Original subtitles

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[THEME MUSIC]

[SINGING]

NARRATOR: Our story opens in the year 1250 BC.

Almost 12 months have gone by since Jason, the young king

of Thessaly, left his kingdom, his wife, Creusa,

and their son, Achaeus, under the protection of his cousin,

Adrastus, until the day he should return.

With an intrepid band of followers,

Jason embarked on the great ship, "Argo," bound for Colchis

at the end of the world in a last, desperate attempt

to save his people from disaster.

Zeus, the father of the gods, has condemned them in his rage

to be overwhelmed by fiery volcanoes,

unless Jason and his men can bring back the sacred Golden

Fleece to their homeland from which it had been stolen.

The Golden Fleece was a gift to Thessaly

from the all-powerful father of the gods, the symbol

of his divine favor and protection.

[SINGING]

MAN: Noble Adrastus, help us!

MAN: Save us!

Don't let us die!

WOMAN: Save our children!

MAN: We have no more water.

WOMAN: Our crops have been burned.

Our houses are in ruin!

WOMAN: Our children are starving!

MAN: We can't go on this way!

WOMAN: Save us!

Save us and our children!

-Silence!

Men and women of Thessaly, complaining in your despair

will not improve the general situation.

MAN: We are hungry!

[CROWD COMMOTION]

MAN: Help us!

-Why don't you pray to the gods, instead?

They will listen to your entreaties.

Jason is sure to return with the Golden Fleece.

And the fury of the volcanoes will be pacified forever.

MAN: Jason is dead!

MAN: Zeus has cursed us.

He wants us all to die.

WOMAN: There's no use praying now.

-I, Adrastus, humbly implore your mercy,

almighty Zeus, Lord of Olympus, ruler

of earthlings and immortals.

Hear us in the hour of our misfortune

COUNCILMAN: There's no use fooling ourselves, my friends.

Jason will never return with the Golden Fleece.

The doom of Thessaly is already sealed.

It must be seen plainly.

and without false hopes that sooner or later

our city will be completely overwhelmed by the volcanoes.

-What's your view of his prediction, Anitnous?

ANTINOO: Even if he is mistaken, Iolcus

will surely be a deserted and abandoned.

The entire city is on the brink of starvation.

And our plantations are burning up like tinder,

while lava engulfs and overflows our wells.

And what is worse, the country folk

are crowding into the city, the only place that

has escaped the wrath of the gods.

-Are you able to propose any realistic measure

to save Iolcus?

-I'll tell you what to do.

Let us leave Thessaly while we can,

those of us who can afford to.

We can buy new homes in another country.

-I thought you'd say that.

Just what I expected.

Either all the people of Iolcus are saved or none at all.

-Then whey don't you say let all of us die together.

-Arguments like these are making us traitors to our king

and to those with him who are risking

their lives for all of us.

Why do you give him up for loss, even

though he left us almost a year ago?

What evidence do we have that he never reached Colchis at all

or that he's not returning to us right

now with the Golden Fleece?

-I have suffered and pondered over the same anxieties,

even more so.

But still I feel there is hope for his return.

From the day Jason headed for the open sea and the lands

beyond, let me say my confidence has never wavered an instance.

Perhaps because he never failed to show his confidence in me.

Or perhaps through a sense of gratitude

I have, because he was willing to go and try where everyone

else has met with failure to save his people,

who are daily threatened with destruction.

COUNCILMAN: Well, you know, perhaps

the King is right concerning this matter.

I sincerely think so.

COUNCILMAN: I wouldn't have too much faith in Adrastus' claims.

It's a dangerous thing.

ADRASTO: You shouldn't worry about them, Creusa.

Whatever they say, the members of the Council

are of no importance.

They are only weather cocks, blown

to and fro by every shifting wind.

They don't have the power of their convictions.

-They are false traitors.

I remember their farewell promises to Jason.

They swore that during his absence,

they would never doubt his return.

But why look at me that way?

It strikes me with terror.

Are you too, perhaps, beginning to give up hope, Adrastus?

Tell me that it isn't true.

Tell me it's not.

-No, Creusa, I am not giving up hope.

I am looking forward, as you are,

to the acclaim of the populous when they

hail the safe return or our king.

I assure you, cousin.

You shall have him back soon.

ADRASTO: The essential thing right now

is that no one have the least doubt either in me or in you.

In spite of everything, the people of Iolcus

are still firm in their belief that the King

will be successful in his mission.

At this stage, therefore, a single false step

would still mean the collapse of all our plans.

And we would end up being torn to pieces.

Only when the whole city has abandoned hope, at last,

and forgotten the quest of a Golden Fleece,

then I can persuade even Creusa.

With the farms and the countryside burning around us,

it will be easy to convince the Queen

to emigrate for the good of her son.

With the treasure stored in this house

and with the crown of Creusa, any land we wish to rule

will be ours by conquest.

