Odissea 

Odysseus' journey told in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. After fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus spends years trying to return home to Itaka.

Stars:

Bekim Fehmiu, Carlo Alighiero, Leonard Steckel

Cast

Series cast summary:
Bekim Fehmiu	...	Ulisse 8 episodes, 1968
Carlo Alighiero	...	Italian Narrator 8 episodes, 1968
Leonard Steckel	...	Narrator (German version) 8 episodes, 1968
Constantin Andrieu	...	Antinoo 7 episodes, 1968
Irene Papas	...	Penelope 6 episodes, 1968
Renaud Verley	...	Telemaco 6 episodes, 1968
Barbara Bach	...	Nausicaa 6 episodes, 1968
Marina Berti	...	Arete 5 episodes, 1968
Roy Purcell	...	Alcinoo 5 episodes, 1968
Marcella Valeri	...	Euriclea 4 episodes, 1968
Karl-Otto Alberty	...	Eurimaco 4 episodes, 1968
Constantin Nepo	...	Antinoo 4 episodes, 1968
Ivica Pajer	...	Euriloco 4 episodes, 1968
Petar Buntic	...	Filetore 4 episodes, 1968
Maurizio Tocchi	...	Leocrito 3 episodes, 1968
Andrea Saric	...	Melanto 3 episodes, 1968
Michèle Breton	...	Atena 3 episodes, 1968
Duje Novakovic	...	Elpenore 3 episodes, 1968
Scilla Gabel	...	Elena 2 episodes, 1968
Samson Burke	...	Polifemo 2 episodes, 1968
Corrado Monteforte	...	Anfinomo 2 episodes, 1968
Fausto Tozzi	...	Menelao 2 episodes, 1968
Mimmo Palmara	...	Achille 2 episodes, 1968
Enzo Fiermonte	...	Demodoco 2 episodes, 1968
Gérard Herter	...	Laocoonte 2 episodes, 1968
Igor Sunara	...	Suitor 2 episodes, 1968

Storyline

Odysseus' journey told in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. After fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus spends years trying to return home to Itaka.

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Plot Keywords:

greece | greek mythology | greek island | mediterranean sea | odysseus | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 March 1968 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Avanture odiseja

Filming Locations:

Monte Argentario, Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min (theatrical) 55 min (8 episodes) 91 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A Thomas organ was prominently featured on the soundtrack to create special musical effects.

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Goofs

When the bow of Ulysses is taken form the storage room it is clearly strung. Bows have to be stored unstrung or they lose their strength over time (and this one is said to have not been touched for 20 years). As a result the movie deviates from the epic in the essential part that in the epic the bow is useless to the suitors because they are unable to string it (either due to lack of strength or not knowing that a composite bow is strung backwards). The movie on the other hand shows the suitors (rather unconvincingly) unable to simply draw the bow.

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Alternate Versions

The ElleU Multimedia (Rome, Italy) DVD release, on 2 discs, eliminates the initial and final titles of each of the eight parts of the original TV movie (except for the initial titles of the first and for the final titles of the last one), thus presenting the whole series as a single movie. On the contrary, the VHS release, on 3 cassettes, maintains the titles of every single part. This could be the reason for the different running time, leading to the conclusion that the DVD release is not cut.

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Connections

Referenced in The Last Ship: Tempest (2017)

User Reviews

It will never be better than this... but will it be seen again?

In all honesty, this series is as much a classic (as television goes) as the original poem is to the world's literature. Far from being crassly exploitative, it is a beautiful and respectful rendering of one of the western culture's defining texts.

I was moved by the plight of Odysseus and his followers; touched by the drama of the fall of Troy (which was felt but not seen); intrigued by the way the gods played with the fate of mortals. (It should be mentioned that the gods appearing here are not ridiculous CGI creatures flitting around on their ankle wings, or poorly-cast fashion models in bikinis. As in Homer's work, they act through mortal agents or, rarely, are represented by classical statuary).

It's a pity it's not available in DVD, especially given the vastly inferior and cheesy adaptations of the Odyssey that one can find in video stores.