Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25207 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-04
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Dolby, Digital Sound, Full Screen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 178 minutes

Synopsis
This lavish small-screen adaptation of Homer's ancient epic--complete with exotic Maltese and Turkish locations, state-of-the-art special effects, and many bronzed muscles gleaming with sweat--chronicles the voyage home of a Trojan hero, Odysseus the King Of Ithaca, after the ten year Trojan war.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining series, below average DVD presentation.
Less a review of the entertaining and liberal adaptation of the epic poem and more of a general 'heads up' to the DVD quality of the 2007 re-release by Boulevard Entertainment and Sparrowhawk Distribution.

Lumbered with a fuzzy sleeve (making the DVD look like a knock-off copy) the disc is utterly bare bones. No chapter selection even, though you can skip ahead to various points in the film. A bit of a nuisance if you don't have the luxury of watching it all the way through and need to find your place again. Also, the picture quality - though crisp - seems quite badly pixelated in places (especially on water - and there's a lot of it in 'The Odyssey!') causing the image to appear as if it is 'halting' repeatedly for a half second or so. No major problem considering the price, but the fact that there are NO SUBTITLES is a bit of a swine also.

I thought it worth bringing this to customers attention because the 2 part series is ridiculously entertaining and older kids (and adults) will love it. As other reviewers have pointed out - if you're looking for a high brow and 'serious' version of the Odyssey, walk on by!

It's well acted by the always great Armand Assante and Eric Roberts is a suitably nasty villain. Other acting honours veer between the distinctly average to OTT. And the sight of Greta Scacchi getting a bit flustered in the sea is somewhere between neat poetic metaphor and the utterly ridiculous. More the latter.

There's a bit of gore in both parts (part 2 has the fair share) but - technical issues aside - it's well worth the purchase. Very enjoyable.

Assante, Scacchi, Rossellini are well chosen actors.
A great adaptation of the book we have come to know and love. This is not a scholarly work for academics but an entertainment for us plebs as a TV mini-series.

Classics students will instantly be delighted during the opening sequence with cunning Odysseus accepting the dutiful Penelope's child as his own by his 'holding up' of baby Telemachus. Armand Assante is superb as the clever hero, the portrayal of virgin Goddess Athene with that eerie look and accent by Isabella Rossellini is excellent and what older man wouldn't dream of Greta Scaachi, and that bed built around that olive tree, waiting for him?

There are motifs missing and some things that could have been done in a better way but The Odyssey is well worth the money for three hours of classic adventure story.

Superior mini-series with big-picture production values
Pared down from a TV mini-series, this is a very superior adaptation of Homer's classic epic which sticks nicely to the plot and delivers stunning scenery with good characterisation.

Isabella Rossellini manages to catch the lights just right to give us 'Athena of the flashing eyes', while Armand Assante is excellent as the storm-tossed Odysseus.

Greek myth is hard to get right, and last year's CGI wonders are next year's embarrassments. The effects here are nicely underplayed, and, with the exception of a an overglowing Hermes, they work well. Director Andrei Konchalovsky worked hard to make Homer's story the substance of the film, rather than taking liberties with the plot. For my money, this makes this a film to watch and rewatch.

I really can't say enough good things about this film - TV movies rarely reach this kind of standard. I suppose it would be nicer to be able to see the entire mini-series, but, even so, this is a gem.