The Odyssey
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Movie Reviews of The Odyssey
Movie Review: Good, faithful adaptation
Summary: 4 Stars
In the comentary, the director upfront admitts wishing to focus on the most entertaining parts of the Odyssey and this he does. I do not believe their is much to criticize (although there are some to be done) given the fact that even with scenes removed the runtime of the film is close to four hours. Therefore credit is due for fitting as much as they did.
The real strength of the movie is its staying true to the core story. Unlike myth/ancient history movies that have come up in the last few years such as Gladiator, Troy, and Alexander, which are mostly rationalized assumptions of the stories they are supposed to tell, the Odyssey stays true to the events that are written. Even little things that really don't bear a great deal on the movie (e.g. Athena being Mentor, the scar on Odysseus' leg, and Nausika finding Odysseus on the shore) are kept to ensure the purity of events.
Another nice point is the talent used in this movie. Despite the effects being about 10 years old, they do not overly dominate like most multi-million dollar effects movies today. Unlike the before mentioned movies who star the current most-popular eye candy of the time to garner support for the movie, such as Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolies, the performers have more a theatre (and thus more credible ability) background.
Isabella Rossillini stays true to Athena's playful toying part, Bernadette Peters is sassy and seductive as Kirke ought to be, and Vanessa Williams, though not the "fair-haired" as her epitath always calls her, but is exotic enough to make a convincing Kalypso.
As for the critiques, they are few, and mostly scene modifications.
1) Poseidon's grudge against Odysseus is his blasphemy, though in the book it is primarily the blinding of Polyphemus. This is touched in the movie, when the Kyklops calls his father to avenge him, but is never addressed. It would have been better to keep it so.
2)The sheep of Helios is missing, but I believe that Karybdis is a much better effect, so that omisssion is more than forgivable.
3) We always see the olive tree, but its importance should have been stressed. Penelope uses it to test Odysseus when he comes home. They could have cut out some of the lovey-duvey dialogue at the end to add that scene-it would only take about 30 seconds.
4) The scene where Ares and Aphrodite are caught in bed by Hephestatus is a funny scene, and helps to explain why Odysseus eventually makes it home without Poseidon's interference. The movie on a whole does all its sex scenes tastefully, and this one could have been as well, unlike Rome and Troy where it is graphic sex for the sake of gratuitous sex.
5) They might have thrown in Odysseus' conversation with Agamemnon in the underworld about being stabbed in the back by his wife, Klytemnestra, as it would help the drama when later Odysseus admits misgivings about Penelope's faithfulness to him to Athena. On the other hand, the scene in the underworld from the book is mostly a list of the procession of Persephone and the movie captures the most important parts of the chapter.
Finally there are the sets. The boats are modeled after realistic triremes, and the paintings on the houses, especially Menalaus', are close to accurate. The layout of Odysseus' home complete with the Andron, and the women's quarters upstairs, and the bouletarion with Odysseus' throne shows that their set designer actually did some research (another trait often lacking in blockbuster films on ancient epics)
All in all, one of the best examples of ancient epic/mythology in the media out. It stays more close to the original material, and anytone who is familiar with the work of Homer will enjoy it. Academic it may not be, but it is sucessful being entertaining as promised, but also telling the story as Homer probably wanted it to be told.
Movie Review: Successful Rendition of Homer's Classic
Summary: 4 Stars
There is a definite "Hollywood" flavor to Homer's classic, but The Odyssey comprises much of the story and, yet, keeps the viewer engaged with visual special effects. Approximately 3 hours in length, this film embodies the main aspects of Homer's story without getting too detailed. Perhaps many people didn't care much for this film because it is not completely accurate to the story. It seems to me that many of the parts that were altered were minor in nature and, in general, didn't affect the overall quality of the film. The producers of The Odyssey seemed to be wary of accuracy when it came to telling the major points of the story. The casting was great. Armand Assante does a good job of portraying the hero, Odysseus. He seems to capture the leadership qualities intended to the journey back to Ithaca. Bernadette Peters is cast as Circe, Vanessa Williams is Calypso, and Isabella Rossellini plays Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, and Greta Scacchi plays Penelope, Odysseus' wife.
What makes this particularly a wonderful movie is that it serves two purposes. It teaches the main points of The Odyssey to those who are not familiar with it, and it is a modern adaptation that can be appreciated by the "reluctant" viewers of classics. Encompassed within the film are many of the adventures that Odysseus experiences in Homer's epic poem: the Trojan War, the Trojan Horse, the Cyclops, Hades (the Land of the Dead), Calypso's Island, Circe's Island, The wrath of Poseidon, The Suitors and the Suitor's Challenge, Penelope's Test of Odysseus' faith.
Most of the time, visual effects do little to awe me, especially when there is a story to be told. But, imagery and setting aids in creating a true epic feel in The Odyssey. The camera angles of vast sea while they are afloat, the images of the setting sun and moon, the depiction of the God of the Sea, Poseidon, and his angry wrath on Odysseus, the realistic images of The Cyclopes (and other creatures), and the battles between the Greeks and Trojans all serve to establish a "grandiose" effect of the epic poem. All these visuals give the story a "larger than life" feel.
