Clash of the Titans is a 2010 action-adventure, fantasy film and remake of the 1981 film of the same name (the rights to which had been acquired by Warner Bros. in 1996). The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus.[2][3][4] Directed by Louis Leterrier and starringSam
Worthington. The film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010.[3][4]However, it was later announced that the film would be converted to 3D and was released on April 2, 2010.[5][6]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Plot
o 1.1 Alternative endings
o 1.2 Other deleted scenes
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
o 3.1 Conversion to 3D
o 3.2 Filming locations
• 4 Release
o 4.1 Soundtrack
o 4.2 Critical reception
o 4.3 Box office
o 4.4 Home video
• 5 Video game
• 6 Sequel
• 7 References
• 8 External links
[edit]Plot
In ancient times, the gods, led by Zeus (Liam Neeson), Poseidon (Danny Huston) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes), betrayed their parents, the Titans, and banished them to the Underworld with the help of the Kraken, a monster born of Hades' flesh. The gods divided the Universe between themselves;
Zeus took the skies, Poseidon took the seas, and Hades tricked by Zeus, left with the Underworld. The gods created the mortals, whose faith fueled their immortality. However, as time passed, mortals began to question the gods.
The story resumes with a fisherman by name of Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite) finding a casket, bearing a baby and his mother’s corpse, afloat in the sea. Spyros and his wife, Marmara (Elizabeth McGovern), raise the baby as their own and name him "Perseus".
Years later, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is fishing with his family when they witness from their ship soldiers from the city of Argos destroying a statue of Zeus. The soldiers are attacked by furies and slaughtered. The furies merge into the form of Hades who destroys the ship Perseus and his family are on. Perseus is found by some surviving soldiers from Argos led by Draco (Mads Mikkelsen) and brought before King Kepheus (Vincent Regan) and Queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker) who are celebrating the campaign against the gods. The reveling is cut short by the arrival of Hades, who Zeus has been given leave to punish the humans for their defiance. Hades proclaims that in the upcoming solar eclipse, he will unleash the Kraken against
Argos unless the Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) is offered as a sacrifice. Before leaving, he reveals that Perseus is a demigod, the son of
Zeus.
Perseus is imprisoned by Draco and, in captivity, meets Io (Gemma Arterton), who tells him of his origin; Many years before, King Acrisius (Jason
Flemyng) also tried declaring war against the gods. To punish him, Zeus impersonated Acrisius and impregnated his wife, Queen Dänae. Acrisius, driven mad with rage orders the execution of Dänae and the newborn baby and casts them into the sea in a coffin. As punishment for his continued defiance, Zeus strikes Acrisius with lightning transforming him into a monster. Io also reveals that she was cursed with immortality after refusing to give in to Ares's advances and has watched over Perseus his entire life, protecting him, as he is prophesized to be the only one able to stand up to the gods.
As the Cult of Hades, led by the insane Prokopion (Luke Treadaway), grows in number and demands Andromeda's sacrifice, a desperate Kepheus asks Perseus to lead the Guard to visit to the Stygian Witches in order to discover a way to kill the Kraken. Perseus—wishing to avenge the death of his family—accepts. Purseus and the guards head off on their quest joined by hunters, Ozal and Kucuk. Hades in hopes of stopping Perseus finds
Acrisius, now known as Calibos, and grants him superhuman abilities in exchange for Perseus's death before he reaches the Witches.
Zeus is convinced by Apollo (Luke Evans), who doesn't trust Hades, to give Perseus a chance and presents him with an enchanted sword forged on
Mt Olympus and a Pegasus. Perseus refuses both gift but a wise Draco puts the sword into safekeeping. Shortly thereafter, they are attacked by
Calibos. Perseus barely manages to hold him at bay and is bitten by Calibos in a desperate move. Draco severs Calibos's hand causing Calibos to flee. The band gives chase only to be attacked by giant scorpions who are summoned by Calibos’s blood. Although they manage to kill some of them, they are ultimately surrounded by even larger scorpions and saved by the Djinn, a band of Arabic desert sorcerers led by Sheik Sulieman (Ian Whyte).
The Djinn also wishing for the gods' defeat lend their aid to Perseus's band.