COUNCILMAN: What makes you think Creusa will go with you?

-My common sense.

I'll make her glad to.

What good are the gems in the treasury of Thessaly

when it is she I desire most of all.

Her loveliness is ablaze in me like an open furnace.

COUNCILMAN: Yet your plan has a flaw, Adrastus.

What if Jason should return with the Golden Fleece?

-Don't worry.

He won't.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-Brace the sail.

-Stay the helm.

Hold the power to the wind.

Start bailing.

We're shipping water below the main deck.

-All hands start bailing.

-Keep her steady.

Bail for your lives.

-Dip the oars.

MAN: She's breaking up.

MAN: This bulkhead is going.

Get me a piece of wood and a brace, that plank over there.

Wait.

Bring me some spikes and a mallet.

Move.

It won't hold much longer.

I'll need another one.

Hurry.

MAN: Don't [INAUDIBLE].

MAN: Row harder.

-Get up there.

Heave that sail overboard.

Brace the mast!

Brace the mast, I said!

[INAUDIBLE]

-It can't hold out much longer.

-Get back to your posts.

-Oh!

Help!

-Get him below!

He needs help.

Hurry up!

-The supplies, save the supplies!

-Let go!

-The mast, it's snapped.

It's coming down!

Look out!

[SCREAM]

-Careful there!

MAN: We must the thank the gods--

-Stronger than before.

MAN: for bringing us safely through this storm.

MAN: Give me a hand over here.

ARGO: All we have to do is replace the sail we lost.

-I don't think that will be too difficult.

As for the planking, look at it, no harm done.

ARGO: Don't let yourself be fooled by appearances, Jason.

The ship's in a much worse condition than you think.

Another tempest like that and she'll sink to the bottom.

The construction wouldn't be able to hold together.

I'll try to reinforce it with extra braces.

MAN: So that mast has been built to last.

-The mast and rigging need more repair.

MAN: [INAUDIBLE] sail.

-I'll plug the worst leaks as best I can.

MAN: How's that [INAUDIBLE]?

-Let's not fool ourselves.

It's pretty bad.

-You'll have to do the impossible, Argus.

Remember that the fate of our homeland--

MAN: [INAUDIBLE].

-And of our people--

MAN: Come over here.

-Is in your hands.

-Even if the ship holds together,

we're completely out of food and water.

And the men will die slowly, but surely, from hunger and thirst.

Our only hope now is that the currents will bring us

within sight of land while there's still time,

before it's too late to matter.

-I guess you don't put much faith in that hope, do you?

But I'm sure that our luck will hold out.

Listen, men.

I know it's been a long time since we sailed from Iolcus.

We've been faced with danger at every turn.

We've been in more than one situation that seemed hopeless.

But wherever it was, it has never kept us from sailing on.

And we will this time, but only if we refuse to be discouraged

or to be frightened.

Why did we leave for Colchis?

Because the oracle said the volcanoes will lay waste

to our land, just as long as the Golden Fleece

stays on foreign soil.

And I swear to you that I'll return with it if I have

to paddle this ship with my own hands.

As for now, force yourselves to go on if you want to live.

For the time being, we will row.

And we'll live on fish.

I'm sure the currents will bring us to land soon.

[CREW MURMURING]

JASON: For drinking water, we can catch rain in the sail.

And if it doesn't rain, dew will fall at night.

That's all I have to say.

MAN: The fates have turned against us.

MAN: We'll never make it.

-Come on, save your breath for rowing.

-Nothing.

It's no use.

Day after day we cast our nets without any luck.

-Well, try again.

Don't give up.

MAN: The god of the sea has condemned us all to die.

But why kill us like this, bit by bit?

MAN: And no rain for days, how long

can we go on without a drop of water?

My legs are as stiff as boards.

Help us.

Gods of Olympus, help us.

What's happened to our families in Iolcus?

-I'm telling you, Orpheus, a haze like that

means there's land.

-I think so too.

A land where maybe we can take aboard fresh water and food

supplies.

-Turn back.

Turn back!

We can't go on.

We better head the ship straight for Iolcus.

-Hold your tongue, you, and that's an order.

Who's in command, you or Jason?

-How do you feel?

-As if I were on fire inside.

I'll die soon without water.

-And you, Telamone?

-I don't believe I have the strength

to hold out much longer.

What a miserable way to die, this

is, dragged out to the bitter end.

I'd rather die in combat on a battlefield

as befits a reigning king.

-Look at those clouds coming.

Perhaps it'll rain.

-Empty words, we hear nothing except empty words.

We were foolish enough to believe in you

while you brought us here, but not now.

You're the one responsible for talking

us all into this madness.

All right, now you're going to take us back.

Don't ask me how.

That's for you to decide.

But turn the ship around fast, or I'll kill you myself.

-Stand back!

Now all of you, listen to me.

We are near land.

I know it because I can feel it.

