Monday, August 17, 2026

The Odyssey: Latest Version

 

We went to the afternoon showing of this recently released movie. It was just ok, IMHO.
Lots of battle scenes. Molly Ivins might have said “buckets of blood” — though usually she sad it about politics.


Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o plays the dual roles of Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra.  Her acting was definitely up to the part as written in the script. Though the dialog was not very poetic. It doesn’t compare to the famous poetry about the most beautiful woman in the world! 

Helen, thy beauty is to me 
Like those Nicéan barks of yore, 
That gently, o'er a perfumed sea, 
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore 
To his own native shore.



6 comments:

  1. No action flick is complete these days without buckets of blood, alas. Except for Marvel superhero movies. They are still relatively blood-and-gore free because kids go to them. And me. I hate buckets of blood. But I'll still watch The Odyssey.

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  2. Still glad I left after 40 minutes!

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  3. I will have to wait until it streams somewhere. We don't go to the movies. Sounds interesting.

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  4. Interesting that there was a film made of that story. I am familiar with the Odyssey, partly because I had a classical education and partly because my childhood was spent in a neighbourhood where all the streets had names from Greek mythology.
    Although I'm sure buckets of blood were shed in ancient wars, I'm not sure I would want to watch that.
    Happy T-Day, (belated, again)
    Lisca

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  5. In fact there have been many films of the Odyssey beginning over 100 years ago. Artificial Intelligence says “ The Odyssey has inspired dozens of direct and loose film, television, and miniseries adaptations spanning over a century, beginning with the silent era up to major modern features.” I think “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” in 2000 was especially memorable.
    … mae

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  6. Ha! We saw the movie this week, too. It struck me that the landscape scenes felt genuinely empty of people and people-made objects, and I liked that authenticity.

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