The group arrives at the Stygian Witches and learns from them that the only possibility for killing the Kraken is with the gorgon Medusa who is residing in a temple in the underworld. As they prepare to head into the underworld, Perseus is approached by Zeus, who offers to make him a God, but when he refuses, gives him a golden drachma; a fare for Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.
Perseus, Io, Sulieman, Draco and his remaining men Solon (Liam Cunningham), Eusebius (Nicholas Hoult) and Ixas (Hans Matheson) arrive at the
Underworld and the men enter Medusa's lair while Io remains outside unable to enter. Medusa easily kills Solon, Eusebius and Ixas and fatally wounds Draco. Sulieman and Draco sacrifice themselves to wound Medusa. The badly wounded Medusa is beheaded by Perseus, who takes her head. As he is leaving the temple, he witnesses Io, being murdered by Calibos. The two engage in mortal combat with Calibos having the upper hand and disarming Perseus. Finally coming to terms with who he is, Perseus picks up the Olympian sword and pierces Calibos through the heart, turning him back into Acrisius in human form, eliminating Hades's essence from his body and restoring him to sanity for one last moment.
After saying his goodbyes to the dying Io, Perseus mounts Pegasus and hastens back to Argos. In the meantime Zeus orders the Kraken's release.
The Cult goes to the palace and seize Andromeda in order to offer her to the Kraken. While Kraken ravages Argos, Hades reveals to Zeus that whereas the gods have been surviving on the people’s adoration, he has been feeding on people's fear and his monster has been channeling even more fear to him. So while the gods have become weaker Hades has now grown powerful enough to take on Mount Olympus and even destroy it in revenge for his betrayal so many years before by Zeus. Realizing his mistake too late, Zeus can only rely on Perseus. In Argos, Hades unleashes his furies against Perseus and they manage to snag the sack holding Medusa’s head. Perseus manages to retrieve the bag in an aerial chase with the help of the Hunter Brothers, just in time for the Kraken to fully emerge. The Kraken causes massive damage to Argos before heading to devour Andromeda. Before the Kraken is able to eat Andromeda, Perseus retrieves the bag with Medusa's head in it, unveils her head and turns the Kraken into stone. The massive statue cracks and the falling debris kill Prokopion and Kepheus and Andromeda falls into the sea.
Hades appears, to confront Perseus. Perseus in defiance raises his sword to the heavens and calling upon Zeus, throws his sword at Hades. A lightning bolt engulfs the sword and banishes Hades to the Underworld once more.
Perseus dives in to the sea and rescues Andromeda, now the Queen of Argos. She asks him to stay by her side as King, but he claims he is not a leader, but simply a man. After flying away with Pegasus, Perseus arrives on the island where Zeus's statue was destroyed, where his family was killed. Zeus meets with him, thanks Perseus for risking so much, and offers to make him a god and live with him on Mt Olympus, Perseus declines saying he has every thing he needs on earth, as Zeus leaves he says Perseus needs a companion and revives Io.
[edit]Alternative endings
The special features of the Blu-ray has an alternate ending that was cut from the film. After defeating the Kraken and Hades, Andromeda falls into the sea and Perseus dives in to save her. When he reaches her, he embraces her with a passionate kiss, indicating that he fell in love with her, and she with him. After reaching the shore and regaining consciousness, Andromeda asks Perseus if he will stay and he says there is someone he needs to talk to, before kissing her again, indicating that he will come back. Getting on Pegasus, he flies to Mt. Olympus where he confronts Zeus, stating that he does not wish to be one of them and that any conflict between them has just started. After slamming his sword into the gods' map and shattering the models of every living person, he leaves and is seen flying on Pegasus over the sea, presumably back to Argos.
[edit]Other deleted scenes
The DVD features several deleted scenes, some of which differ from those in the theatrical release (for example, Apollo, rather than Zeus, gives
Perseus the coin to pay Charon, while also observing that Perseus's arrogance makes him "truly Zeus's son"), and others were absent altogether
(notably one which features an extended debate among all of the gods of Olympus, most of whom had few or no lines in the film after this scene was cut, and another scene in which Apollo sits in Zeus's throne while Aphrodite warns him that Hades will destroy all of the other gods).