-Jason, it's no use.

You can't convince us.

Don't you realize you're talking like a raving lunatic?

-Aren't you forgetting that I'm your King?

-All right, then, I'm rebelling against you.

But we want to return to Iolcus.

Since there's no way to escape now,

we want to face death with our wives and with our children.

-Don't talk like a fool.

-Jason, give Argus the order to turn this ship about

and set sail westward.

-Not me.

-But Jason, don't you see, you're

making me kill you by not turning back?

-You'd better put your sword away.

-I'll put my sword away after I kill you.

-I'm not going to raise my sword against you.

I'm waiting.

Come on, kill me if you're able.

-I don't want to, Jason.

I'm too ashamed to kill you.

From now on, I'll never be able to look you

in the face again, my King, never again.

-Every man loses his head occasionally.

Let's forget it.

MAN: It's raining!

It's raining!

MEN: It's raining!

[SHOUTING] Our prayers are answered.

Water!

Get that rain over here!

-This wreckage that the currents have driven ashore

doesn't leave us any room for doubt.

It's certainly all that is left of the "Argo."

-And this is evidence that the mighty god of the sea,

Poseidon, never forgives trespassers

who dare to penetrate the forbidden reaches

of his dominions.

-The people refuse to accept this evidence,

and it seems with good reason.

They have all gathered around Argus' father

and have elected him to come before you to plead

for them as their sole representative.

-Where is the old man now?

-He's on his way here to try to convince you.

-Whoever can produce favorable evidence will be most welcome.

I know that you, Avantes, come here

to speak for the people of Iolcus.

I, Adrastus, will consider what you have to say.

-My eyes are blinded and unable to see these alleged remains,

no more than they could see the ship

when it was new and outfitted by my son for this voyage.

However, I tell you they must not be considered as proof

that they have perished, the ship

and Jason all his companions.

Every other day, let my words remind you.

The breakers cast wreckage out of the sea

all along the coast of Thessaly.

COUNCILMAN: That is true.

But only in the "Argo" did you son use such heavy timbers

as these.

-I am truly amazed at you.

And I'm filled with distress.

Your resignation is worse than the willingness with which you

presume that my cousin, Jason, is dead.

It's simply beyond my power of understanding.

Argus' father is absolutely right.

This piece of driftwood proves nothing.

We commit a sin against ourselves,

against the whole of Thessaly, against the divine will of Zeus

who inspired our King to sail for unknown shores,

if we are persuaded that he has met with failure

in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

This Council meeting is over.

-Tell me the truth now.

Do you really think that those pieces

were part of the ship Jason was on?

-No, Creusa, every word I said in the Council meeting

is exactly what I believe to be true.

I agree without a shadow of doubt

with what Argus' father said.

And whatever the others do, you can rely on me.

-Thank you, cousin.

-That father of Argus prattles too much.

At the first opportunity you have--

-Do you think there is such a place as Colchis?

-Well, I'm beginning to have my doubts.

-I'll never lose hope, no matter how many troubles we have.

-Why, I didn't suspect you were so hard to convince.

[LAUGHTER]

-Now you know.

I hope we don't have to wander in the open sea

for the rest of our lives.

-So long as we eat.

-Argus!

Jason!

-What's wrong?

-The helm won't move.

It's stuck fast.

-Let's try all together.

-The ship is being driven by a strong current.

-There's land!

Land!

Look over there!

-We're heading straight for the rocks.

-Find the helm.

-We'll be dashed to pieces.

JASON: Stand back!

Stand back, out of the way, I said!

Raise the oars!

[INAUDIBLE]

MAN: Stop shouting.

Out of the way.

-Back the oars!

Row back!

Row back!

-There's no call for alarm, friends.

Keep calm now.

We're beyond the current.

We're out of danger.

MAN: Look, women, women swimming out to meet us.

-Let's hope they're pretty.

-Pretty?

They're beautiful.

MAN: This must be Olympus, the home of the gods.

Land, finally, I can't believe my eyes.

-The stars are really among the most beautiful things

the gods have bestowed upon men.

They remind us that true love is eternal.

-You think so?

-You don't believe what I say.

-I didn't say that.

But I don't think you would convince our comrades.

They left us all alone on the ship

to keep watch while they went off

in search of other pleasures.

-Where are your men?

-There are no men here.

Several years ago, our husbands sailed away

to fight a war in an distant island.

We never saw them again.

And our sons died a few months later

of some mysterious disease.

It was as if someone had laid a curse on them.

Since then, we have been waiting, alone.

And you are the first men to come here in all that time.

-Then our arrival must have awakened bitter memories.

-Why, no, you have awakened us from silence and from solitude.

You have reminded us of the joy of living.

It's years since there was laughter on this island

or since anyone sang.

Rejoicing and love seemed to have been lost forever.

-My men will begin to worry.

I'd better go now.

-I think your men are well occupied at the moment.