Aspects of The Odyssey that were irksome were overdone scenes with Odysseus and his "temptors"-Calypso and Circe. They seemed to drag these out unnecessarily and tried to be a little too "heated" with some of the lines and sexual innuendos. It seemed that they could have edited these more and given more time and effort in another more important aspect of Odysseus adventure-such as his return to Ithaca.
What one must take in mind before viewing this and other classics on film is that often it is a "retelling" of the story; this being said, The Odyssey is "almost" accurate. Overall, this is a film that successfully depicts Homer's classic with integrity.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars.
Also recommended: Jason and The Argonauts, Clash of the Titans
Movie Review: Overall, pretty well done
Summary: 4 Stars
This film can be broken up into 3 parts. The first 2 parts detail scenes from Homer's ILIAD and Virgil's AENEID. The 3rd part, as is likely surmised, covers stories taken from Homer's ODYSSEY. The latter comprises 90% of the film.The weakest part of the film is early section of ILIAD material. For one, the actor who plays Achilles is simply not big enough or brawny enough to be believable as what was supposed to be the greatest warrior who ever lived. Even worse, his showdown with the Trojan champion Hector (one of the climactic scenes from the ILIAD) is sadly disappointing. It would have been better to omit this episode altogether rather than water it down as much as they did.
As a minor criticism, it is unfortunate that the audience of the film is never told WHY all of Greece went to war with Troy. No mention is made of Paris' abduction of Helen of Laconia. The movie makes it seem like the Greeks one day just got up and arbitrarily decided to invade Troy. The Trojan's violation of Xenia is not divulged as a just reason for the actions of the Greeks.
Those criticisms aside, the rest of the movie is splendid, for the most part. The episode of the Trojan horse (from the AENEID) is well done and follows Virgil fairly closely. The TELEMACHIA is touched on with brevity, but it is included. And, of course, Odysseus' famous adventures in "la la land" are there for all to see.
Armand Assante is a good pick as the clever and sagacious king of Ithica. He is a great warrior, but not the best. He's a man who tends to rely much more on insidious cunning than brute strength. His feud with Poseidon is brought out nicely, and the depiction of Poseidon is very impressive.
This film is highly recommended for those who have read Homer, those who have not read Homer & those who've not yet read the Greek bard, but someday want. The special effects on the DVD are dazzling & bring Greek mythology to life (particularly the Underworld sequence). The epic poem is recommended to all as well. However, if you don't ever get around to reading it, this film does do a credible job of capturing some of the flavor and magic of a classic work that is over 2,500 years old.
Movie Review: A Near Perfect Rendering of an Epic Tale
Summary: 4 Stars
This particular film adaptation of Homer's epic poem, staring Armand Assante as Odysseus, and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, from the studios of Hallmark Entertainment, is more than likely the best film rendition of this grand story.
King of Ithaca, Odysseus, is asked to join the Greek forces to recover the kidnapped Princes Helen, (whose face launched a thousand ships), and masterminded the famous Trojan Horse leading to the Greek victory. Odysseus thus leaves Troy to return to his kingdom but is thwarted at every turn, punished by the god Poseidon, taking ten years to finally walk the shores again of his beloved Ithaca.
This tale continues to resonate over three thousand years since it was written. Why? Because it is a classic tale that illustrates all the great virtues of humankind: Loyalty, Courage, Heroism, Kindness, and unconditional Love. The story also illustrates our many vices, Lust, Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath and Vanity; in fact the seven deadly sins. The Odyssey is a moral tale, and heroic tale that is still as relevant today as it was three thousand years ago.
The two great episodes depicted in the film are Odysseus' encounter with the man-eating Cyclops and his imprisonment on Calypso's (Vanessa Williams) island, the land of the legendary Sea Nymphs. His encounter with the enchantress, Circe (Bernadette Peters) is also done quite well. Once Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he is given a perfect disguise of a decrepit oldman from the goddess Athena, (Isabella Rossellini) to then take revenge on the many suitor's for the hand of Queen Penelope, Odysseus' wife and true love (Greta Scacchi) and to rule the kingdom of Ithaca in Odysseus' place.
What Odysseus learns at the tales end, which was Athena's purpose, was to attain wisdom, a virtue or human trait that stands above all other virtues and human traits.
The Odyssey is a wonderful film and an inspiration to re-read Homer's timeless epic poem.
Movie Review: Good movie, but different from the epic. . .
Summary: 4 Stars
As a 9th grade English teacher who covers substantial portions of The Odyssey every semester in my classes, I always show this movie to my students. Even though some of the monsters are clearly the stuff of lower-budget Hollywood, the acting is noteworthy, and the coverage of the epic as a whole is well-executed. (Covering a story of this magnitude in two hours is no small feat.) Students who struggle with the language of the epic enjoy this visual representation, and it also makes for a good comparison/contrast to the epic, as many scenes are presented differently than they are in the text. For example, the movie moves chronologically, whereas much of the epic is told as flashback. Certain scenes--such as the death of Odysseus's men on Helios's island and Penelope's test of the bed at the end--are omitted, while others--such as the Lotus Eaters and the witch-goddess Circe--are combined. Additionally, the movie portrays Odysseus much more positively and much less flawed than the epic. But all of this makes for excellent discussion with my students, and that's what matters to me. Beyond educational purposes, the movie is fast-paced and enjoyable. Highly recommended.