Bekim Fehmiu and Irene Papas in THE ODYSSEY
Bekim is Ulysses and Papas is Penelope. This was a mini-series on Italian TV but it was also edited down and released as a feature film for international markets. I like this production. Not love but like. It's way too long for its own good. This production is the natural progression of the PEPLUM genre that died just a few years before this was made. People didn't want to see these types of films at the movies anymore so a TV mini-series made sense. Bekim had a somewhat short-lived career. I thought he was excellent as Ulysses (better than Kirk Douglas in the 1954 film version). As for Irene Papas, she has had a big film career and has appeared in several genre films and TV productions. Probably the closest to a realistic Greek or Greek-looking couple (I know Bekim is not Greek).
We actually watched this mini series in school in the late 1980's. I liked it, but thought it lingered at some points in the story, while other parts were rushed over or completely ignored. But it is a quite atmospheric and intelligent adaptation of the well-worn tale. As I recall it, both Mario Bava and Carlo Rambaldi worked on this project.
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