In 1997, the world saw a variety of cool paintings, from 'Men in Black' and 'Reaching to Heaven' to 'Titanic' and 'Brother'. The year was very rich in great movies. One of these I can call a two-part TV film by Andrei Konchalovsky 'Odyssey', an adaptation of the ancient Greek poems by Homer 'Odyssey' and 'Iliad'.
I have not read Homer’s poems, so I cannot talk about any discrepancies.
The plot begins with the fact that Odysseus, King of Ithaca, goes with the Greeks to fight against the hated Troy. Before the trip, he and his wife Penelope had a son, whom they named Telemachus. Having won the war, Odysseus became proud and challenged the gods, and the god of the seas Poseidon decided to teach our hero a lesson and condemned him to eternal wanderings on the sea in search of Ithaca.
Here is the plot in general terms. I liked the plot, at least some revelations of the level of films 'Seven' or ' Good Will Hunting' it is not, but it is very interesting, as we show two storylines that develop in parallel, this:
(1) The adventures of Odysseus, his way home. In the course of his adventures, Odysseus meets Cyclops Polyphemus, the goddess Cerceus, Hermes and many other characters in Greek mythology.
2) Ithaca with his wife and son. Growing up his son, waiting for Odysseus and keeping his wife faithful to him.
And at the end, these lines converge very epically. The ending is straight top, and most importantly - it is perfectly and logically summed up, which sometimes writers forget to do, making effect in the name of effectivity.
The acting game pleased me, all the actors are well suited to their images, the acting is quite good. The era feels, full-scale shooting, beautiful landscapes, costumes, scenery. Even the special effects do not look bad, and since 97 they are not terribly outdated, but when watching I was not uncomfortable or kringe, everything is quite good.
9 out of 10
Overall, it's a very good tape, from watching high. Previously, Konchalovsky shot really cool tapes. Yes, ' Dear comrades!' generally a good tape, but up to the level ' Odyssey' her like ' El Royal' to ' Pulp Fiction'. But anyway, thank you to the authors for this tape.
As you know, about half of all ancient Greek literary papyri found by researchers under the thickness of the past millennia belongs to the authorship of the legendary poet Homer, who in his works described incredible adventures and historical events that took place in Greece long before the onset of our era. Although it is not known exactly where Homer was born, how he lived and when exactly he created his most significant works, the fact remains that his heritage has priceless cultural features, thanks to which we have at least the slightest idea of what antiquity is and why it once was not equal. Drawing special emphasis on the intervention of the divine principle of the Olympic celestials in the everyday life of the common man, the poet did not cease to describe in his works the subtleties of complex diplomacy, in which a special role was assigned to Zeus, Hades and other rulers of the world with incredible power. But Homer did not cease to admire such flesh-and-blood heroes as Odysseus and Achilles, thereby demonstrating that man also possesses a special will that may well compete with the divine in ambition. Revealing to his readers incredible events, closely intertwined with the really existing history, the great poet created a whole mythology, which scattered to all corners of our planet and found direct reflection in literature and cinema, which repeatedly sent their audience to antiquity, where miracles were many times more than now, and the heroes fought not for life, but for death with the most outlandish, dangerous monsters, from whose fangs dripped poison. One of the most famous poems of Homer is rightly considered “Odyssey”, which told us that sometimes the way home can be treacherously short, but this is not a reason to despair and kneel before a changing fate.
The protagonist of the poem, the majestic king of Ithaca Odysseus firmly entrenched in world culture and became a symbol of struggle and faith, which gave him strength even when it seemed that there was no chance of success at all. And since Odysseus wandered the world for quite a long time and met many gods, monsters and other outlandish creatures on his way, his story became one of the best and at the same time promising for it to be filmed. The cinematography knows many variations of the Odyssey, released in different years, but this did not stop the director Andrei Konchalovsky from turning his eyes to the legacy of Homer and with small edits to show the audience his version of the old events, in which, as the ancient epic should be, there will be a place for a whole pantheon of heroes and creatures that influenced the course of ancient history. And to show on the screen as much as possible exciting, rich and bright, Konchalovsky and the producers decided to build “Odyssey” in the format of a television mini-series with a decent production budget and a great cast. With the triumph of breaking the stereotypes that past big screens projects are strikingly different in quality from full-length paintings, the creators carried us into an unprecedented adventure that surprises, entertains and amazes throughout the impressive timekeeping and does not carry almost nothing superfluous, because Homer’s “Odyssey” from the first to the last line is filled with something intriguing, and Konchalovsky had enough material that the story did not stand still and constantly moved forward, demonstrating new and new limits of miracles, with which you do not want to say goodbye.
