Trama

Perseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.

Perseus (Harry Hamlin) is the favored son of the god Zeus (Sir Laurence Olivier), but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis (Dame Maggie Smith). Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker), who used to be engaged to Thetis' son, Calibos (Neil McCarthy). Soon Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished.—Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

Sent with his mother to their deaths at the wild open sea by King Acrisius of Argos, the newborn Perseus, son of the King of the Gods, Zeus, escapes his cruel fate and grows up to a man with a mission in life. Without delay, Perseus has to return to the affluent city of Joppa, where the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia, the beautiful Princess Andromeda, is to marry the hideously grotesque monster, Calibos, the mortal son of Thetis, the sea goddess. However, in his quest to rescue the cursed Andromeda, Perseus will soon find himself up against formidable adversaries, only the gifts from the Gods themselves could give him a fighting chance. Will heroic Perseus fulfil his destiny?—Nick Riganas

By answering a seemingly impossible riddle, Perseus (Harry Hamlin), the son of Zeus (Sir Laurence Olivier), wins the hand of the Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker) in marriage. Trouble appears in the shape of Calibos (Neil McCarthy), the Princess' former love, and his mother, the goddess Thetis (Dame Maggie Smith). In order that the dreaded Kraken not be released, Andromeda has to be sacrificed and Perseus searches for the Medusa. Her head is the only thing that can stop the Kraken.—Rhino <rhino@blueyonder.co.uk>

In the Ancient Greek world, King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) locks his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor) away from mortal men to avoid a prophecy that he would die if his daughter had a son. While she is imprisoned, the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her. After discovering the pregnancy, Acrisius casts his daughter and her newborn son Perseus out to sea in a wooden coffin, hoping to kill both and avoid his fate. In retribution, Zeus orders the god of the sea, Poseidon (Jack Gwillim), to release an ancient monster known as the Kraken to destroy Argos, fulfilling the prophecy. Atop Mount Olympus, while the city is destroyed, Zeus crushes the clay figurine of Acrisius in his hand, killing the tyrant. Meanwhile, at Zeus' request, Poseidon ensures that Danaë and Perseus drift across the Aegean Sea safely, arriving on the shores of the island of Seriphos. Over the next several years, Perseus (Harry Hamlin as an adult) grows from an infant to a handsome young man.

Calibos (Neil McCarthy), son of the sea goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith), is a handsome young man destined to marry Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker), the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia (Sian Phillips) and heir to the rich Greek city of Joppa. But the cruel and destructive Calibos has destroyed every living thing surrounding the Wells of the Moon, including Zeus's entire sacred herd of flying horses, save for the stallion Pegasus. As punishment for his many transgressions, Zeus transforms Calibos into a satyr-like creature who is subsequently shunned and forced to live as an outcast in the swamps east of Joppa. Thetis, furious at her son's fate, vows that if Calibos cannot marry Andromeda, no other man will, either.

Equally infuriated by Zeus' unquestioning devotion for his own son, Thetis magically transports Perseus from Seriphos to Joppa. Perseus, finding himself in the amphitheater of Joppa outside the city, is befriended by the elderly scholar and playwright Ammon (Burgess Meredith). He learns of Andromeda and her plight: she cannot marry unless her suitor successfully answers a riddle, and any suitor who fails to answer the riddle correctly is burned at the stake. Perseus also tells Ammon that he is prince and heir to Argos and hopes to return there to claim the title. Zeus realizes that his son has been sent to a dangerous region of the world and orders his gods to provide his son with a helmet that will make him invisible, a sword which can cut through material as hard as marble and a golden shield.

When Perseus sneaks into Andromeda's bedchamber, using his helmet for cover, he discovers that each night a monstrous vulture arrives with a small cage and carries the princess' spirit off to the east. Perseus captures and tames Pegasus and follows Andromeda's spirit on her nightly journey to learn a new riddle from Calibos. Armed with the answer, Perseus is nearly killed by Calibos in the swamp but escapes, losing the magical helmet.

Perseus appears at the next ceremony for a new suitor and answers the riddle correctly, presenting Calibos's severed hand (with a pearled and gold ring on one of the fingers, which is the answer to the riddle) and winning Andromeda's hand in marriage. Perseus tells Joppa that he'd spared Calibos' life if he would lift the curse. Later, in the temple of Thetis, the wounded Calibos prays to his mother Thetis to take vengeance on Perseus. Thetis tells Calibos that she cannot do so because Perseus is protected by Zeus, but, at her son's suggestion, she can take vengeance on Joppa, Andromeda and her mother. At the wedding, Queen Cassiopeia compares Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis herself, which angers the goddess and gives her an excuse to fulfill her son's wish. The statue of Thetis collapses and its head comes to life, demanding Andromeda as a virgin sacrifice to the Kraken in 30 days or Joppa will be destroyed.