Stay 'til tomorrow here.

-The whole ship was falling to pieces.

The mast went over the side.

Water was rushing in everywhere.

And I, with just my bare hands, managed

to save all my companions.

And here I am.

-Who are you?

Where do you come from?

-My name is Laertes, and I come from Ithaca.

Oh, you wouldn't know it.

It's a faraway island, famous for its beautiful women,

though not one can compare with you.

-I don't believe you.

-You doubt my word?

-Yes, but it doesn't matter.

-Your eyes are pretty.

They're the color of the sky.

-[LAUGHS].

-Hey, what's wrong with the sheep around here?

What do you say?

Why don't we kill one of them and take

it back on board with us?

-They're not ours for the taking.

-Well, why do we work all the time,

like a pair of [INAUDIBLE], while the others

are playing with the girls?

-Oh, stop complaining.

Start looking for wood.

-So I'm tired of looking for wood all day long.

-There's a tree that will do.

VOICE: [INAUDIBLE] Argus, Argus.

Hello, it's I. It's your comrade.

Argus.

-Hey, it's the sheep talking.

SHEEP: Oh, wait.

Listen to us.

Don't leave us here.

-Sounds familiar.

He reminds me of someone.

-Why, that's the voice of Laertes.

-Yes, it is. It is the voice of Laertes.

-Have pity on us.

Have pity.

Help us, friend.

-It's the voice of Laertes.

He must be a magician.

-I am Laertes.

Argus, listen.

Alceus, Dionysus, Claudius, and all the others are with me too.

This island is full of witches.

-Did he say witches?

LAERTE: Yes, the women on this island

are all evil witches They turned us into sheep.

They turned the men who fell into their clutches

before us into rocks and trees.

Jason alone can save us.

No one else.

If it's not too late, warn him.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

-Let's go.

-And that's the reason.

That's why we've sailed away from home.

If I fail to appease the anger of Zeus,

my people will be destroyed.

And among them, my wife and my son.

-I am sorry.

Neither of us has very much reason

to be grateful to the fates.

They have given us youth and health and beauty.

But these gifts must be shared with others to be enjoyed.

We are both like trees which produce a marvelous fruit

that no one is allowed to gather.

You are barely allowed a fleeting moment of happiness.

Then you will sail away with your men,

and we will be left in silence again.

Our nights will be unendurable without love.

-You mustn't give way to despair like this.

You men will return to you.

You must have faith.

-No, no, we are all condemned for eternity.

[GASPS]

MAN: Help!

Beware of Gaia.

Flee for your life, oh King.

Help!

Save us!

Save us!

Help!

WOMAN: This land is accursed.

Flee from it.

MAN: Jason!

WOMAN: Whoever you are, stranger,

flee before it's too late!

MAN: Save us!

WOMAN: Gaia will destroy you!

[COUGHS]

-Father of witchcraft, almighty Apollo,

grant that I may be made once again as beautiful as I was,

even if only for a moment.

Only for a moment, that's all I ask of you.

WOMAN: This is the land of death.

Gaia is a witch.

Don't believe her words of love.

Flee for your life.

Flee for your life.

This land is accursed.

Flee from it.

Whoever you are, stranger, flee before it is too late.

Gaia will destroy you.

Don't come near me, stranger.

Run away.

Run!

You will never manage to set me free.

Only magic can break these bonds.

-But can you tell me what powerful sorcery

is concealed in this island.

-The sorcery you ask me about has only one name.

It's name is Gaia.

-Why, that's the name of the Queen.

-Yes, no one but she, Gaia, the terrifying daughter

of the great sun god.

She is my sister, a monster whose appearance

is as frightening as the terrible things she does.

-Explain what you mean.

I beg you.

I don't understand you.

-This creature you think is the most beautiful woman

in existence was born and grew up disfigured and horrible

to see.

Naturally, all men fled at the sight of her,

but they sought me.

Maddened by her jealousy, at last

she chained me in this lonely cavern

and asked and was granted a favor by Apollo.

Her hideous appearance, like that of the witches who

were her companions, was turned into dazzling beauty,

so that no man thereafter could resist them.

But she also wanted to have her revenge.

Whoever the victim is who yields to her embraces

or to the allure of her companions

will be either transformed into rocks

or living trees or animals.

Apollo gave her her wish, but only on one condition.

Her loveliness would be resplendent only

in daylight until the sun sets.

And so it will be until that day when fate brings a certain man

to this island, Jason, the King of Thessaly.

If she should once succeed in seducing him,

her beauty will become eternal, immortal.

If not, her magic powers will end.

-But tell me why she didn't have you put to death.

-Ah, because if she ever dares to kill me,

our divine father, Apollo, will be sure to punish her

by condemning her forever to be as hideous as she was at birth.

But you must flee.

Flee before Gaia's treachery destroys you.

No man has ever been known to resist her [CRIES OUT].

