Clash of the Titans (1981)

Perseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.

Director:

Desmond Davis

Writer:

Beverley Cross

Stars:

Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Claire Bloom

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Olivier	...	Zeus
Claire Bloom	...	Hera
Maggie Smith	...	Thetis
Ursula Andress	...	Aphrodite
Jack Gwillim	...	Poseidon
Susan Fleetwood	...	Athena
Pat Roach	...	Hephaestus
Harry Hamlin	...	Perseus
Judi Bowker	...	Andromeda
Burgess Meredith	...	Ammon
Siân Phillips	...	Cassiopeia
Flora Robson	...	A Stygian Witch
Anna Manahan	...	A Stygian Witch
Freda Jackson	...	A Stygian Witch
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Thallo

Storyline

Perseus is the favored son of the god Zeus, but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis. Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda, who used to be engaged to Thetis' son. Soon Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished.

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Plot Keywords:

quest | gods | remade | mythology | zeus | 

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Taglines:

Experience The Fantastic!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Video [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Furia de titanes

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$41,092,328

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles H. Schneer Productions, Peerford Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final theatrical movie of Producer Charles H. Schneer, actor Donald Houston, and actresses Flora Robson and Freda Jackson, who played two of the three Stygian Witches. This also became the last theatrical movie for which Ray Harryhausen created the special effects. It was also the only one in which he had assistants.

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Goofs

Obvious tinting of film to appear night time during both scenes where Pegasus is captured (by Perseus and Calibos respectively) and the battle with the scorpions. Many publicity shots show these scenes without tinting and are clearly in broad daylight.

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Quotes

Ammon: Oh impetuous... foolish... Ah dear, the young. Why do they never listen? When will they ever learn?

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, the cast is divided into three categories: The Immortals (for the gods of Olympus), The Mortals (humans, etc.), and The Mythologicals (As Themselves) (In Alphabetical Order) Bubo, Charon, Dioskilos, Kraken, Medusa, Pegasus, Scorpions, Vulture. Those 8 are the non-human animated characters supplied by special effects.

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema release was cut by the BBFC to secure an 'A' rating and removed the closeup of Calibos stabbing a man's back with a trident, as well as shortening the scene where Calibos is stabbed in the stomach by Perseus. The cuts were restored in all video/DVD releases and the certificate upgraded to a 15 (12 for the DVD).

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Connections

References King Kong (1933)

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Soundtracks

The Lovers
(uncredited)
Composed and Conducted by Laurence Rosenthal

User Reviews

Imaginative spectacle based on mythological Greek legends spectacularly realized by Desmond Davis

Exciting fantasy derived from Greek mythology about heroic and handsome Perseus (Harry Hamlin ), the mortal son of God Zeus (Laurence Olivier). By answering a seemingly difficult question , winsome Perseus, the son of Zeus , wins the hand of the gorgeous Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker ,daughter of Cassiopea played by Siam Philips) in marriage . Trouble appears in the shape of monstrous Calibos (Neil McCarthy), the princess's previous love interest, and his mother, the Goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith). In order that the horrible Kraken not be released, virginal Andromeda has to be sacrificed . Then Perseus fights Dioskilos, Bubo , Charon and searches for the three Stygian witches (Flora Robson, Manahan, Freda Jackson) , confronts the snake-haired Gorgon and slays her ; her head is the only mean that can defeat the sea giant called Kraken . Perseus attempts to rescue the beautiful maid from the terrifying massive monster freed by Poseidon .

Overwhelming fantasy based on Greek legends with breathtaking special effects from pioneer Ray Harryhausen , his assistant Jim Danforth and make-up artist Colin Arthur . Extraordinary support cast playing the Mount Olympus Gods as Zeus -Laurence Olivier- , Hera- Claire Bloom- , Athena -Susan Fleetwood- , Afrodita - Ursula Andress - , Poseidon -Jack Gwillin- . However , everyone are overshadowed pretty much by the spectacular special effects created by that maestro of the great illusion Ray Harryhausen . He made cyclops in ¨ Simbad and the princess ¨ , moving skeletons in ¨ Jason and the Argonauts ¨ and cowboys against dinosaurs in the ¨ Valley of Gwangi ¨ and several others . Here Harryhausen brings to life mythological monsters as the ferryman , vulture , Pegasus , the two-headed dog called Dioskilos , giant scorpions , a silly mechanical golden owl imitating Star wars robots and many others . Well filmed at Pinewood Studios , London England and on location in Spain , Italy and Malta in co-operation with Mediterranean film facilities . Mind-numbing musical score by Laurence Rosenthal is performed by The London Symphony Orchestra and colorful cinematography by Ted Moore. It's recently filmed a remake by Louis Leterrier with Sam Worthington , Alexa Davalos and Liam Neeson.