Product: The Odyssey [VHS] (1997)
Rating: 5.0
Homer would be proud--it's faithful, fantastic, and fun!
This is a film I show each year to my seventh-grade social studies students in 'Ancient Civilizations' class. Of course, parts of the Vanessa Williams sequence must be edited, but for the most part--this film is true to the Homeric epic, and is tons of fun to watch!The cast is superb--it would be hard to single out one weak link. Vincenzo Nicoli (Antinous) has to be one of the most underrated villians of all time. Just as he portrayed Simeon--the hateful brother in 'Joseph', he seeths with anger that makes the homecoming of Odysseus one of the best (and bloodiest!) climaxes to date! The special effects are excellent--especially Poseidon, and the vortex Carybdis. This creation was years ahead of Titanic, to which it will surely be compared, as will the goat scene to Jurassic Park.All in all, Homer would be proud of this film. The Trojan War scene, and Achilles versus Hector sequence are awesome, and the final reunion scene between Odysseus and Penelope will stir all but the romanticly dead!Much research must've gone into this film. There are nuances of the ancient Greek world that few will notice, such as the spirits in the underworld who are forced to wander, having been unburied, and the incredible hospitality which ancient Greeks showed guests in their homes.I would have loved to have seen Charon the ferryman of the Styx however, or perhaps Cerberus the three-headed dog, but this is a minor complaint. My students loved this film, and congratulations are in order to the producers.The Odyssey far surpasses earlier attempts of this genre, and is infinitely superior to 'Merlin'. But behind the storyline and special effects is the lesson, and it is a good one--for Odysseus and for us: Man is nothing without the suffering which humbles him, and causes him to realize that at his best, he is but a small part of an eternal 'whole'. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!