The events taking place before our eyes unfold after the king of Ithaca Odysseus (Armand Assante) had to leave his home, leaving in his palace the charming wife Penelope (Greta Skakki) and the very young son Telemach (Alan Stenson) to go with the Greek army to the shores of Troy, where Helena the Beautiful was taken. Having besieged the majestic city from all sides, the Greeks nevertheless could not get inside, since the walls of the stronghold were insurmountable and the invaders had to linger for a whole decade in a foreign land, dreaming in vain that the conflict would exhaust itself as quickly as possible. And when the despair of the Greeks gradually reached its peak, Odysseus decided on an unprecedented cunning and still managed to lead his brothers in arms deep into Troy, thereby ending the war, the analogues of which have never been in history. However, the ruler of Ithaca himself was not destined to get home in the shortest possible time, for he felt overconfident and angered Poseidon himself, the lord of the seas, who decided to teach the arrogant man a lesson and send him on long journeys, comparable in time to the same Trojan War. Relying solely on himself and the goddess Athena, who favors him, Odysseus revealed the true dangers that inhabit the world he knows and even found his way to Hell itself only in order to approach his return to Ithaca, where his beloved and grown-up son is still waiting for him. And while Odysseus wanders to strange places and tries to circumvent the curse of vengeful Poseidon, Penelope is forced to fight off the courtship of overly insistent suitors who believe that Odysseus long ago died, and Ithaca will not hurt the new king despite the fact that he already has a pretender to the throne in the person of Telemachus.
Explaining some of the features of his project, Andrei Konchalovsky said that initially he did not plan to go word for word for word for Homer, since this variation of the Odyssey needed extensive creative freedom. Thus, the director brought to the narrative quite charming, and at the same time not destroying the canon of the poem edits, doing everything necessary so that the fans of Homer were not disappointed with the available liberties, and at the same time saw on the screen everything that had previously languished on paper. Having paid sufficient attention to the culmination of the Trojan War, which showed us one of the most famous tactical tricks in the history of military confrontations, Konchalovsky lowers the degree of epicity and large-scale battles in order to concentrate entirely on Odysseus’ wanderings and at the same time show what happens during his absence in Ithaca. With a sufficient budget, the director managed to put on the screen a giant Cyclops, the island of pleasures of the nymph Calypso and many other amazing things that were previously simply impossible to show on films with such a gloss. Of course, not all special effects now look as fresh as before, but Konchalovsky built the narrative in such a way that the audience first of all paid attention to Odysseus performed by the stately Aman Assante, while the technical component served only as a colorful, but still an addition to the story, which should not be paid too much attention.
Thus, Konchalovsky quite competently took advantage of Homer’s legacy, correcting the story in such a way that a little more logic appeared in it, and questions became many times less. And this version of the Odyssey is definitely good, because it really reveals to us the outlandish miracles in which you believe.
10 out of 10
In truth, I am not a great connoisseur of the works of the legendary ancient Greek poet Homer “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”, on which this film work by Andrei Konchalovsky was created in the 97th year, although I suspect that special knowledge of the author’s work of a large-scale story about the ten-year Trojan War while watching “Odyssey” is not so necessary. In general, it is quite obvious that this film should be considered rather a kind of fantasy of the creators of the picture on the theme of the incredible fabulous and mythological adventures of the proud king of Ithaca, who recklessly threw a daring challenge, to put it mildly, to a very unequal “opposition” for him, and not any accurate and invincible adaptation of specific myths of the ancient Greeks, as close as possible to the text of the ancient original.
I first watched the Odyssey when I was a kid in high school, and even the video cassette version wasn’t of the best quality made a pretty strong impression on me. Of course, it was very pleasant (especially at that time and at that age), as they say, to plunge headlong into the frankly fantasy atmosphere of various magical "troubles", which fell to the lot of the famous ruler and excellent warrior (as well as, of course, his relatively numerous comrades-in-arms) and became quite fair, according to some gods, repayment for momentary pride after the grandiose victory over the invincible enemy called Troy. Immediately recalls the well-known expression from an early age: “A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it.”
By the way, the presence of gods and goddesses (along with all sorts of mythical monsters and monsters, of course), in my opinion, gives this tape Konchalovsky a kind of fabulous charm, completely absent, for example, in the later blockbuster and slightly dry "Three" Wolfgang Petersen with Hollywood star Brad Pitt. In my subjective opinion, despite the significantly smaller visual “sophistication” (the scale of battle scenes, special effects, etc.), “Odyssey” of the 90s is much more charming and cute than the mentioned creation of the early 21st century, which is by and large quite a standard peplum of current cinema in the style of, say, the cult and very worthy “Gladiator” Ridley Scott. I suspect that for sure there will be people who definitely do not agree with this point of view, but the taste and color, as you know, markers are different.
From the cast, first of all, it is worth highlighting the performers of the main roles - Armand Assante and Greta Skakki. Looking at them here, for some reason I did not doubt for a moment that this is the real Odysseus and Penelope - a valiant, fearless warrior husband and a faithful, boundlessly loving queen wife who are forced to part by cruel circumstances for an indefinite period, and perhaps forever. Obviously, trying to describe all this drama with words is pointless – to understand, appreciate and feel, you need to see it with your own eyes. Isabella Rossellini in the role of the wise goddess Athena is certainly good - even a little pity that for the entire three-hour timekeeping of the work she appeared in the picture only a couple or three times, as far as I remember. Majesty, beauty, easily captivating the male consciousness and a slightly mocking look, a crafty and slightly teasing smile, undoubted unappellingness of gestures and expressions - such is the warlike Athena, the glorious daughter of the Olympic Thunderer Zeus, the invariable patroness of the Greeks and the powerful mentor of the cunning lord Ithaca.