-I know you're an enchantress, Gaia.

I'm not afraid of your witchcraft.

Where is it?

Where is it?

Your magic power is finished forever.

-No!

[CRIES OUT] No!

No!

[GROANS] You think you won, don't you, Jason?

But you're wrong again.

I still hold you firmly within my power.

Rivers of blood will flow in the street of Iolcus.

Others instead of you will occupy your throne.

Others will take your wife and kill your son.

I lay my curse on you, you and all your kindred.

My curse is on you.

-Yes, you're right.

You're absolutely right.

-They killed Argus' father.

-It was Adrastus' soldiers.

[CROWD COMMOTION]

-Adrastus has usurped the throne.

Jason's son is our rightful king.

[SHOUTING]

-Cut them down!

[SHOUTING]

-All of them!

-What am I to thank for this great honor, Creusa?

-You miserable wretch, wasn't it enough

for you to usurp a throne with your treachery?

Why do you also want to kill innocent people?

-I had good reason to proclaim myself King of Thessaly today.

It's my only hope of saving the crown for you and for your son,

not for me and my protection.

The fact is, even when all Thessaly has been transformed

into a desert of dry cinders, you and your son

will still have a kingdom of your own,

the one that I conquer and subdue for you, not

like the one here, in another kind of land, thanks

to my genius and to my force of character

and to the gold in the vaults of this palace.

But to bring this reality and to make sure

that at my death there be no one to challenge your rights,

I require that you, for your welfare,

have due respect for my decisions, however

distasteful they are.

-What decisions?

-At the proper moment I shall reveal

to you my plans for our future.

And I hope to find you reasonable and cooperative.

It would be unpleasant if I had to use force.

-This fish is enough to make your stomach turn over.

-You know you ought to offer Poseidon

thanks for his blessing.

Otherwise, that fish would be eating you.

-This ship was filled with food water

when we put out to sea from that witch's island.

And now we're back to putrid fish again.

-I don't know what I wouldn't give

if I could only see my little son once again.

I'll bet you that he can handle a bow better than I can now.

-Be still, Laertes.

It doesn't help to talk about it.

-I shall let you lead Eurydice back to light.

But there is one more thing.

As she is going out of the underworld,

you are not to turn around and look at her.

I promised not to.

But the moment I was outside the entrance and saw daylight,

praying that she was behind me, I turned around to look at her.

Then I heard a distant rumble of thunder.

And my beautiful Eurydice went back into the underworld

forever to dwell among the dead.

-What is real love, Orfeus?

Mm, it's a joy and a sorrow.

It's final and eternal.

-Do you mind if I ask why you're studying the bottom of the sea?

What do you expect to find down there?

-You're wrong, Peleus.

I wasn't looking for anything I was thinking

that after what we've been through,

it's a miracle that we're still afloat.

Peleus!

PELEUS: What is it?

-Look, there's land over there on the horizon.

-Land!

-Over there!

-See it?

[EXCITED TALKING]

-Yes, yes, and a city!

-We're saved!

-I'll take 10 men to collect supplies.

The rest of you stay aboard and guard the ship.

-Very well.

-Look there.

It's almost like Iolcus.

MAN: All sail.

Ship your oars.

[CROWD COMMOTION]

-What do you suppose could be happening in this city?

-I hope it doesn't mean we'll be attacked.

Surely, they saw us coming in.

-Jason, look at that.

[SHOUTING]

The city is almost deserted.

-Please let me go.

I beg of you.

Don't keep me from leaving.

I have to put out to sea before nightfall.

-Why are you fleeing?

Where are the people going?

-Far away from here This is day of sorrow.

Death is already circling about our heads.

Rage will fall upon us.

And if you want some good advice,

go back by whatever way that brought you here.

And run for your lives.

Run for your lives before it's too late.

JASON: Are you the King?

-I am.

And who are you?

-I'm Jason, King of Thessaly.

I've just put into port and come ashore

in search of supplies for my shipmates.

But I find you and your people running away,

as though you were pursued by some horrible disaster.

I would like to offer you my assistance.

Tell me what I can do for you.

-First I wish to tell you for your own security

that once a year, when the moon is full at midsummer,

a frightful monster that lives deep in the caverns of Cytherea

comes out to hunt for victims.

Before he returns, he spreads death and destruction

among the unhappy inhabitants of this fair island.

And therefore, I too, and my daughter and my counselors

here, are running away to find a place of refuge.

-But why couldn't you kill the monster?

-Many young men of this island have tried in vain to do so.

And one was my son.

But every one of them was destroyed.

The strongest men are helpless against the brute.

So every year we must suffer again.

And more now are dead.

-My comrades and I will overpower the monster

and kill it.

-I'm afraid not, King Jason.

You will be killed like all the others

were, and your comrades, as well.

-This time you needn't worry.

Our ship was brought here by Zeus, and he will protect us.

