The Odyssey
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Movie Reviews of The Odyssey
Movie Review: A fairly faithful and entertaining mini-series adaptation of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey"
Summary: 5 Stars
In my Classical Mythology class my students have an opportunity to write a paper comparing the recent theatrical film "Troy" to not only Homer's "Iliad", but all of the other classical sources regarding the story of the Trojan War. Students find plenty of differences between the ancient stories and the film and the same would be true if they were to look at the recent mini-series version of "Helen of Troy" or any of the old movies that dealt with the Trojan War. Students then have to evaluate the differences and similarities to render a judgment as to whether "Troy" is an appropriate adaptation of Homer and the others. You would think that a similar paper could be written regarding this television mini-series version of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," but it would not be worthwhile because this is the most faithful adaptation of Homer to date. Yes, to anyone familiar with the original text there are differences. For example, when Odysseus comes home his faithful dog does not drop dead and Penelope does not test him regarding the bed with the headboard made from a tree, but I always thought that last one was a bit much given everything he had just done to prove he was Odysseus come home at last.
When it comes to Homer I maintain there are "Odysseus" people and there are "Iliad" people, and I am firmly ensconced in the latter camp. This is not only because I found the character of Achilles and his wrath to be more interesting, but also because what I thought was the best part of "The Odyssey," the ten years of adventures that kept Odysseus lost, were the shortest part of the epic. But the teleplay by Christopher Solimine and director Andrei Konchalovsky ("Tango and Cash") takes care of that concern as the visits by Odysseus (Armand Assante) to the islands of the Cyclops (Reid Asato), Circe (Bernadette Peters), Calypso (Vanessa Williams), and the rest assume a greater part of the narrative. Meanwhile, back at home Odysseus's queen Penelop (Greta Sacchi) has to put up with all of the suitors who want to marry here and take the throne of Ithaca since they believe Odysseus to be dead, and their son Telemachus (Alan Stenson) goes off on a journey to prove his father is still alive.
While Jim Henson's creature shop creates the mythical monsters for Odysseus and his men to encounter, what is more important is that Assante's character reeks of hubris. Not only does he stand on the shore thumping his chest and proclaiming he is greater than the gods for having brought down Troy through the stratagem of the Trojan Horse, he continues to thumb his nose at Poseidon even as things get worse and worse. The scene where I decided to round up on my ranking for this mini-series is when Odysseus is floating in he sea being buffeted by waves sent by Poseidon and the arrogance that has doomed him and his crew to ten years of wandering and death are beaten out of him. Odysseus was not a hero to the ancient Greeks, who considered him more of a pirate than anything else (remember, the first thing he does on the way home from Troy is to stop and raid a village). His is wily Odysseus from start to finish, but Assante is given a character arc to play and he follows through with it. His love for his wife and his son are core to his character as well, and while I questioned this particular bit of casting when I first heard of it, Assante does make a convincing Odyssues. There are no problems accepting Scacchi as the personification of faithfulness in Penelope and having Irene Papas show up as Anticlea, the mother of Odysseus was a nice casting decision.
For me the most problematic element in the mini-series is the performance of Alan Stenson as Telemachus, although Michael J. Pollard as Aeolus the Bronx god of the winds was a bit much even with the nudge-nudge wink-wink way he is presented. But Telemachus rants and raves too much as the headstrong kid who refuses to believe the father he has grown up without is still alive. I should really not be enjoying it when he gets beaten to a pulp, but notice that before his father tells him the right time has come for him to be agree, this kid is pretty much frothing at the mouth. The recounting of the Trojan War is reductionalistic in the extreme and they gloss over the story of how Agamemnon got the king of Ithaca to go to war when Odysseus was pretending to be insane and plowing a field with salt, but these are legitimate choices given that the focus is on Homer's poem and not the attendant myths.
Granted, the story of "The Odyssey" is told here as pure entertainment, which is seen not only when Calypso turns one of Odysseus's soldiers into a talking pig and during the slaying of the suitors when they go flying through the air when hit by arrows and spears, but in the (predominantly) playful way the gods are presented. Poseidon is the exception since he is really, really ticked off at our hero, but Hermes (Freddy Douglas) is certainly mischievous, and gray-eyed Athena is certainly played with a twinkle in the blue-eyes of Isabella Rossellini (who I thought actually could have been in the story a bit more). I also thought that giving Eurymachus (Eric Roberts) more to do as the spokesperson for the suitors was a good move. All things considered, it is amazing how faithful this telling is to Homer given how much fun they have in telling the tale and with such low expectations going in "The Odyssey" certainly exceeds them.