If we talk about secondary heroes and characters, then, perhaps, we can remember the cheerful and mischievous “wind” god, the blind soothsayer from the underworld of Hades (or the synonymous hell of the Kingdom of the Dead, in other words), the so-called “leader” of villainous suitors, who unexpectedly besieged the almost defenseless house desperately waiting for the return of her beloved husband Penelope, as well as two immortal sorceresses – the insidious sorceress Kirk and the charming beauty Calypso.
The unveiled and charming simplicity of the narrative, the acceptable light comedy of some episodes, the fabulousness that bribes the viewer with elements of drama and classical peplum, impressive sea panoramas, pleasant musical accompaniment, the absence of excessive blood-cruelty - all these, in my opinion, are unambiguous advantages / advantages of the analyzed film, which is if not a masterpiece of cinema, then at least an excellent representative of a particular genre of cinema. In addition, in terms of the notorious visual effects of “Odysseus” (at least for his already relatively advanced years), I think it is very good to take at least the monstrous giant man-eating Polyphemus from the Cyclops family, a giant voracious serpent-hydra from the sea depths and the three-dimensionally impressively speaking “with the help of” huge crushing waves of the all-powerful owner of the seas of the god Poseidon. As for the gloomy-sinister, perfectly filmed (if we talk about the creepy, oppressive atmosphere and the appearance of the monsters shown on the screen) scene in the chilling lair of insatiable monsters of Scylla and Charybda, then, in my opinion, it can generally be attributed to the genre of “horror” – albeit with some stretch, perhaps.
A curious point is that in mythology (and not only, I think, ancient Greek) various kinds of deities are quite often represented and shown by not perfect and irreproachable creatures, if we talk only about their essence. Vileness, cunning, greed, cowardice, selfishness, hypocrisy – as they say, nothing human is alien to them. By and large, the difference between them, the ruling celestials, and ordinary people lies only in immortality and the presence of all sorts of supernatural abilities. For example, the same Athena, according to one of the myths, turned the girl Arachna into a spider only because she dared to call the goddess to a competition in weaving skills, and Hera at one time terribly revenged Trojan prince Paris (and not only him), because he gave the ill-fated apple of discord, which was intended for the most beautiful, not the wife of the king of Olympians.
It is not surprising that it is noble people-heroes such as Hercules, Theseus, Perseus, Odysseus, Achilles and the like that cause the sympathy and favor of the audience / readers - after all these characters from fairy tales, myths and legends seem to be representatives of the same people, often opposing the tyranny and dictates of the supposedly "divine" power of Olympus led by Zeus. And this power, of course, has at its disposal a lot of different elements, disasters, monsters and the like “good” for curbing / taming / destroying recalcitrant and wayward subjects who dared to express any disagreement with the current “top”. For some reason I think it is quite possible to draw a kind of analogy with the present times.
Approximately the same motives of the eternal confrontation of heroes, villains, monsters and gods can be seen, for example, in two slightly primitive fantasy-adventure series, focused, of course, to a greater extent on a child-teenage audience - "The Amazing Journeys of Hercules" and "Xena - Queen of Warriors." However, this film by Andrei Konchalovsky, which once, if I am not mistaken, for some reason was shown on television in the format of a mini-series, undoubtedly made a much more positive impression on me - first of all, thanks to the charming, like a fatal song of demonic charming sirens, the charm of the fairy tale told in this tape and the most powerful, if I may say so, charisma of the main characters appearing in the brilliant Odyssey.
“There is much sacred and beautiful in the world.” But for a person the most important thing is his own world.
This action-adventure two-part film I got to know more than 10 years ago, when it was still occasionally played on TV, and of course it makes me nostalgic, especially when you consider how much mediocrity and empty theme of “ancient” was filmed in the 2000s and 2010s. Against the background of the last “Odyssey” looks almost a masterpiece, and in itself it is really a worthy film, a strong and integral adaptation of Homer’s poem.
What “Odyssey” bribes is its entourage. Before us is not a pathosy and epic peplum, but a very cozy and close story to an ordinary person, in which, despite the mythological theme, the main characters are people, with their problems and worries - longing for their homeland and for loved ones, a difficult choice between a simple and carefree life in a foreign country for the rest of the days or the continuation of a difficult, full of vicissitudes of the way to home, where it is not a fact that you will be welcomed. The psychology of the film is emphasized by excellent acting works: Armand Assante, who played the main character with his courage, the power of emotions and an ironic smile; Greta Skakka, who embodied her image of Penelope - a simple earthly woman, waiting for her beloved, personifying loyalty and home comfort, and at the same time - with amazing strength of character; Isabella Rossellini as the goddess Athena, majestic and beautiful, and at the same time kind and caring; Eric Roberts as a charismatic negative character, Eurymachus, seducing women with his devil-temptor look, cat grace and plastic movements.