-Well, King Jason, I wish I could fight at your side,

but at my age, it's not possible.

May the gods protect you.

[ROAR]

-Surround him.

[SCREAMING]

MAN: Help!

Help!

Help!

-Tell me, Euristeus, what power causes a face that you've

seen only for a few moments to be reflected deep

in your heart, and from then on, no other face you've known

is more dear to you?

I wonder why just one voice, your voice, and yours alone,

makes me tremble, and I hear your words like music.

-It's Aphrodite, the goddess of love who wields this power.

I love you, Atalanta.

-And I, you.

It's more than I can bear.

And now I know that I've always been in love

with you, even before I met you.

You were sent to me.

You won't leave me now, will you, Euristeus?

-Don't ask me that.

I beg of you.

I'm too weak to resist you.

-I wish you were, Euristeus.

I wish I could persuade you.

I'm certain that you would find living on this island

beautiful now.

We can live without fear of the monster in the mountain.

And it was you who saved us, you and Jason.

There will be no more sorrow here.

Oh stay with me, Euristeus.

Please, stay.

If you leave me tomorrow and go with the others,

for me it will be worse than dying.

-If only I could stay with you.

But I can't.

I mustn't.

I am destined to sail with my companions.

And you know why.

We have to continue our voyage.

But I'll come back.

If the gods grant their protection, I'll come back.

And it will be forever.

-No, you won't.

You can't come back, even if you want to.

Your country is too far.

-Believe me.

I promise you.

-I know you don't mean it.

I don't want any false illusions,

waiting, hoping in vain.

I love you.

And I'll love no one but you for the rest of my life.

-Tell me what you're thinking about, Jason.

-What do you expect me to think about?

Creusa, Achaeus, my little son, and my people

-Thinking of them isn't going to cure

your homesickness for them.

I know too well.

It only makes it harder to bear.

-Forget it.

-Forget it?

It's impossible to ignore your feelings.

-You must try to suppress them.

Leocritus.

LOECRITUS: What is it, Laertes?

-Go below and fetch us some of that good wine.

LOECRITUS: Right away.

-Hey, not that wine in the big jars.

Look in the hold on the starboard side by the bow.

-I see that you've brought along a supply of your own.

-I wanted it for those times when my mind is full of longing

and bitter memories, the way yours is at the moment.

-You surprise me, a family man like you,

consoling himself with wine.

-Well, I admit a pretty girl would be better.

But since there aren't any, what can I do?

ATALANTA : Euristeus, Euristeus!

-Atalanta, who put you in here?

You can trust me.

Afraid?

Of what?

I won't hurt you.

-[GASPS]

-You're too beautiful.

EURISTEO: Atalanta.

Atalanta.

-Don't run away from me.

I want to talk to you.

-[GASPS]

-If I tell Jason you're a stowaway--

-Take it.

Promise you won't say a word to anyone.

-It's not much.

And I don't want to deprive you of your pretty bracelet.

-Go away.

You frighten me.

-Don't be silly.

Why should I frighten you?

You don't mean it, Atalanta.

You're so beautiful.

-Leocritus, Laertes is waiting for that wine.

Atalanta!

[SCREAMS]

-[INAUDIBLE].

[SCREAMS]

-They'll kill each other.

Pull them off.

Break it up.

Break it up.

-Let me at him.

I want to kill him!

JASON: Euristeus, by smuggling this woman aboard ship,

you've broken our laws.

ATALANTA : It was no fault of his, my lord.

I stowed away on board.

Euristeus didn't know I was here until the ship

was far away from the island.

JASON: What's your defense, Euristeus?

-My noble lord and King.

What Atalanta says has nothing to do with the truth.

I forced her to come on the ship with me against her own will.

If one of us is to suffer, it's only fair that I should.

-No, that's not true.

Don't believe him!

Euristeus, don't lie to them, please.

Tell the truth.

Otherwise, they're going to kill you without mercy.

-They won't harm me.

-You're lying.

They're going to kill you!

I beg you!

Tell him the truth!

Tell him the truth, please!

-I believe what you say, Atalanta.

But as soon as he discovered your presence here with us,

Euristeus should have informed me.

Whereas his silence makes him equally

guilty of insubordination.

This crime carries the maximum penalty of death.

The same is true for the crime of Leocritus.

I would like to hear your opinion.

-Let Atalanta be put adrift on a raft.

And let both Euristeus and Leocritus be put to death.

-Let me suffer, but show him your mercy.

Justice will be done all the more.

If it will save Euristeus, then take my life.

-Euristeus, speak before the verdict is delivered.

-I have nothing more to say, except that Atalanta

is innocent.

-What penalty do the rest of you consider just?

MAN: The death penalty.

-Also for the girl.

-I'm for it.

-Me too.

-I say death.

-Death.

-Yes, death.

-Death.

-Death.

-Death.

-Death.

-Death.

-Death.

