Perseus on the Psychiatrist’s Couch In

Leterrier’s recent blockbuster, Clash of the Titans (2010), tells the story of the most famous adventures of Perseus, son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as he defeats the Gorgon Medusa before rescuing Andromeda, daughter of king Cepheus, from the gigantic sea monster. The basic details of these mythical adventures can be found in ancient sources. Furthermore, the film pays an immediate tribute to Desmond Davis/ Ray Harryhausen’s 1981 film of the same name. On balance, the 2010 film shares a lot more in common with its filmic predecessor than it does with the ancient sources. There are some quite direct pointers to the old film in the new, such as the mechanical owl Bubo, fight scenes with scorpions, and Zeus’ use of terracotta statuettes to symbolise divine control over humans on earth. We should, however, avoid pitting both films against an ‘ancient tradition’ as if it were a monolith: as always, both film-maker and ancient author engage in a creative and dynamic exercise of mythological choice when composing their stories. This is a point well acknowledged by one of our film-makers, Ray Harryhausen, who tells us that his choices are directed by both the cinematic medium in which he is operating and the intended family-oriented audience (Harryhausen and Dalton 2008: 99; 2009: 261). By way of introduction, I offer a short discussion of the major choices made for each film and the possible sources, both ancient and contemporary, that may have influenced them. 2