The naturalness of the picture is emphasized by excellent shooting, and visual effects that do not cut your eyes, like modern computer graphics, but look extremely realistic. With love and diligence, scenery and costumes are selected, and especially - unusually beautiful landscapes. Thanks to all this, while watching, you immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Ancient Greece, in the atmosphere of an adventure that was destined to survive the main character.
The only, albeit rather significant, drawback of the film is that the director failed to convey the full scale of the Odyssey story. On the one hand, this happened due to the fact that a full heap of events the plot of Homer’s work tried to cram into a three-hour format (in abbreviated version – and a little 2 hours), because of which the narrative of the film looks somewhat concise and crumpled. On the other hand, it is obvious that the creators of the picture clearly saved on makeup, which is why the character of Greta Skakki at the end of the film looks almost the same as at the beginning - and in fact, according to the plot, it took a whole twenty years! However, all this pales against the background of excellent realism and wonderfully transferred to the TV screen of the ancient Greek myth.
The verdict is a good mini-series with an interesting and exciting plot and amazingly high-quality directorial and camera work for the teleformat.
The film, or rather a mini-series, reveals in detail the story of the ingenious Odysseus (A. Assante).
On the day that Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, has a son, Telemachus, the soldiers of Greece come to him. Odysseus goes with the ancient Greek army to fight in Troy, under the walls of which ten years of the most difficult battles passed. The film shows the best warrior of the Greeks - Achilles, the best warrior of the Trojans - Hector, their personal confrontation. Achilles then fell in battle. Then Odysseus goes to the trick - the construction of a Trojan horse, which should be a gift from the allegedly defeated Greeks to the Trojans. Trojans roll a huge horse into the city, considering themselves the winners. But at night, the Greeks attack the relaxed Trojans and win the years-long bloody Trojan War.
But after the victory, Odysseus decided that since he had won the Trojan War, he was a great man, he no longer needed the help of the gods. He announces this to the gods on the cliff. The answer of the gods – Odysseus will not be able to return home to Ithaca for his audacity, arrogance.
The film clearly shows the further path of Odysseus.
This is the island of one-eyed cyclops, where Odysseus and his travelers are locked in the cave of the one-eyed cyclops Polyphemus, who did not mind eating them. And the cunning Odysseus finds a way out of this situation, although Polyphemus, throwing a stone after the sailing travelers, shouts to Poseidon: “Avenge me.”
Odysseus arrives on the island to the wind god Aeolus, who gives him in a bag what should help the unfortunate return home. But the vicious qualities of the satellites that fell asleep after several sleepless nights of Odysseus: greed and curiosity again do not allow you to return to Ithaca, which was already on the horizon.
The ship is carried to the other end of the globe to the island of the soothsayer Circe.
There is admiration, delight, amazement, the scene where Odysseus climbs up the rock, the meeting with Hermes, the messenger of the gods, his beautiful soaring in the air. Hermes gives advice.
And here is Odysseus at the soothsayer Circe. Five years have gone by like five days. And again, from the mouth of the goddess Odysseus hears as reproach the need to recognize the power of the gods over himself.
On the advice of the soothsayer, Odysseus decides to meet the deceased soothsayer Tiresius, who will show him the way home. But for this, the hero must descend to Hades - the realm of the dead.
Odysseus goes down there. The scene of Odysseus’ farewell here with his travelers is very strong, the words of one of them: “Your soul will not burn.”
He's walking down a path. The shadows of the dead come to him - the scene causes mystical horror.
He manages to meet the soothsayer Tiresius (Christopher Lee, who magnificently played this role of a sage, philosophizing before the frailty of eternity). Odysseus' heartbreaking encounter with his mother, her hand through the fire that waves the hero. Yeah, she's here forever. Her warning about the danger to the kingdom of Odysseus.
And Odysseus with the travelers, on the advice of the soothsayer, sails through the strait between Scylla and Charita. On the one hand, the terrible monster Scylla, which took the victims of several of the hero’s travelers.
On the other side of the abyss, the abyss is Harita. Will Odysseus and his travelers be able to survive crossing this strait, or will someone else fall victim to Odysseus’ pride?
Odysseus is brought to the island by the nymph Callipso, who promises him immortality if he stays and forgets his world Ithaca and his wife Penelope. Odysseus makes his choice. He starts building his own raft. It's sailing.
But a rising storm sweeps the raft into pieces. Odysseus is defenseless. And here Poseidon directly enters into dialogue with him. He argues that Odysseus must understand the truth from which he still cannot return, on the altar of which were brought many years of his wanderings, torments, years when his wife Penelope suffered from the oppression of uninvited guests, but who will be able to protect the island of Ithaca, Penelope from the cruelty of licentious people? He who can pass the arrow through the twelve rings in the form of a feeble elder, who gave him the goddess Athena, who patronizes him.