[edit]Cast
. Sam Worthington as Perseus,[2] the Demigod son of Zeus
. Gemma Arterton as Io,[2] a woman cursed with agelessness after refusing the advances of a god. She guides Perseus in his quest and
narrates the Titanomachy at the start of the film
. Mads Mikkelsen as Draco[disambiguation needed], leader of the Praetorian Guard[2][7]
. Alexa Davalos as Andromeda,[2][8] princess of Argos, daughter of Kepheus and Cassiopeia and the Princess that will be sacrificed to the
Kraken
. Jason Flemyng as Acrisius/Calibos, a king of Argos transformed into a hideous beast[2]
. Tine Stapelfeldt as Danaë, wife of King Acrisius, mother of Perseus
. Nicholas Hoult as Eusebius, member of the Praetorian Guard
. Hans Matheson as Ixas, member of the Praetorian Guard . Liam Cunningham as Solon, member of the Praetorian Guard
. Liam Neeson as Zeus, the leader of the gods of Mount Olympus and father of Perseus
. Ralph Fiennes as Hades,[2] god of the Underworld
. Jamie Sives as a Commander.
. Ian Whyte as Sheikh Sulieman, the Djinn who assisted Perseus and the praetorian guards of Argos
. Pete Postlethwaite as Spyros,[9] Foster Father of Perseus
. Elizabeth McGovern as Marmara, Foster Mother of Perseus
. Polly Walker as Cassiopeia, Queen of Argos, wife of Kepheus and mother of Andromeda
. Vincent Regan as Kepheus, King of Argos, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda
. David Kennedy as Kepheus's General
. Kaya Scodelario as Peshet, Andromeda's handmaiden
. Luke Treadaway as Prokopion, the cult leader who leads the people of Argos to sacrifice Andromeda
. Danny Huston as Poseidon,[10] god of the sea
. Izabella Miko as Athena, goddess of warfare, battle strategies, wisdom and justice[11]
. Tamer Hassan as Ares, god of war and bloodshed
. Luke Evans as Apollo, god of light, music poetry, art, healing, archery and medicine.
. Nathalie Cox as Artemis, goddess of forests, hills, hunting and animals
. Nina Young as Hera, goddess of women and marriage and wife of Zeus
. Agyness Deyn as Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty
. Paul Kynman as Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths, fire and volcanoes
. Alexander Siddig as Hermes, Messenger of the Gods
. Charlotte Comer as Demeter, goddess of the earth and agriculture
. Jane March as Hestia, goddess of the hearth
. Natalia Vodianova as Medusa, the Half-Demon mortal Gorgon
. Mouloud Achour as Kucuk
. Ross Mullan as Pemphredo
. Ashraf Barhom as Ozal
[edit]Production
The Clash of the Titans remake project started in 2002 under producer Adam Schroeder and writers John Glenn and Travis Wright. They wanted to drop the "cheesy chessboard manipulation of characters" by the gods. In The Wright/Glenn version of Clash, various pantheons were mixed together.
The Main Villain was the Sumerian Sea Goddess of Death and Destruction, Tiamat. Perseus was originally kidnapped by an avatar of an unidentified Cthonian Earth Goddess, who planned to have him married to Andromeda so as to develop better relations with humanity. The Earth
Goddess and Perseus proceed to fall in love. Zeus prepared to engage in war with Tiamat; taking the aids of other gods (such as Thoth, Marduk, Yahweh and Osiris). A High Priest named Fantasos starts a Cult of Tiamat that quickly conquers the city. Andromeda was originally a promiscuous spoiled Princess who possessed various male sex slaves. Though the mixing of Mythologies and the Perseus-Earth Goddess romance was abandoned, the concept of a Goddess enraged at arrogant humans and demanding a sacrifice and the Cult of the Evil God (Changed from Tiamat to Hades) was retained into the final production.[12] Producer Basil Iwanyk revived the project in 2006 with a rewrite by Travis Beacham, a fan of the original, who intended the script to be "darker and more realistic".[13] Lawrence Kasdanand director Stephen Norrington signed on in 2007.
