The Odyssey (1997) (TV)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Andrei Konchalovsky

Writers (WGA):

Andrei Konchalovsky (teleplay) &
Chris Solimine (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

18 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Drama

Plot:

This lavish small-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic--replete with exotic Maltese and Turkish locations...

Plot Keywords:

Cyclops | God | Voyage | Epic | Heroic

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Armand Assante	...	Odysseus
Greta Scacchi	...	Penelope
Isabella Rossellini	...	Athena
Bernadette Peters	...	Circe
Eric Roberts	...	Eurymachus
Irene Papas	...	Anticleia
Jeroen Krabbé	...	King Alcinous (as Jeroen Krabbe)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Eurycleia
Christopher Lee	...	Tiresias
Vanessa Williams	...	Calypso
Nicholas Clay	...	Menelaus
Adoni Anastassopoulos	...	Perimedes (as Adoni Anastasse)
Paloma Baeza	...	Melanthe
Ron Cook	...	Eurybates
Reid Asato	...	Cyclops

Also Known As:

Die Abenteuer des Odysseus (Germany)
Homer's Odyssey
Odysseia (Greece)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent sequences and some sensuality.

Runtime:

176 min (2 parts)

Country:

Italy | UK | Germany | Greece | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company:

American Zoetrope

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Odysseus sees his time-worn ship half-buried in the sand on Circe's island he is overcome with grief and falls to the ground on his knees. The only problem is that the deep indentation of his knees is already worn into the ground before he actually kneels - either from a previous take, or to protect Armand Assante from hurting his knees.

Quotes:

Odysseus: Do you see, you gods of sea and sky? I conquered Troy. Me Odysseus, a mortal man of flesh and blood and bone and mind! I do not need you now, I can do anything.
Poseidon: Odysseus, why do you defy me?
Odysseus: Who are you?
Poseidon: It is I Poseidon, god of the wine dark sea. You have forfeited for forgetting how I helped you.
Odysseus: Help me? For ten years you played with us as toys. For ten years you let blood spill to your shores.
Poseidon: But it was my serpent who silenced Laocoon or your horse was doomed, yet you refuse to give thanks. You forget, a man is nothing without the gods. You will suffer for this offense. For your arrogance, you will drift on my sea for an eternity, never again will you reach the shores of Ithaca.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Version of "Ulysse 31: Vengeance of the Gods (#1.1)" (1981)

A great movie experience

My husband and I just read the Odyssey together and this film was such a wonderful visualization! The settings, the sea, the magical gods' voices and appearances were absorbing and believable. I especially enjoyed the costuming; we see frozen images of people in ancient Greek dress but they moved with the wearers, just as our clothes do, and they helped create a very sensual impression of ancient Greek life. Although the interiors were a little bare, they were believable too and I enjoyed the colors and paintings that gave life to otherwise stony buildings. I have visited much of the Mediterranean and love the bleached ruins of the Greeks and Romans, but they had colors when they were new--it was exciting to see them that way. The actors were also believable, esp. Assant as Odysseus, conveying both drama and excitement. Some viewers seem to miss the fact that Odysseus survived the Trojan war and would have gotten home faster if he had not offended Poseidon, the god of the sea, by bragging about his performance. Poseidon makes sure he suffers before he reaches home, enlisting his relatives and friends, while Odysseus persists in his goal of reaching his loving wife and home. Altogether a terrific film. I want a DVD version to watch it again--the library video we saw had some jumpy places!