The film is beautiful, amazing, delightful. Perfectly shown that great era of antiquity, life, customs, worldview of that era.
The landscapes are also beautifully shown: the sea in its different states, the sky, the impregnable rock in front of the Circe Palace, the islands, the waterfall on the island of Aeola.
Both the positive and negative qualities of many people. First of all, Odysseus himself: with his cunning, fearlessness, dexterity, courage, masculinity, he could not be bypassed by pride. For all their devotion to the leader, courage, courage of the companions of Odysseus, at the decisive moment they showed negative greed, self-interest, curiosity. The gods are also ambiguously shown. Despite all their power and immortality, they are not perfect either. And it is as if it is stated that if you are imperfect, your negative qualities must be corrected. And then there will be harmony.
This is a beautiful adaptation of the ancient Greek epic, one of the most significant monuments of ancient Greek literature, in which that distant era comes to life and appears in all its grandeur, beauty, uniqueness, but on the other hand asserting that certain values, ideals, feelings have not changed over the millennia.
10 out of 10
Perhaps, for sure, the best work of the master from the Russian land, Andrei Konchalovsky, made by him in foreign lands. In fact, reliably managed to convey the original content of the imperishable poem, an opus tribute to the great blind poet-genius of the entire human race Homer. One of those special jobs, the duration of which is commensurate with the average lifespan of a mosquito (about three hours). And despite its length in time, the picture is pleasant to review, as well as fascinating to immerse yourself in the adventures of the long-suffering creator of the Trojan Horse. And for the 90s, the work was done thoroughly. The work passed in the process of its creation a lot of delays and demands from the studio, which Konchalovsky was able to skirt, having managed to provide his slightly alternative view of the history of the wanderings of the greatest traveler from myths. At the same time, without touching and preserving the atmosphere of the original source.
And thanks to all that was invested in its creation, all the result was a harmonious, splendid Mediterranean nature of ancient times. It is also important that the faithful transmission of all the trials (except for the sirens, Konchalovsky removed them) that fell to the hero of Troy, Odysseus, was successful here. The image of the main character in the picture is really submitted by Armand Assante. The actor simply lives in it, as a cunning, warrior, king of Ithaca and faithful husband of his wife, who stayed on a business trip for so many years. At its core, here will be more about marital fidelity, and how a person passing through terrible and difficult trials, pulls to their native shores (quite obvious, but still, this topic is played out here, as necessary). The names of Odysseus and Penelope will long be associated with loyalty and devotion. I also want to highlight the actress who performed the wife of the king of Ithaca, the wise and strong woman Penelope, Greta Skakki, who suffers during the absence of her husband the rudeness of the adventurous grooms who came to the royal throne. Among the boors was able to light up Eric Roberts, well playing the role of a villain and intrigue. I also wanted to mention the participation of the now departed from us in another world, the genius Christopher Lee, who plays in the picture only with his voice, in a scene that was filmed in the crater of a volcano. As it is necessary to note the amazingly entered into the role of the goddess of just war, Isabella Rossellini, the true wise Athena, in one saying she said, reveals the whole main meaning of this work:
“Gods do not do for men what men ought to do for themselves.”
The delightful music of the Nashenian Eduard Artemyev sounds like an ode to the whole great epic, praising the man who went against Poseidon, dangling with his melody in his head, remaining in memory with the beautiful sound of the sea surf and sea romance. It is also worth noting the operator Sergey Kozlov, who meticulously brought the wonderful landscapes of the Mediterranean to the screen.
Much work Konchalovsky deservedly received four Emmys, its content is one of the best film adaptations of the literature of Ancient Greece. Forever remaining in the language of each, synonymous with wandering and long wandering through unknown worlds, she was reincarnated even before Konchalovsky Kubrick, oh this is a completely different story.
To all those who want to get acquainted with the works of Homer, I recommend you to watch, I think you will be able to like a movie poem, a really live interpretation with thoughts, very beautifully woven, it must be seen at least once.
It was with the mini-series Odyssey that my meaningful life began. I tried to evaluate this series objectively.
In general, all films/series based on myths/legends of ancient Greece are usually excellent. Odyssey is the best production I know of. The plot does not give you the opportunity to take off the screen - it is so interesting. There is not the slightest desire to squander a single scene - everything is entertaining, everything is fascinating. Well, the episodes in the Cyclops Cave, in the Kingdom of Hades, on the Enchanted Island, between Scylla and Charybdis became canonical and remembered by the audience for life.
Some heroes leave behind an unpleasant impression, some on the contrary make them empathize, worry for them. There is a scene that makes even men cry. You are sincerely worried about Telemak, about Penelope, about the fate of Ithaca as a whole.
The film teaches viewers to strive for their goal, never give up, makes them believe in the powerful power of love, that good always conquers evil.
The special effects are amazing even now, I can't find a single flaw. A low bow to the film crew and actors for their tremendous work. Shooting was extremely difficult, but the result was justified, no doubt.
For anyone who hasn’t seen this masterpiece for some reason, I highly recommend it.
" And the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us.