Movie Review: When The Gods Are No Longer Needed
Summary: 5 Stars
What happens when mankind begins to look within himself for guidance and the meaning of life rather than outwardly towards some personification of divinity or abstract supernatural power?
This is the authentic journey of adventure and discovery awaiting Odysseus in this excellent made for television mini-series. It's not the epic wars of men, nor the destructive natural forces with which he must contend. It's not even the capricious whims of the Gods, Goddesses and assorted monsters populating the mythical landscape of ancient Greece and the surrounding Mediterranean. They are all nothing more than the externalization of ongoing internal processes yet to be resolved within the human soul.
When Odysseus, King of Ithica sails off to war he does so with more in mind than just honoring a treaty between kings. He is seeking something more personal and lasting, he is in search of immortality. Greatness in battle was to be the vehicle by which he hoped to achieve this goal. Endeavoring to prove himself to be a God among men, he hoped to so impress the Gods of Olympus with feats of valor that he would be accepted into their eternal company.
However when the God's turn on Odysseus for his hubris he becomes angry and begins to re-evaluate man's need for Gods' at all. As he struggles for the next ten years to find his way back to his wife Penelope and son he slowly begins to see through lifes' veil of illusion and eventually discovers that his path to eternal life was waiting for him back in Ithica all along. True immortality is found only within familial love and the continuation of that part of yourself that lives on in your sons and daughters. When he finally makes it home he must face one last threat to ensure the perpetuation of his legacy.
The special effects are extremely well done, specially for a made-for-television production and the Mediterranean scenery is absolutely breathtaking. My two favorite sequences in the film are the ghostly vision of Hades counterbalanced by the incredibly beautiful Isle of Calypso. Armand Assante is fantastic as the brave, yet introspective Odysseus and Greta Scacchi is perfect for the part of the beautiful, long suffering Penelope. What really sets this movie apart and makes it so special is Director Andrei Konchalovsky's ability to give the viewer more than just a classic action/adventure. He delivers an insightful examination into the soul of the mythic Odysseus as he searches for the true meaning of life.
Movie Review: Destined to be a classic for years to come!
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie was superb. Although it may have not 'totally' followed the story line, I belive it left the story line slightly only to add emphases to make the viewer feel the pain, joy, sorrow that they were to have felt on there journey.
Other then that I do belive this movie did a great job following the story line from the greek classic by Homer, but also at the same time while not only great viewing, but really taught something as well as if reading the book. To know no matter how great one is, there is always one more powerful, even if it is a force unseen. 'to them the gods which Odysseus said he didnt need anymore at first only to be plagued by the cure of Posiden to suffer and never see His beloved home again'.
Well worth watching for entertainment and also educational too. Youll easily find yourself watching this movie a few times.
Armand Assante was a great choice to play Odysseus who plays the part flawlessly, but Vanessa Williams as Calypso... >:)~ *Whistles* enough said on this.
Great movie to treasure =)
Movie Review: Odyssey, how has it been really?
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite films, so Im giving it 5 stars with no hesitation.
I haven't seen many renditions of Odyssey, but this one here stroke me as a very real interpretation, in a sense very close to the Odyssey written. To me that is more important than the fairy-tale Odyssey that has long been a Hollywood favorite.
Besides, the cast of actors is very serious and very good - Assante, Sacchi, Rosellinni to name a few. All played to the best of their ability and the task given. Probably my favorite part of the film is Odysseys' return and on - because of its radiant optimism.
The one criticism that I do have is that although the beginning showed some scenes that might ve happened in Troy, I think more attention could be paid to the character of Achilles, who looked more like a Fabio of sort rather than what I would think Achilles was. Other than that, if you haven't seen the film, and you like serious interpretaions of the classics, you will probably enjoy this one.
Movie Review: A Enjoyable fantasy film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a good production. It requires an uncynical viewing as Greek myths in general require a bit of imagination but if that's what you are looking for, then you will enjoy this. There are quite a few different events in the story, so it is quite long but that is good as the adventure keeps on going. I liked the fact how the gods appear every now and then to the mortals they are playing their wee games with. If you are looking for the type of fantasy that you might have enjoyed as a kid, then you will find this very entertaining. I also like that although i have not read the odyssey. i feel the story given in this film is probably reasonably faithfull to the adventures told in that famous book.
This production required a big budget and while not up to top shelf blockbuster standards of today, it does a very nice job of telling a very epic adventure.