Kasdan gave the script another rewrite from the Beacham version.[14] But Norrington was unsure about his direction for the project because he did not grow up with the original. Leterrier, who did, contacted Norrington through their shared agent about replacing him.[15] By June 2008 Leterrier joined the project and Warner Bros. greenlit the film.[16] Leterrier noted the original Clash of the Titans inspired the climax of his previous film The Incredible
Hulk – a battle in a burnt-down courtroom with temple-like columns – and has compared modern superheroes to Greek mythology.[17][18]
Writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi took over the script during July 2008 and used Beacham's draft as a starting point. They focused on the mythology and telling the story through Leterrier's eyes. Hay and Manfredi had to rewrite the script in less than a year using a very active process.[19] Leterrier sought Ray Harryhausen's involvement,[15] and reunited with Hulk concept artist Aaron Sims, who had already been working on Clash of the
Titans with Norrington.[20]
Louis Leterrier, during an interview, revealed that he is a big Saint Seiya (also known as Knights of the Zodiac) fan. He specifically cited the armor that the Gods wear in his film remake as a sign of homage and respect to Saint Seiya. Masami Kurumada (the author of Saint Seiya) was even asked to collaborate with the production team on poster designs.[21]
Sam Worthington took the role of Perseus because he wanted to make a Clash of the Titans for his nine year old nephew's generation. During filming the cast had a few laughs about the costumes but he took it very seriously "so the audience doesn't have to."[22] Worthington also did not wear sandals while filming, he instead painted toes on his sports shoes so he could perform the stunts better.[23]
[edit]Conversion to 3D
Leterrier approached the studio early on about a 3D conversion but it was expensive and very new technology.[24] After Avatar, the studio put pressure on Leterrier to convert the film. He was worried because of his previous concerns but was convinced after seeing the View-D conversion process.
[25] Leterrier considered the 3D conversion to improve the viewing experience, and states that it should not be seen as a gimmick.[24]
[edit]Filming locations
Teide National Park (Tenerife) is the most visited national park in Spain[26] and one of the most visited in the world, and place of filming of some scenes from the movie. Filming began April 27, 2009, near London, at Shepperton Studios, and also at Pinewood Studios and at Longcross Studios, near Chertsey, in Surrey.
[27] Filming also took place inWales, the Canary Islands (Spain) (primarily at the World Heritage Site, Teide National
Parkin Tenerife), Maspalomas Dunes, Gran Canaria, and Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote. Aerial photography was conducted in Iceland and Ethiopia.[2]
Filming of volcano scenes at the Harriet hole in Dinorwic Slate Quarry in Wales wrapped at the end of July.[28] This slate quarry has also been used for locations for Willow and Street Fighter.[29]
[edit]Release
Clash of the Titans was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010.[3][4] The Heat Vision Blog reported on January 27, 2010 that after a 3D conversion test of the film which Warner Bros. found to be a "roaring success", the film would be converted to 3D and would premiere on April 2,
2010. The national premiere in Spain took place on March 30 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital city of the Canary Islands.[5][6][30]
[edit]Soundtrack
The score for this film was composed by Ramin Djawadi and released on March 30, 2010. Matthew Bellamy was originally hired to write the music, but abandoned the project midway through after his band Muse started a tour.[31]
Clash of the Titans: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Ramin Djawadi
Released March 30, 2010
Genre Film score
Length 75:18
Label WaterTower Music No. Title Length 1. "The Storm that Brought You to Me" 4:50 2. "There Is a God in You" 1:38 3. "Perseus" 6:34 4. "You Can't Hide From Hades" 3:30 5. "Medusa" 4:07 6. "Scorpiox" 3:23 7. "Argos" 1:53 8. "You Fall, You Die" 1:14 9. "Written in the Stars" 2:54 10. "Pegasus" 2:22 11. "Bring Everything (But The Owl)" 1:47 12. "Killed By a God" 1:50 13. "Djinn" 1:56 14. "Eyes Down" 1:56 15. "You Were Saved for a Reason" 1:20 16. "Redemption Through Blood" 2:14 17. "I Have Everything I Need" 3:15 18. "King Acrisius" 2:27 19. "It's Expensive Where You're Going" 2:50 20. "Be My Weapon" 10:09 21. "The Best of Both" 1:29 22. "Release The Kraken" 6:04 23. "It's Almost Human of You" 3:15 [edit]Critical reception