Perseus seeks a way to defeat the Kraken and leads a small group of soldiers with him with Andromeda and Ammon joining them in the quest. Ammon recommends that they consult the Stygian Witches, three old, blind women (Flora Robson, Anna Manahan, and Freda Jackson) who live to the East. At the same time, Pegasus is captured by Calibos and his men, forcing Perseus and his caravan to make the difficult and dangerous journey by land. Zeus commands Athena (Susan Fleetwood) to give Perseus her owl Bubo as a replacement for his lost helmet of invisibility. Not wishing to give up her companion, she has Hephaestus (Pat Roach) build a mechanical replica of Bubo as an aid for Perseus.

Bubo finds Perseus and leads him to the Stygian Witches, who reside on a craggy mountaintop in a remote region. Perseus, with Bubo's help, manages to snatch from the three cannibalistic witches a magical glass orb which is their communal 'eye'. Perseus promises to return the eye to them if they tell him how he can defeat the Kraken. The witches tell him the only way to defeat the Kraken is by using the head of another of the titans, Medusa the Gorgon. Once a beautiful woman, Medusa had been punished by the goddess Aphrodite (Ursula Andress) by being transformed into a horrible monster. Meeting Medusa's gaze will turn any living creature to stone, including the Kraken. She makes her home on the Isle of the Dead, which lies across the River Styx, at the very edge of the Underworld. Because Perseus held their eye, his cloak will be able to withstand Medusa's toxic blood should he succeed in claiming her head. Perseus tosses back the glass eye to the witches and makes his escape.

That evening, Perseus tells Andromeda to return to Joppa with Ammon as he must go on alone with Cassiopeia's soldiers to the underworld to kill Medusa and claim her head. She refuses, wishing to stay with him but when she wakes in the morning, she finds Perseus and his men have left.

The next day, Perseus and his men arrive at the River Styx where the skeletal ferryman, Charon is to row them to the Isle of the Dead in exchange for a silver coin. Perseus takes three of his men with him to cross the river to the island.

Once there, Perseus and his men find the Temple of Medusa and soon battle Dioskilos, a two-headed dog guarding the lair. One of the soldiers is killed, but Perseus and the other two succeed in slaying Dioskilos and set forth into the underground ruins where Medusa resides. Armed with a bow and several arrows, Medusa takes on the three intruders to her domain. One of Perseus's men loses his life to one of Medusa's blood-poisoned arrows, while the last becomes caught in the stare of Medusa and is transformed into stone. Perseus eventually manages to not only deceive Medusa with the help of his shield, but also decapitate her with his sword and collects her head, losing his shield in a pool of Medusa's acidic blood.

That night, as Perseus and his party set out to return to Joppa with Medusa's head wrapped in his cloak, Calibos raids the camp, drives off the group's horses and punctures the cloak carrying Medusa's head, spilling her blood and spawning three giant scorpions. The scorpions and Calibos attack the party. After the last two of his men are killed (one by a scorpion and the chief guard, Thalo, by Calibos himself), Perseus is able to slay the remaining scorpion and manages to best Calibos, whom he finally kills with Aphrodite's sword.

Perseus, weakened by his struggle and running out of time, orders Bubo to find Pegasus. The mechanical owl locates Pegasus in the swamp, guarded by Calibos' men and the giant vulture. Bubo creates a chaotic melee, the camp burns when a fire-pit is overturned and Bubo frees Pegasus.

Back in Joppa, Perseus arrives in Ammon's amphitheater and collapses from exhaustion. On Olympus, Thetis reminds Zeus that it is time for Andromeda to be sacrificed. The weary Zeus orders Poseidon to release the Kraken. As he walks away from the clay figurines in his collection, he revives Perseus.

As Andromeda is about to be sacrificed to the Kraken, Bubo appears, trying to stall the Kraken while Perseus catches up, flying on Pegasus. Perseus approaches the Kraken, but the monster knocks him off his mount, spilling them both into the ocean. Bubo retrieves the head and delivers it to Perseus, who frees the head, turning the Kraken into stone which collapses into the bay. The task completed, Perseus throws the severed head into the ocean and frees Andromeda. Pegasus emerges from the sea to the crowd's delight.

The gods discuss the outcome of the adventure: Perseus and Andromeda will live happily, rule wisely and produce good children. Zeus forbids the other gods to pursue any vengeance against them. In addition, the likenesses of Perseus, Andromeda, Pegasus and Cassiopeia are set among the stars as constellations to forever remind mankind of the values of heroism and bravery.