This is certainly not the best film of Andron Konchalovsky, but perhaps one of the most popular and most beloved. After all, Andron Sergeyevich mainly shoots serious, far from entertainment and adventure films. In his work there were strong changes only after he emigrated to America and tried to conquer Hollywood. It was then that such genre hits as "Train - Fugitive" came out of his camp (in which, incidentally, veteran thrash Denny Trejo debuted) and "Tango and Cash" - in which the action stars of the 80s Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone met. The same entertaining films can be attributed and considered in this review adaptation of the classic poem of Homer. To shoot this film Konchalovsky persuaded the producer of the project - Francis Ford Coppola, before that he refused for a long time. After all, the history of the pilgrimages of King Ithaca passes through the class of school literature, and the author of “Siberiad” if and screens the classics, then only “adult” – Chekhov (“Uncle Vanya”) or Turgenev (“Noble Nest”). But in the end, the famous Soviet director still took up the transfer to the screen of the great creation of Homer. According to Konchalovsky himself, he agreed to shoot “Odyssey” in order to take a break from the constant search for “author’s” cinema, and relax a little on the Aegean coast. In addition, the company gathered excellent: Armand Assante, Eric Roberts and girls - actresses Greta Skucky, Isabella Rossellini and Vanessa Williams (it is strange that he refused the services of Naomi Campbell and Sidney Crawford - they were planned by producers for the role of sweet-voiced Sirens). And if we talk seriously, it is unlikely that Konchalovsky had to relax on the set, and of course, this luxury hardly touched the performers engaged in leading roles. After all, according to the idea of the director, it was necessary to show ancient Greece as realistically as possible. Therefore, many details of life, especially the camp equipment of the hero and his comrades, are removed extremely naturalistically. With an apparent chamber vision of the plot, the author was able to create as a result a whole, epic work, rich in philosophical reflections and lyrical retreats of the film.
The plot of the film tells more or less in detail the main vicissitudes of Homer’s Odyssey. Konchalovsky allowed himself minor changes in general. So he excluded from the narrative the Sirens mentioned above (the charming singing of which the hero listened while tied to the mast, while the whole team was with wax plugs in their ears), the father of the hero - one of the Argonauts, Elder Laerte. Also, in order to have a dramatic plot without going into distracting details, like the quarrel of the Olympian gods (Poseidon turned against Odysseus in the lead of what quarreled with his patron sister Athena), the director introduced a scene in the film that was not in the ancient poem. Namely, how the vain Odysseus quarrels on the seaside with Poseidon, telling him that man does not need the help of the Gods, he is able to achieve everything himself. Then the sea god tells the hero that he will never see his native Ithaca again.
These changes were insignificant against the background of the entire production as a whole, and therefore no one was particularly criticized. Fascinating manner of narration (leading from Odyssey himself, his voice, with reflections on what is happening), high-quality visual effects (with already occupying the cinema by computer graphics), excellent performers, a magnificent soundtrack (written by Mikhalkov’s constant composer – Eduard Artemyev) and excellent camera work (behind the camera stood Sergey Kozlov, who previously shot “Siberiad”) – all together formed into an amazing, fascinating despite the seeming simplicity of the presentation of the film and the very key of the film, which can even be attributed to the heroic genre. Immediately you can see the charm of the picture, and the fact that a major master worked on its creation, a real professional in his field. This also applies to the selection of actors for certain roles. All the performers were perfect for their roles! And for Armand Assante, the role of a cunning Greek hero became the best in his career. In addition, he did not have many leading roles in large-budget productions (by the way, Konchalovsky’s mini-series, shot with money “Hallmark”, had a huge, at that time a record budget of $ 45 million!). Other artists were able to create very colorful, memorable images of classic heroes. So from Greta Skakki turned charming Penelope - soft, personifying the home comfort of a woman, waiting for her husband for almost two decades. Alan Stenson played the young Telemak - the son and heir of Odysseus, presented this image as a hot-tempered, desperate in search of a parent of a man ready like his father to take up arms in order to protect his world. A chic and textured Eric Roberts, as always, bathes in a negative role - he got the role of Eurymach - one of Penelope's uninvited suitors, who strongly "caught up" in an orphaned house without a master. The goddesses Athena, Calypso and Circe were embodied on the screen by such different types of actresses as Isabella Rossellini, Vanessa Williams and Bernadette Peters. Episodic, but important for certain events hero - Achilles played Jason Lewis. Other characters, such as King Menilaus, Agamemnon and others, also turned out to be memorable. Geraldine Chaplin also created a colorful image, playing Euryclea.