Critical reaction has been mixed to negative. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 29% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 225 reviews with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's consensus stated "An obviously affectionate remake of the 1981 original,
Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans doesn't offer enough visual thrills to offset the deficiencies of its script."[32] On Metacritic, the film was assigned a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 37 reviews from mainstream critics.[33]
In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, stating "I don't say it's good cinema, although I recognize the craftsmanship that went into it. I don't say it's good acting, when the men have so much facial hair they all look like Liam Neeson. I like the energy, the imagination, the silliness".[34] Richard Corliss of Time understands that many critics did not like it, but found the film "a full-throttle action-adventure, played unapologetically straight." He dismissed other critics' complaints, writing that the film is "very watchable in 2-D", that other critics were biased by nostalgia for the original, and that 15 seconds of Bubo is enough for his tastes.[35] Colin Covert stated the film was "all flash, trash, and crash; a tasty hunk of baloney; mindless yet shamelessly thrilling." He considered Worthington to have a "Shatneresque heaviness about him", and found that all the laughs came from the fact that the heavyweight actors were "slumming through their roles."[36] James Berardinelli gave it a mixed review, concluding that Clash of the Titans is a flawed but mildly entertaining regurgitation of Greek mythological elements, but it's also an example of how poorly-executed 3D can hamstring a would-be spectacle.[37]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded the film one star out of four, criticizing it for being "a sham, with good actors going for the paycheck and using beards and heavy makeup to hide their shame."[38] In a review for the Chicago Tribune, Turan complained that the film is worse in 3D; he went on further to explain that the action scenes are "more of a distraction than an enhancement", with the battle scenes being cluttered and "harder to follow rather than exciting."[39] Claudia Puig for USA Today wrote that the film's "most outstanding achievement is the ability to be both chaotic and dull."
Justification for her opinion came from the frantic action sequences and muddled special effects.[40] Dan Kois blamed the director for making a
"muddled disappointment" instead of a "camp classic that could have endured for generations." Kois also accused Leterrier of not knowing how to direct an action scene, and that the film is lacking in "wit and flair".[41] David Stratton also criticized the film's action scenes, suggesting to Leterrier:
"check out your local video store for something by Kurosawa, or almost any movie with sword fight scenes, to see how it's done."[42] AskMen.com felt actor Sam Worthington's heavy Australian drawl was so distracting it "manages not only to single-handedly unhinge any suspension of disbelief we might have had, but his fellow actors often seem to be visibly struggling as they impart fantastical ancient truths to a true-blue brickie in a studded leather dress."
[edit]Box office
Clash of the Titans earned $61,235,105 in its opening weekend in 3,777 theaters in the United States and Canada (not including Thursday previews).
[1] The movie was #1 for two weeks in a row, edging out Date Night and the previous winner How to Train Your Dragon.[43] Clash of the Titans made
$163,214,888 domestically, as of July 22, 2010, and $330,000,000 overseas, as of September 19, 2010, for a worldwide total of $493,214,888. On the all-time worldwide chart it ranks 80th and in North America it is below #100.[44]
[edit]Home video
Clash of the Titans is now available on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack on July 16 (Mexico), July 26 (UK), July 27 (USA) and (Canada), October 6
(Japan) 2010. In Germany and Japan, a Blu-ray 3D will be released as well. The Blu-ray 3D release was expected to hit USA shores on November
16.[45]
[edit]Video game
Main article: Clash of the Titans (video game)
Warner Bros. Interactive released a video game adaptation of the movie on July 27, 2010 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with the film's home video release. It was originally planned to come out in March 2010, though the game was delayed due to difficulties. The game follows Perseus on his quest to fight Hades and his minions.
[edit]Sequel
Main article: Wrath of the Titans
Production of a sequel titled, Wrath of the Titans, directed by Jonathan Liebesman began on March 23, 2011 with Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson returning to star and is scheduled to be released on March 30, 2012.[46]