Peaceoftranswritingshit

The Odyssey if the suitors were competent…

This animated wonder being called "The Fall of Troy and The Adventures of Odysseus"

forgive me the movie being published is in Greek but it was originally a Lithuanian production which was released as a four part mini-series but then re-arranged to a full on one and a half hour movie.

It is extremely compound and no it doesn't follow the Odyssey order but rather goes in chronological order. But still it managed to give us almost everything the Odyssey stood for! For example it starts with the amazing shot of the text of Homer and also Homer himself appears to tell the story!

And colors! Man I love these colors! You have amazing depictions of Ithaca

and Troy

The Ithaca family!

Menelaus and Helen!!!!!!

Vailed women!!!!

And the ships man!!!!!!

And yes it took many liberties in some parts for instance he made Athena always present at the trip of Odysseus which is of course inaccurate and for instance kept the bed recognition scene after the recognition with Laertes and the riots at Ithaca but man did it include almost everything minus the Telemacheia!

Ismarus

Lotus Eaters

Polyphemus

Aeolus Isle

Laestrygonians

Circe

Nekya

Sirens

Scylla and Charybdis

Cattle of Helios Hyperion

Calypso (and her nymphs!)

No I seriously love how they made Calypso's cave to be honest!

Leucothea

And finally the Phaeakes

So yeah obviously it was kept generally kid friendly so we do not have the bedding or rape implications and all and the cattle scene could be done better and all but it actually shows how some liberties or changes can pass without making something atrocious! No seriously I love this movie and it is one of my favorite adaptations ever!

Of course I miss the mycenaean aesthetic and all but still it was done so well! Also the idea of making Odysseus change his appearance to beggar with a dionysian mask was such a great detail!

The way Homer is depicted like living in Elysium though hahaha or Olympus even! Because yes! He deserves the hall of heroes and legends!

Also is so interesting that each God has a color palette hehe Athena has that golden color of course and finally someone did justice to her gorgoneion as well as her luscious dresses! I mean...look at that beauty!

She also pulled the card to Zeus like "help him and I promise I will be the best and obedient daughter" haha I can't believe the Greek dub brought up such a greatly realistic argument hahaha

And Odysseus at Ogygia 😭😭😭

Beautiful Olympus!

But also the way Calypso takes care of him...ngl it looks sweet! If only it hadn't ended the way it did!

I did enjoy the dialog between them even if it was well to put it simply sanitized because well it is a cartoon that is also addressed to kids. Essentially it summarizes imo the whole homeric text of "he no longer liked the nymph".

Essentially in that clip goes like this

"Odysseus why do you wish to abandon me? Don't you know how much I love you?"

"I know, Calypso. I can't thank you enough for saving my life. You feed me and take care of me and you love me. I know that"

"I can offer you eternal youth. I can make you immortal if you stay with me and love me"

"Calypso you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. You treated me better than any other woman. But I must tell you that I miss my wife and my son I must go back to them"

What I find interesting is that he is aware of her feelings and he recognizes them and at that stage he trusts her enough to be open about his feelings and all and how grateful he is to her. But I find the hint at Calypso's words that says "if you love me" so essentially she knows he doesn't love her. And the next piece of dialog she says is also proof of that

"I am a goddess, you know. Which means that I can free you. But I won't do it! I can't live without you"

"And then...what are you thinking of doing?"

"I will keep you here in our island. I will be taking care of you. You will have anything you want, anything but I won't let you go"

Poor man!

I couldn't help but compare & contrast Adventures of Odysseus to my favorite adaptation: The Odyssey (1997), also a miniseries (Pt1 & Pt2).

I seriously think that miniseries are the best way to handle such a rich story--and even then it's inevitable that some things will get cut--in Adventures: Telemachus in Sparta; in 1997: A LOT 😅😭 (Ismarus, Lotus Eaters, Laestrygonians, Helios, Sirens). The 1997 live action is also chronological, but spends FAR more time focusing on Telemachus growing up without his father, the suitors making his life a living hell, Penelope & Anticlea struggling (no Laertes & Argos), etc; rather than all of the adventures Odysseus goes on, except Polyphemus & Hades ofc.

Interestingly, neither one of them include Odysseus faking insanity to avoid the Trojan War draft; him vs Diomedes for the Palladion or vs Ajax for Achilles' armor; or talking to all of the dead heroes in Hades (Achilles, Heracles, etc), etc. They both focus on Tiresias & Anticlea.

YES, the veiled women is a MUST.

I love how they depicted the gods, agreed--my favorite is Poseidon:

In the 1997 live action, Aeolus is all by himself in a cave; he's a lot more comedic, but his powers are more frightening. I like how in the animated version he's having a whole party! 😂 And I love the bag of winds!

Another god I love is Hermes--the animated version lets him use a disguise; nice foreshadowing for how Odysseus using a disguise later!

My BIGGEST complaint about the 1997 version was Hermes, and why they had him in a diaper loincloth more like Eros/Cupid. 🫣

Here's Calypso's island caves--not as colorful, alas, it's more like the thermal pools at Edipsos or Pamukkale.

Yeah, Calypso's dynamic with Odysseus is always interesting, and a little bittersweet, because where does one draw the line between infatuation (Calypso) and Stockholm Syndrome (Odysseus)? 🤔 But in the end, Odysseus' determination to get home to Ithaca was even stronger than the allure of living forever on Ogygia, even though it clearly broke Calypso's heart.

The 1997 version's CGI hasn't aged that well, but it still holds up. We don't see Circe turn the men into animals, but we do see one change back when the spell is lifted--it's one of the best/funniest parts.

It's interesting how both versions basically agree that Circe must've been somewhere near Egypt or the Near East--or she at least REALLY like their decor--possibly because of the her lions everywhere.

The 1997 version never shows Zeus or Olympus, but Athena is very present as Odysseus & Telemachus' patron deity. The focus is more on her "gleaming eyes," and the help/advice she offers; so sadly her iconic connection to snakes is understated (the scaly collar of her Aegis, and a teeny tiny Gorgoneion if you squint).

Speaking of snakes, they DO show Laocoon's death, but not his sons.

I really like how although the serpent comes from the sea, it hides in Athena's statue and vanishes behind her shield--almost like a wink to all of her connections with snakes.

As for Odysseus' transformation, it's more creepy than creative--no awesome theatre mask, Athena waves her hands over his face.

The spell lifts on its own once Odysseus fires the arrow.

With the Recognition Scenes, I rather like what the animated version did with the bed reveal--it's a very subtle nod to the tree, rather than being more overt, like with the boar scar reveal.

Oh yes I remember this mini-series. It is one of the visually pleasing ones for sure! But if you want REAL Odyssey adaptation like especting the text and all I suggest you the 1968 Franco Rossi's mini-series "L'Odissea"

This is arguably THE Odyssey adaptation. Alas it doesn't have all the mycenaean aesthetic that the 1997 kiiiiinda brought because it is so old and all but the movie is the very definition of adaptation of the Odyssey and comes to me alongside with this animated version

I really like how the scientology speedrunning trend is developing, in this clip we see that the participants are

Not deterred by the closed door

Working as a group

Protecting their identities

Inflicting material costs to the institution via property destruction

Getting away at the end