-Then it is your decision that they must die.

Admetus and Dionysus, carry out the sentence.

-Wait a moment, Jason.

JASON: Orfeus.

-Euristeus and Atalanta have done wrong.

It is quite true.

But let us consider why-- because they discovered

love for the first time.

They were unable to resist the power of this feeling

they experienced and which governs our very existence.

So if there is a criminal, here, then it must be love.

But who of you would dare to condemn love?

It would be the same as condemning life itself.

Euristeus, Atalanta, whatever the judgment of these men

here may have been, continue to have

faith in the power of love.

You will be in the right, and they will be in the wrong.

You in light, they in darkness.

Don't be too hasty.

I, Orfeus, born a Prince of Sparta

ask that you show them mercy.

-All right, as long as you let the girl be cast

adrift on a raft Is she stays here on the ship,

there will be quarreling and fighting over her.

-Argus, you haven't said a word.

-If we were to put the girl on a raft,

we'd be saving her life for the time being.

But by leaving her to drift alone in the open sea,

we're condemning her to a death worse than a criminal.

MAN: I say Argus is right.

That's true.

MAN: No, no, put them to death.

MAN: Put them to death.

MAN: Death to both of them.

[SHOUTING]

-Argus, you will put them on the raft with weapons

and enough food and water to last two person a fortnight.

As for Leocritus, give him 100 lashes.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-Here's to the health of Adrastus.

-You will forgive me if I must leave you, my friend.

But affairs of state are too urgent to be neglected.

-To your affairs of state, Adrastus, or to Creusa,

to be more precise about it?

-Achaeus, here I am, darling.

Achaeus.

Achaeus!

Polebia.

Polebia!

[SCREAMS]

-Why do you cower at the sight of me, cousin?

Evidently, you find my company most unwelcome.

-I want my son.

I implore you.

I want my son, you monster!

-I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to have him.

-How can you do a thing like this to him, Adrastus?

I want him returned to me at once!

-Whenever your eyes are flashing with rage,

you're even more beautiful.

I had seen you grow up from an awkward child.

And day by day, as you blossomed like some magnificent flower,

my desire for you had become overpowering.

Before I realized it, before I even thought of it,

my cousin had won your love forever.

But now you must come.

You can't escape me.

I love you with all my heart, and I've respected you.

Had I wanted to, I could have forced you.

-[GASPS] No, let me go.

Let me go.

-I might have had you easily before now.

But I'll wait a little longer.

You are well worth waiting for.

I want you to become my wife, uncomplaining

and of your own free will.

But I warn you.

If you disappoint me much longer,

your son will be sacrificed on the altar of the gods.

-No!

Kill me first.

Make me the sacrifice.

-I advise you to think it over carefully.

You can't escape me.

GAIA (VOICEOVER): My curse is upon you.

MAN: I know where the [INAUDIBLE].

GAIA (VOICEOVER): You will never see your homes again.

MAN: Steady the helm.

GAIA (VOICEOVER): You will never reach Colchis.

MAN: Steer clear of the whirlpool!

GAIA (VOICEOVER): You will never find the Golden Fleece.

Never.

Never.

Never!

MAN: We must stand fast.

Take heart, men.

[SHOUTING]

MAN: Stand clear of the burning.

-Bring some water over here.

[SHOUTING]

MAN: Come on.

You get that water over here!

[SHOUTING]

-Were you afraid the ship was going down, Jason?

-No, I trust your ship better than that, Argus.

-Well, it's a wonder to me she's still afloat.

-Look over there.

Do you see that light up there?

It's a mountain shining as bright as gold.

-Why, it's enough to blind you.

-As bright as the sun.

-It's a real miracle!

-It's a mirage!

-Only the Golden Fleece could give out such a splendid light.

It's enough to blind you.

[SHOUTING]

-The Golden Fleece.

-No, it's a mirage.

-We've finally arrived at last!

-Listen my friends, all your efforts and your great courage

have finally been rewarded.

The land we see ahead of us is Colchis.

And the light blinding our eyes is from the Golden Fleece.

We must now do exactly as the Oracle commanded.

-I will go ashore alone.

Orfeus, Prince of Sparta, will take command on board.

You will obey his orders without question.

Orfeus, if I don't return within two days,

leave me and return to Thessaly.

-Jason, we won't let you face it alone.

We've always shared your adventures.

You don't know what kind of danger

you may meet in an unknown land.

Suppose you run into difficulties,

like monsters or men who want to kill you.

What then?

After all, you are king.

What would we do without you?

-Forgive me, Jason, but Alcius has a point, there.

If there are dangers ahead of you,

we must face them together.

-It's just not right for you to risk your life all alone.

MEN: Yes, he's right.

He's right!

-I'm grateful to all of you.

But this is one time I can't accept your offer to help me.

The oracle was clear.

I must go alone.

