Product: The Odyssey [VHS] (1997)
Rating: 5.0
Captures the action and emotion of the poem.
Well I just finished watching this movie in school, after reading the poem. Most literature-based films are cheesy, and this one is slightly cheesy, but the special effects were amazing. The Cyclops especially looked real, and pretty gross. Of course, nothing can compare to the original poem by Homer, but the film actually lets you see all the action and emotion. Speaking of emotion, the film has very good actors, especially the guy who played the adult Telemachus. That's another thing. In the movie I saw more of Telemachus and Penelope, and how they were and stuff, because when we read the poem we didn't read all of it. There were some things in the movie, though, that weren't in the poem. For example, in the poem Telemachus never fought one of the suitors, and the suitors didn't burn Penelope's shroud. But the film was pretty historically accurate. I didn't know, however, that women had to cover their faces when they spoke to men (or in public?). Because at one point in the movie, Penelope speaks to all the suitors with a cloth covering her face, and they ridicule and are rude to her. But when she drops it, they become silent and seemingly shocked. Hmm. Overall, it was an excellent film. It was a bit bloody, but I suppose that's why it's rated PG-13. If this was done with an all-star cast by a well-known director, it probably would have become a huge hit.