The Odyssey (1997) (TV)

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:

Voyage | God | Epic | Cyclops | Mythical

Awards:

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

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 2

12:00 PM

SYFY

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
L'odissea (Italy)
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 | Australia:PG | 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:

Crew or equipment visible: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cruise (1998)

EPIC IN SCOPE AND SUPERBLY REALISED

This fine adaptation of Homer's epic tale is superbly directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and is one of the best adaptations of Greek mythology ever captured on screen. Effectively cast throughout,the acting honours must surely go to Armand Assante who shines as Odysseus creating not your stereotypical 'sword and sandal' hero but an older,wiser and intelligent warrior king who endures every trial the gods throw at him as he journeys home from the Trojan war. The war itself is dismissed with rather too quickly but as that was the subject of Homer's other great work "THE ILIAD" this is excusable.Less easy to excuse is the omission of Odysseus's encounter with the sirens which is an integral part of the legend and which was quite well done in the 1954 Italian version of the tale starring Kirk Douglas.Other gods and monsters,however are excellently done especially the cave monster Scylla. A quality production which deserves to be seen by a world-wide audience,this giant amongst mini-series has never been shown on British t.v.( probably because there are no policemen or doctors in it)or released on video. With NTSC compatible video recorders now widely available in the U.K. I strongly advise obtaining the superb American video of "THE ODYSSEY" for anyone whose tastes run to mythic fantasy yarns like "JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS" to which this is very similar.Why do the likes of George Lucas try to create their own mythology when there is so much untapped material like this they could be making instead?....Go figure.