Clash of the Titans

ACRlSlUS: Bear witness, Zeus...

and all you gods of high Olympus!

I condemn my daughter, Danae...

and her son, Perseus, to the sea!

Her guilt and sin...

have brought shame to Argos.

I, Acrisius, the king...

now purge her crime and restore my honor!

Their blood is not on my hands!

- Now! - Ah!

It is done.

As we feared, King Acrisius of Argos has abandoned his daughter and her child...

to the sea.

Then he will be punished.

Cruel and ruthless crime! Blasphemy!

How dare the tyrant pray to me to forgive his savage jealousy...

and cowardly revenge!

Acrisius has always shown devotion to the gods of Olympus!

He has built many temples and dedicated them to you...

great Zeus, father of the gods.

A hundred good deeds cannot atone for one murder.

A thousand temples or statues or sanctuaries, whether dedicated to me...

or to you, Hera, my wife...

or to Thetis, lovely goddess of the sea.

Or to you, Athena, ever wise and full of care.

Or to Aphrodite, goddess of love.

Nothing can wipe out or forgive...

this one contemptible act of blood!

Does it matter?

The death of a girl and her child?

Girl? His daughter!

- After a lifetime's respect and devotion... - Enough! l've decided.

Acrisius must be punished...

and his people with him.

My lord, Poseidon...

l command you to raise the wind and the sea.

Destroy Argos!

And to make certain no stone stands, that no creature crawls...

l command you to let loose the last of the Titans.

Let loose the Kraken!

The kingdom of Acrisius must be destroyed!

As you command.

Yet, be certain...

no harm befalls young Danae or her son.

Bring them safe to some remote and peaceful shore. Go now, swiftly.

No pity, no mercy. Why?

Zeus, your husband, loved the girl.

- Danae? - She is very beautiful.

So beautiful that Acrisius grew jealous and guarded her from men...

locked behind iron doors.

But Zeus transformed himself into a shower of gold and visited her...

visited her and loved her.

Then why should l show compassion?

- Let her drown! With her child! - The child, Perseus, is Zeus' son.

That is why he is to be saved...

and why Argos is doomed.

Danae and her child have been brought safely to the island of Seriphos.

Seriphos.

There let Danae and her child live, safe...

and happy.

Perseus, grown to a young man.

He's had a happy childhood. With a strong body and a handsome face...

what more could any mortal desire or deserve?

And what of my son Calibos?

His crimes are unforgivable.

- Be merciful to him. Show pity. - Lmpossible!

Calibos...

had every advantage!

You, as patron goddess of the city of Joppa, have spoiled...

and indulged him since birth.

You gave him the Wells of the Moon to rule, and what has he done?

Hunted and destroyed every living creature!

He's trapped and killed my sacred herd of flying horses...

and now only the stallion, Pegasus, remains.

- Your son must therefore be punished. - No, I beg you. Be merciful.

He will become abhorrent to human sight.

He'll be shunned and forced to live as an outcast in the swamps and marshes.

He'll be transformed to a mortal mockery.

The shameful mark of his vile cruelty.

This is my final judgement.

No, I implore you.

He is to marry Princess Andromeda.

He would rule all Joppa and Phoenicia.

Let the princess look upon him now!

Be comforted. He may change his mind.

Had it been his own child Perseus, he would have forgiven him.

But for my son Calibos, there is to be no mercy, no hope.

- And no marriage with Andromeda. - How can there be now?

Yet if my son...

is not to marry her...

then no man will.

My priests of Joppa are loyal.

I will speak to them in dreams and omens.

As my Calibos suffers...

so will Andromeda.

I promise you.

The son of Zeus...

is to be left to the whim of chance...

while mine is punished with deformity.

It is time for chance to intervene.

Time you saw something of the world, Perseus.

Time you came face to face with fear.

Time to know the terrors of the dark and look on death.

Time your eyes were opened to grim reality.

Far to the east, across the sea...

in Joppa...

in the kingdom of Phoenicia.

Who are you?

Who are you?

Show yourself!

Who are you?

- First tell me where l am! - "Where"?

Where am l?

What, you don't know where you are?

I don't know.

Now let's be patient for a moment. My name is Ammon.

I am a poet and a playwright. And you?

My name is Perseus.

- L am heir to the kingdom of Argos. - By the gods!

How did you get here?

I'm not sure l know where "here" is.

Well, this is the amphitheater of Joppa.

- Where? - The great city of Joppa.

But how?

I was lying on the seashore, looking up at the moon.

Oh, the moon!

That might explain things. You see, the moon...

affects the brain.

I think we'd be safer inside, out of the night air.

I must apologize for this dramatic finery and the theatrical effects.

I put them on to frighten away the curious.

It makes them think the amphitheater is haunted.

- Why is everything so neglected? - Lt's a sign of the times.

This kingdom is under a curse, and the city is in despair.

Everyone goes around muttering:

"Call no man happy who is not dead!"

Now then, my young friend.

You say your name is Perseus, heir to the kingdom of Argos?

Yes.

But up to now l've lived all my life in Seriphos.

Someday I will return to reclaim Argos.

- After I was born, my mother and l... - l know!

- You do? - Certainly.

The beautiful princess and the jealous tyrant...

you and your mother thrown into the sea...

and the destruction of Argos.

It's been a popular story here for the past 20 years.

I, myself, wrote a poem about it.

- Rather moving, as l recall. - Then...

can you explain what happened to me tonight?

The gods of Olympus are mysterious, and their motives are erratic.

My advice to you:

Return to the calm of Seriphos as quickly as you can.

But my mother's last wish was that I would restore her homeland.

Joppa would be a better starting place than some remote little island.

Well, in that case...

you ought to get something more becoming to wear.

I mean, something more fitting...

something more appropriate for a prince, so to speak. Get out!

And look at this!

Ah, that looks well.

That will do very well.

Your sword.

Welcome to Joppa, Prince Perseus.

You set him down half-naked in a strange, despairing city?

- Chance? - Nothing to do with chance and you know it!

A deliberate and malicious act unworthy of a goddess!

- You accuse me? - Well, one thing is certain.

My son needs more than an actor's cloak and a wooden sword!

Provide him with suitable weapons. Weapons of divine temper.

A helmet!

A sword!

A shield!

And he must have them with all speed!

- All for love of Danae. - No!

So many women have attracted him, he couldn't remember her.

It's his foolish pride in a handsome son.

As you say, so many women. And all these transformations he invents...

to seduce them. Sometimes a shower of gold...

a bull or a swan. He tried to ravish me disguised as a cuttlefish.

- Did he succeed? - Certainly not.

- What did you do? - Beat him at his own game.

I turned myself into a shark.

Mm. Why, you're up with the sun. Beautiful morning!

Magical!

I found this here by the statue.

That is the likeness of the goddess of love. It's remarkable.

- A sword, eh? - Yes.

- This is no ordinary sword. - Lt's a strange metal.

It's neither brass nor iron. It's like no metal I have ever seen.

By the gods!

There's a shield!

And over there's a helmet!

I was right to say, "By the gods!"

Who else could make a sword...

that slices through solid marble...

without leaving the slightest blemish on the blade?

If the sword can do that...

what about the helmet and the shield?

We'd better... That is, you'd better find out.