The warrior King Odysseus leaves his idyllic life in the kingdom of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. After winning the war, he now must endure a lengthy, ten-year journey to return, and ...
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The warrior King Odysseus leaves his idyllic life in the kingdom of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. After winning the war, he now must endure a lengthy, ten-year journey to return, and with all his wits, Odysseus must overcome deadly monsters, powerful forces of nature, seductive enchantresses, and even journey into the bowels of the Underworld.
Greek actress Irene Papas, who played Odysseus' mother Anticlea, played notable heroines in other Greek epics. In Electra (1962), she played the played the title role, daughter of Agamemnon. In The Trojan Women (1971), she played Helen, wife of Menelaus, and in Iphigenia (1977), she was Klytaimnistra, Agamemnonas' wife. On stage, she played Hecuba, in 2003. See more »
Goofs
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 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. See more »
Quotes
Eurymachus:
[Odysseus has started to kill the suitors who are locked in a room with him]
Wait, wait! What is our crime? We treated your wife as a queen. We lived off you're land, that can be replaced. We did not kill anybody.
Odysseus:
Your crime is that you tried to steal my world. The world I built with my hands, and my sweat...
Eurymachus:
Now, anyone...
Odysseus:
And my blood. The world that I shared with a woman who bore me my son, and no one will ever take that from me. Now you will die to a man in a river of blood.
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This is probably the best TV movie of all time. Odysseus is the perfect hero for the aging 1st world population, with his use of guile to triumph when strength is not enough. Despite the fact that one of my favorite parts of The Odyssey is left out, when Odysseus returns home after 20 years, his faithful pet Argus awaiting him, only to die after one greeting; I think this is an incredibly arresting film. Armand Assante is surprising terrific as Odysseus. He conveys with his expressions the depth of thought and emotion which characterized Odysseus. All the more amazing when one considers that Odysseus was an Achaean, a tall, fair race of people, though Odysseus was, himself, described by Homer as one of middle stature, for an Achaean, no doubt. This movie makes the tales of Homer seem more real than any film I have ever seen. The emotions of all are complex and real. The mutual love and devotion of Odysseus and Penelope are portrayed in a beautiful and believable way by the actors. The scene in which Odysseus returns to take back his kingdom is brutally and believably real. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It should be required in the schools.
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This is probably the best TV movie of all time. Odysseus is the perfect hero for the aging 1st world population, with his use of guile to triumph when strength is not enough. Despite the fact that one of my favorite parts of The Odyssey is left out, when Odysseus returns home after 20 years, his faithful pet Argus awaiting him, only to die after one greeting; I think this is an incredibly arresting film. Armand Assante is surprising terrific as Odysseus. He conveys with his expressions the depth of thought and emotion which characterized Odysseus. All the more amazing when one considers that Odysseus was an Achaean, a tall, fair race of people, though Odysseus was, himself, described by Homer as one of middle stature, for an Achaean, no doubt. This movie makes the tales of Homer seem more real than any film I have ever seen. The emotions of all are complex and real. The mutual love and devotion of Odysseus and Penelope are portrayed in a beautiful and believable way by the actors. The scene in which Odysseus returns to take back his kingdom is brutally and believably real. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It should be required in the schools.