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,^[6] making it the eleventh-highest grossing film of the year.^[7] 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.^[8][9]

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 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.

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.

• 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

The film was the idea of writer Beverley Cross.^[10] 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 that the BBFC considered would be unacceptable under those certificates, including the Kraken tearing Pegasus to pieces and Andromeda appearing naked during the climax of the film. Changes to the script and, on submission, some cuts to Perseus's 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".^[11]

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. Two identical models of the mechanical owl was made; one that contained remote controlled motors that allowed it to move when handled by the actor, and a stop-motion model as the movements of the live action model were more limited.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[11]

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, saying it was too expensive. Schneer took it to Orion Pictures who insisted on Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the lead but the producer refused as the role involved too much dialogue. He then tried Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who agreed to finance. "They loved the material, they loved the picture, and they were wonderful to us," said Schneer. "As I put the film together and the castings came up, they approved the additional castings and added that expense to the budget."^[14]

Schneer deliberately sought better known actors to play the Gods to improve the film's chances at the box office. "If we had played this picture with no recognised actors it might be assumed to be what it isn't. It might suffer the fate of an Italian Western."^[4] The scenes involving the Gods only took eight days. Claire Bloom said she only agreed to make it "because I was told Olivier was doing it and it only lasts a week."^[4]

MGM overruled Schneer's choice of John Gielgud to portray the playwright Ammon, and asked for Burgess Meredith to be cast instead. "I saw the sense in that," said Schneer. "They preferred an American actor. They didn't want the public to think it was totally an English picture."^[14]

Schneer chose Desmond Davis as director in part because Davis had made several BBC Shakespeare films and he wanted someone with experience dealing with Shakespearean actors.^[14]

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 1983.

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.

The four-issue comic book miniseries 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.^[28]

Harry Hamlin reprised his role as Perseus for the video game God of War II (2007).

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. (through Turner Entertainment Co., WB's sister company)^[29][30][31] The Kraken would appear in The Lego Batman Movie as one of the villains rallied by the Joker to destroy Gotham City. Bubo made an appearance in "The Trouble with Truth", an episode of the animated series Justice League Action.

• Greek mythology in popular culture
• List of historical drama films
• List of stop motion films