The Odyssey (1997– )

This lavish small-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic--replete with exotic Maltese and Turkish locations, state-of-the-art special effects, and many bronzed muscles gleaming with ... See full summary »

Stars:

Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Rossellini

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

This lavish small-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic--replete with exotic Maltese and Turkish locations, state-of-the-art special effects, and many bronzed muscles gleaming with sweat--chronicles the voyage home of a Trojan hero, Odysseus King of Ithaca, and includes many more scenes of his faithful, beautiful wife Penelope dodging leering suitors at home than Homer ever composed!

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Plot Keywords:

voyage | seduction | quest | sword | impalement | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent sequences and some sensuality

Details

Country:

Italy UK Germany Greece USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Homer's Odyssey

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, Beta Film, Hallmark Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

176 min 176 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

As the soldiers run down the hill as Odysseus yells "Fight, fight, fight!", one can briefly see a crew member with a blue shirt and black sunglasses standing behind them.

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Quotes

Odysseus: Is easy to be angry!

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Connections

Version of As Aventuras sexuals de Ulysses (1998)

User Reviews

As good a book adaptation as you will ever see!

I watched this movie last evening after not seeing it for at least four years and was completely absorbed by it again. I used to show it to my year eight high school classes as a tie-in to our introductory ancient history syllabus and the movie was well received. One of the most important aspects of movie/doco watching for adolescents is the time a particular scene stays before their eyes-the longer it stays the sooner adolescent-fidget sets in and the movie/doco, regardless of its inherent strength, is lost for them. Seen from this perspective, The Odyssey is a superbly made film.

Besides this superlative editing, the strength of the characters is dominant from the opening scenes and simply becomes stronger as the movie progresses, climaxing with the wonderful Calypso scene near the end. Vanessa William's superb rendition of her character is but a mirror of the other great acting roles distributed throughout the movie. It says much about the film adaptation of a mythological work that is roughly three thousand years old that the actors can make the essential humanness of the epic ring true. Dare I say it was "believable!"

If you want to view an extremely watchable movie then make every attempt to see this one-in my opinion, everything about it is fabulous!