Jason, King of Thessaly, with only his bare hands

and without aid will have to steal

the Golden Fleece from Colchis.

Head for the coast.

-Orfeus.

-Look.

Look there!

Look at that.

MAN: The fires of the volcano have gone out.

Look up there.

There is no more fire.

The gods of Olympus have heard our prayers.

Jason has won!

He had the Golden Fleece.

-Hm.

MAN: We're saved!

Saved!

Death to Adrastus.

Adrastus will answer to us.

Long live our King!

ADRASTO: They're all for him.

They don't know that Jason will never set foot again in Iolcus.

If the gods of Olympus aren't powerful enough

to sink that ship, we'll have to destroy it ourselves.

-What more can we do now, Adrastus?

The city is up in arms and shouting for our heads.

-Well, arrest some hostages and put them in prison.

At the first sign of a revolt, burn them at the stake.

-What, the soldiers would obey us now?

They'd help the rebellion.

-Pay them off.

They're soldiers aren't they?

They'll do want you say.

Enough gold will buy anything.

-And the Queen?

-I've already taken good care of the Queen.

Now get this thought into your thick heads.

One false step and I'll kill you like dogs.

What are you waiting for?

Get out of here.

And you, what do you want?

-I've had news, Adrastus.

Jason may have already landed.

-How do you know this?

-I have learned that one of the men who sailed with Jason

on the voyage, Euristeus, the son of Teledes,

was seen in the city this morning.

-I want him brought to me at once, alive or dead.

-That's what I thought, Adrastus.

He's disappeared from the city.

-Disappeared?

You dared to let him escape?

-I would like to ask you a favor.

If anything should happen to me, take care of Atalanta.

She has no one else.

-Depend on us.

-Be sure to take care of yourself, though.

-I'll watch out.

Don't look so sad.

The worst of our troubles are over.

Don't worry.

We'll be all right this time.

-I'm afraid.

I'm so afraid.

Are you sure there's no other way,

no other means of informing Jason?

The Sirens are out there so far.

Euristeus, how can you swim all that way?

MAN: Run!

The soldiers are coming!

--[LAUGHS] Onions, munching them like apples.

-Ah, at home, we say onions taste

like apples if you're hungry.

And they make your hair curly too.

-Why, that's the Siren's rock, I see.

Someone's lit a fire on it.

-That fire must be a warning signal.

Head for the Siren's rock.

-The approaches are under guard.

The dungeon's full.

Creusa's on the point of giving in to Adrastus.

But only to save your son's life.

There's only one possibility, if you can manage to get ashore

without Adrastus or any of his soldiers setting eyes on you.

Otherwise, it's the end of all of us.

We must do it quickly.

While there's still time to save the Queen.

-We can reach the coast by swimming underwater.

-But I can't swim even on top of the water.

-They'd be able to see us anyway.

-Only if we take Adrastus by surprise

do we have a chance of defeating him.

It's very simple.

Tomorrow, before the sun sets, we'll

bring the ship into port and a full sail.

MAN: But that's nothing short of madness.

-What looks like madness is often the best solution.

MAN: You know, they suppose we haven't

the least suspicion of what's happened.

-All hands to the mainsail.

Argus--

MAN: Get a move on.

-Head the ship straight for Iolcus.

MAN: We're heading for shore.

-King Adrastus, for what reason do

you appear before the altar of all powerful Zeus?

-To perform the rights of marriage

with this woman, whose name is Creusa.

-King Adrastus, we have just sighted Jason's ship.

It's heading for Iolcus.

[CROWD COMMOTION]

-Take all of the soldiers except my bodyguard

and run for the harbor.

Jason and his men, they can't leave that ship alive.

-Let me go.

Let me go!

-And you, get on with it.

I assure you, noting can stop the ceremony Go on!

Go on, I said!

-No!

JASON: We will not celebrate your marriage,

Adrastus, but your funeral.

-Oh!

-[INAUDIBLE], Adrastus.

[GROANS]

[CHILD CRYING]

-Jason!

His death and yours will be the end of all your house.

-[SCREAMS]

-[CRIES OUT]

-Look after him.

-Oh, Jason, you've come back at last.

-Orfeus.

--[GASPS] My friend, why do you grieve?

Noblest of kings, I've finally found

the one whom I've sought for so long.

Listen, I hear her voice.

I hear the voice of Eurydice.

She is calling to me.

She is coming now to take me away with her.

There she is.

Farewell.

Farewell, my friends, and to my wandering

from one end of the world to the other.

[CRYING]

-And your marriage, Atalanta and Euristeus,

will mark the beginning of a new era of happiness for this land

and the end of our misfortunes.

Joy has returned to us at last, thanks to the bravery

of our King, under the protection of the sacred Golden

Fleece, the miraculous symbol of the everlasting power

of our great god, Zeus.

-Euristeus, at last.

ALL: Hooray!

[CHEERING]

-My son.

[MUSIC PLAYING]