their journey while Andromeda and Ammon return to Joppa.

The Kraken comes to claim Andromeda.

On the Gorgon's island, the three soldiers traveling with Perseus are killed. Perseus fights and kills Medusa's guardian, a two-headed dog named Dioskilos. At the Gorgon's lair, Perseus uses the reflective underside of his shield to deceive Medusa, decapitate her, and collect her head. However, 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's remaining escorts. Alone, Perseus overcomes the scorpions and kills Calibos.

Weakened by his struggle, he sends Bubo to rescue Pegasus from Calibos' henchmen. After reaching the amphitheater in Joppa, Perseus collapses from exhaustion. Andromeda is shackled to the sacrificial rock outside Joppa, and the Kraken is summoned. Bubo distracts the beast until Perseus, whose strength was secretly restored by Zeus, appears on Pegasus. Using Medusa's head, Perseus petrifies the Kraken, 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.

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
Neil McCarthy as Calibos
Vida Taylor as Danaë
Jack Gwillim as Poseidon
Donald Houston as Acrisius
Flora Robson, Anna Manahan, and Freda Jackson as The Stygian Witches