Despite the rather compressed schedule of shooting, and the fact that the creation of the film was hampered by the elements themselves - torrential rains and cold winds (as if the ancient gods themselves prevented Konchalovsky from completing his "Odyssey"), as a result of which the lead actor - Armand Assante even picked up pneumonia; the picture was completely finished on time, and in 1997, after a wide advertisement, it premiered on TV in many countries of the world, including in Russia (where the mini-series were divided into 4 half an hour series). The film received positive reviews from critics, received several prestigious prizes and two Golden Globe nominations (for best film, and best male role of the first plan). At one time, Konchalovsky’s Odyssey was quite popular, and even gave rise to a fashion for lush adventure mini-series based on the legends and myths of Ancient Greece (for example, in the traditions of the new film adaptation of the Odyssey, a new film was filmed about traveling for the Golden Fleece of Jason). Today, this film is canonical, and even more famous than previous film versions of the poem. Probably it was the last high-quality, designed for a wide audience film of the eminent director (because from his blockbuster “The Nutcracker and the Rat King” hair stands on end, and it is better not to mention it in vain, so as not to tarnish both the fairy tale of Hoffman and the reputation of Konchalovsky).
10 out of 10
Where are you going, Odysseus, from your wife, from your children?
I remember when I was a kid, when this movie came out and made a splash, my parents had the indiscretion to turn it on in front of me. Of course, at the age of 5, such cruelty on the screen caused an inadequate reaction in a vulnerable child. They had to turn it off, and when they did, I don't know. It's been a long time. Having been a fan of Russian melodramatic series, who can not stand foreign films, I finally found my real element in the form of world cinema of different genres. And especially I was addicted to the epic fantasy, shot on old and new myths, in colorful scenery and with expensive special effects. Needless to say, the six films that make up the Middle-earth Saga have become one of my favorite stories in cinema. Someone dared to say that “Odyssey” surpasses “Lord of the Rings” in epicity – I would say otherwise: “Odyssey” makes more sense, while “Lord of the Rings” is a perfect movie attraction, and the semantic component there is simple – it is a banal struggle between good and evil. All parts of “The Lord” and “The Hobbit” are good in their own way, but “Odyssey” has nothing to put below this saga. It is also a perfect movie that you can watch more than once.
“Odyssey” Andrey Konchalovsky, whose name has long been not an empty sound for moviegoers, as well as films about Middle-earth, is shot on the basis of an immortal work, namely from the book Homer, written on ancient Greek myths. If this Russian director had made this film in Russia with the low technological abilities of the Russian cinema of the 90s, it would have turned out, perhaps, an interesting film, but it would not have pleased the eye, unlike what happened when shooting with the participation of foreign specialists in special effects. Maybe it turned out not the level of the same “Lord of the Rings” (if you compare everything), but in fact the graphics in the film are serious, even surprisingly, this film did not come out on Blu-ray. Of course, such a spectacular movie was shown on the big screen, and it is considered a mini-series because of the presence of an expanded two-part version. And it is better to look at this option so as not to miss anything. With a total duration of three hours, the film never let you get bored, it looks in one breath, and in its events everything is clear even for those who have not read Homer’s Odyssey. I had the opportunity to read this work in school years, and something was remembered, and was recognizable to me when watching this film adaptation. The only thing the filmmakers forgot to show is the island of sirens, who lured travelers with their singing. In the rest, the film word for word follows the literary source, shifting on the screen almost the entire poem of Homer. Fights with Scylla and Charybdis cause applause. The film from beginning to end pleases with its epic, various plot twists, exciting action, chic scenery. The film begins with the end of the events of the film “Troy” in 2004, from this moment begins another part of the myths of Greece.
At the moment, another international project is planned: a new adaptation of the myths about the Odyssey, which will be filmed by Fyodor Bondarchuk, also in cooperation with Hollywood, that is, according to the same scheme as this film by Andrei Konchalovsky. The only question is, will he be able to replicate the epic scale of the 1997 film? Better than this movie, it is impossible to make. “Odyssey” Konchalovsky is mandatory to view all connoisseurs of the fantasy genre.
Our world may not be perfect, but through progress we can do so much. We have access to any food, clothes for every taste, travel to anywhere in the world. We have all kinds of entertainment, including movies of any era. Movies are the most affordable way to travel. For me it is, even if someone disagrees.
Odysseus Konchalovsky is not just a movie about one of the most famous travels in the history of mankind, it is a ticket plus a steamer that will send you to the world of Ancient Greece, with its mythical ideas about the world. This is a story that contains eternal wisdom – a man without gods is nothing.
Indeed, the filmmakers tried their best. The way of special effects is imperfect, but everything is done with love, which is why I personally felt a complete immersion in the ancient world, in its magic. This is the merit of the artists who did a great job on the scenery and costumes.
When someone screens a literary work, he needs to convey the main idea, do not miss anything important, offend as few fans of the book as possible. The authors coped with the task, and not just coped perfectly, although they removed the sirens, preserving all the charm of the classic poem by Homer Odysseus.
Impressive is the work of the operator and director (Sergei Kozlov and Andrei Konchalovsky, respectively). The picture is excellent, verified, everything is very beautiful, we will not miss anything in this film.
Perhaps one of the main advantages of this film (besides the plot, which is not discussed) is the acting of Amanda Assante and Greta Skakki. The final scene, when Penelope finally saw Odysseus, is worth it! You just have to see it. By the way, there are bloody scenes of cruelty in the film. But how delicately made! Intelligent, without black and nude, which can not but please! 12+ is too strict a rule for this movie.
