Line #11 Trivia/ClashOfTheTitans1981


1	* ActorInspiredElement: Maggie Smith recommended her friend Laurence Olivier for the role of Zeus, and he signed on because of their friendship.
2	* AwesomeDearBoy:
3	** Creator/HarryHamlin had to choose between doing this film and an adaptation of ''Film/TristanAndIsolde''. He chose this because Creator/LaurenceOlivier was in it. ''Tristan & Isolde'' was not made until 2006 (though the version that Harry nearly did became the film ''Lovespell'').
4	** Claire Bloom likewise only agreed to it because Laurence Olivier was attached, and it would only be a week of filming.
5	* BeamMeUpScotty: The quote from Zeus commanding the release of the Kraken is "let loose the Kraken!" Many people, however, remember it as "release the Kraken!"
6	** This is correct when he orders the destruction of Argos at the beginning of the film. However, at the climax, while he is secretly giving Perseus a {{Heroic Second Wind}} he does say "Release the Kraken."
7	* BillingDisplacement: Despite being listed on posters and having main title billing, Creator/UrsulaAndress (Aphrodite) only says one line in the entire film.
8	* CaliforniaDoubling: Various places around Spain, Malta and Italy doubled for the different Greek locations. The opening scene of Danae and Perseus being forced into the box was filmed on the Cornwall coast in England.
9	* ChannelHop: Creator/ColumbiaPictures were initially set to distribute the film having made most of Creator/RayHarryhausen 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 Creator/OrionPictures who insisted on Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger playing Perseus, but the producer refused as the role involved too much dialogue. He then tried Creator/{{MGM}} 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.
10	* ColbertBump: It's been said that most people born from the 80s onwards owe their knowledge of Medusa to this film. She rarely appears in media made before this, including - notably - the Film/HammerHorror film ''Film/TheGorgon''.
11	* CreatorBacklash: Creator/RayHarryhausen viewed the stop motion on this film as some of his weakest work.
12	* CreatorCouple: Creator/MaggieSmith was married to the film's screenwriter.
13	* DawsonCasting: Twenty-eight year old Creator/HarryHamlin as twenty year old Perseus.
14	* ExecutiveMeddling: Creator/JohnGielgud was the preferred choice for Ammon, but MGM insisted on Burgess Meredith to have at least one American actor in there, and prevent the public from thinking it was a wholly British film.
15	* FollowTheLeader: Bubo was used in the film to capitalize on the popularity of [[Franchise/StarWars R2-D2]]. He does feature in Greek mythology though.
16	* HeyItsThatPlace: The scene of the entrance to Medusa's lair was filmed at the preserved temple of Hera in Paestum, near Salerno, in UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. The harpies scene of Harryhausen's ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'' was filmed there 18 years prior.
17	* MoneyDearBoy: Part of the reason Creator/LaurenceOlivier was cast as Zeus. Probably the same with Creator/MaggieSmith, who is on record that she prefers stage work but does films because they pay better.
18	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/MaggieSmith as a vengeful goddess who isn't particularly funny -- and is actually rather terrifying.
19	* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/HarryHamlin and Creator/UrsulaAndress began a relationship during the production of this movie, which produced a son, Dimitri Hamlin, born in 1980 after completion of principal photography.
20	* SequelInAnotherMedium: The four-issue comic book miniseries ''Wrath of the Titans'' (2007), released by TidalWave Productions as part of their Creator/RayHarryhausen Signature Series, picked up the story five years after the events of the film.
21	* TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment: The film was completed in 1979, but not released until 1981. (This sort of shows in the rather grainy film stock throughout; compare it to other effects-driven movies of '81.)
22	* StillbornFranchise: According to Creator/RayHarryhausen's official website, a sequel to this movie, titled ''Force of the Trojans'', was pitched to Creator/{{MGM}} in 1984, but further development of the picture never eventuated.
23	* StuntCasting: Name British actors were cast as the Greek Gods for this reason.
24	* ThoseTwoActors: This is the third time Laurence Olivier and Claire Bloom played a married couple, after the 1956 version of ''Theatre/RichardIII'' and ''Series/BridesheadRevisited''.
25	* WagTheDirector: The original script called for Perseus to cut off Medusa's head simply by throwing his shield at her, in an attempt to appease UK Standards and Practices censors (as the producers felt that the hero decapitating someone would not be appropriate for children in the audience). Creator/HarryHamlin was apparently resistant to the idea from the beginning, as it wasn't in keeping with the actual Greek Mythology. When the day came to film the scene and it still hadn't been changed, he threatened to quit the film and fly home. He remained in his trailer, much to the producer, director, and Ray Harryhausen's annoyance. In the process of trying to coax him out, he was gradually able to get some of the other crew members on his side, which resulted in the scene being rewritten accordingly.
26	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
27	** The original storyline focused just on Perseus and Andromeda's romance, linking together a number of myths. Once Creator/RayHarryhausen was brought on board, the story was changed to feature more monsters.
28	** Early script ideas - such as Andromeda being naked when she's to be sacrificed (as in the myth) and the Kraken tearing Pegasus to pieces during the finale - were cut to preserve a U rating. It was given an A rating, which then meant advisable to no one under 14, but allowed children older than 5. Some cuts also had to be made to Perseus's final fight with Calibos.
29	** Creator/RichardChamberlain, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell and Creator/MichaelYork were considered for Perseus. Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was briefly considered, but producer Charles H. Schneer felt that, with the exception of Hercules, Greek heroes were athletic, but not overly muscular, and relied more on cunning than strength. He also felt that casting a very muscular actor was a cliché, hearkening back to the cheesy Italian sword and sandal films made in the 1950s and 1960s.
30	** Creator/RexHarrison was asked to play Poseidon but rejected the role as being too tiny.
31	** Initially, Calibos had no dialogue and was a purely stop-motion character. After a rewrite to the script, dialogue was added to two of his scenes, and the role was given to Neil [=McCarthy=].
32	** The {{Hellhound}} that Perseus fights in Medusa's temple was originally going to be Cerberus himself. However, Harryhausen thought animating three heads would be problematic, so the creature was replaced with a two-headed Orthrus {{expy}} instead.
33	** Music/JohnBarry was originally hired to score this movie, and recorded fifteen minutes of demos, which Harryhausen did not like.

Context Trivia / ClashOfTheTitans1981