I learned that the filming of this film was in terrible conditions, it was raining and wind blowing, the crew worked 70-90 hours a week, and in the end still got sick. It’s funny how this fits into the movie! Wisdom... Yes, any worthwhile result that makes a person better, wiser, puts him on a step higher with him yesterday, is achieved by hard work. The film turned out to be worthwhile and I am proud that our compatriots took part in its creation! I would recommend a look!
And the pilgrims' fate is to swim to home and disdain thrones. I know. I was Odysseus (c) O. Ladyzhensky
The impressions are twofold.
Perhaps the most cinematic of Odyssey’s adventures were chosen. But here they are sewn into a single narrative, as if the guys were swimming around the Ocean in the region of a week or two. Only Telemachus grew as if by leaps and bounds, and the rest did not change at all, did not grow old — and not only Odysseus, who, thanks to the tricks of time with Circe, and perhaps with Callipso, should not have grown very old, but also Penelope, for whom twenty years had passed. There is no feeling of a whole life passing by.
Excellent play Skucky and Papas, wife and mother of Odysseus, a wonderful duet - and the most heart-breaking moment, where the daughter-in-law in despair, helpless childish gesture spreads her hands, trying to keep her mother-in-law, who replaced her mother, on the way from where there is no return ... but about Assante I can not say this. He almost always fails, especially not given that trick. The noble beauty of the actor serves him a disservice, as if he always remembers that in the frame he should look good. Odysseus never looks funny, never loses face, even he suffers so beautifully. A hero. Motivation is not going well either. Why did he, a seemingly intelligent man who knew for sure that gods exist, begin to insult a god who did nothing wrong to him, and specifically Poseidon, on whose possessions he is about to sail the other day? And then, this obsession with “my world” that someone allegedly wants to take away from him. Nobody wanted anything like that! Eurymachus asked him correctly: “What is our fault?” – well, how do the suitors know that he is alive, in fact?! According to the morality of ancient Greece, Odysseus is in his right, but in the XX century, the final act of Odysseus, as he is presented in the film, looks completely different - a cynical atrocity.
Awesome Callipso. Williams looks in this role really more than a mortal woman, and it's not just her beauty, not just her huge silver eyes, but also the movements highlighted by the bizarre attire, in some inner state. Against her background, Circe is simply terrible, who looks and behaves like a cheap courtesan of not the first youth, who believes that a ton of cosmetics on her face and the cranks of a capricious minor paint her. Poor Peters, let her play the real Circe, the great half-goddess sorceress, not this idiot.
Olympians, by the way, are average. Hermes is not bad for his face and behavior, but the fact that he flaunts in strange underwear under metal and shines with gold, in my opinion, is extremely popular. Athena is wonderfully good at only one moment, in her last appearance, and not too impressive before that. Poseidon appears only in the form of a wave-face with an eternal theme “You will suffer”, which is not bad by design, but for some reason does not catch on the execution.
The grooms are good, especially Eurymachus (from him, did Prince Belin Educan write?) Like a face with protruding ears and a thick nose, but at the same time attractive, that character, honestly. Dirty, but smart and charming. The satellites of Odysseus are also not bad, their combat brotherhood is quite reliable and without unnecessary snot, but there are no bright personalities among them.
Surprisingly, the complete absence in the film of Odysseus’ father, Laertes, who, according to Homer, quite waited for his son. But, however, he could reduce the intensity of the emotions of the duo of Penelope and Anticlea, two, in this interpretation, orphaned women who have no one to rely on.
For the most part, special effects are both outdated and not the most expensive. I was very impressed by Charybda even now.
There is still a lack of depth in the film. The man was eager for his beloved wife, and what with other aunts he twisted, so it was forced, both of them took him prisoner, she also steadfastly waited and in general, she loved and believed. We still know that from Homer. Couldn't you put something else in there? God-fighting here is something too out of place and unwritten, and there are no other major ideas.
Overall, it’s a good movie, but it could have been better.
It is nice to know that our directors have a talent to make films that are not inferior to their analogues, and to some extent even gets a sense of pride after watching this film.
The long wanderings of Odysseus and his faithful companions have long been a classic of Greek mythology. The gods do not want this courageous man to return home, and set various obstacles in his way. The most important thing I want to talk about after watching is the effect of presence. Surprisingly, a picture without commercial potential became such a large-scale depiction of known history. I really want to believe that all these events took place during the Trojan War. Moreover, it is not only in the costumes, scenery and life of that ancient era. Ancient Greek mythology plays an important role here, in particular, the worship of gods. Each of the islands, which Odysseus and his team get to, is terrifying, surprising and does not leave indifferent. The two-part action looks in one breath. In addition, the film offers a constant change in your emotions - from sympathy to anger and despair. Armand Assante looks impressive in the lead role. It is a pity that such a good actor was often underestimated.
Here is the animated story of one of the most famous literary characters. The incredible atmosphere of Greek mythology.