Movie Trailers

[Tintin]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
The new swords and sandals epic 'The Odyssey' is set to fail before it's even released. A real shame. The Odyssey is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. I read it as a teenager and was never the same again. The Iliad, too. The 2004 movie 'Troy' is still one of my favourites today. Sadly, Christopher Nolan went full woke on this one. There's gender swapping, race swapping, and all the dialogue is north American. Hell, there's nothing 'Greek' in the film at all, not even one actor!

As for Helen of Troy (technically Helen of Sparta, Greece), but supposedly the most beautiful woman who ever lived, the Face that Launched a Thousand Ships...well, she's pictured below.

https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/2073858306515288191
nd Wokeness
@EndWokeness
The Odyssey's final trailer after 4 days:

🟢60k likes
🔴436k dislikes

No offence to the actress, she is who she is, but that is the face that sank a thousand ships. I will never watch this

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tintin (here)
I will never watch this

Me neither.

But — @Tintin and @Mark — if you've never seen it, DO watch Wolfgang Petersen's SUPERB 2004 movie Troy, with Brad Pitt as a fully believable, impressive (and complicated) Achilles, Eric Bana as the admirable, heroic Hector, Orlando Bloom as the pathetic Paris, a stunningly beautiful Diane Kruger as Helen, an Oscar-worthy masterclass by Peter O'Toole as King Priam, and a VERY well portrayed Odysseus by Sean Bean, who doesn't have much that screen time but shows so very clearly how likeable, clever, wry and astute Odysseus is. (I'd be certain Matt Damon in the new movie isn't coming close to matching this.)

If anyone would like a copy to watch, just say the word and I'll drop it in here.

But back to The Odyssey. Here's a totally impassioned and infuriated review by That Star Wars Girl, who's been in love with Greek mythology all her life, knows The Odyssey inside out, and argues convincingly that Christopher Nolan can't possibly actually ever have read The Odyssey himself.

There are hundreds of other reviews out there — many of them clearly bought and paid for! — but this to me is the best, most honest, and most powerfully persuasive that I've seen yet. Just 16 minutes, and (rare for these times) 100% unscripted, heartfelt, and spontaneous. If you care about this, you may enjoy her diatribe as much as I did.

The Odyssey Reaction REVIEW - It's AWFUL!

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YPO1LHNSkgU

[Tintin]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
I will never watch this

Me neither.

But — @Tintin and @Mark — if you've never seen it, DO watch Wolfgang Petersen's SUPERB 2004 movie Troy, with Brad Pitt as a fully believable, impressive (and complicated) Achilles, Eric Bana as the admirable, heroic Hector, Orlando Bloom as the pathetic Paris, a stunningly beautiful Diane Kruger as Helen, an Oscar-worthy masterclass by Peter O'Toole as King Priam, and a VERY well portrayed Odysseus by Sean Bean, who doesn't have much that screen time but shows so very clearly how likeable, clever, wry and astute Odysseus is. (I'd be certain Matt Damon in the new movie isn't coming close to matching this.)

If anyone would like a copy to watch, just say the word and I'll drop it in here.

But back to The Odyssey. Here's a totally impassioned and infuriated review by That Star Wars Girl, who's been in love with Greek mythology all her life, knows The Odyssey inside out, and argues convincingly that Christopher Nolan can't possibly actually ever have read The Odyssey himself.

There are hundreds of other reviews out there — many of them clearly bought and paid for! — but this to me is the best, most honest, and most powerfully persuasive that I've seen yet. Just 16 minutes, and (rare for these times) 100% unscripted, heartfelt, and spontaneous. If you care about this, you may enjoy her diatribe as much as I did.

The Odyssey Reaction REVIEW - It's AWFUL!

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YPO1LHNSkgU

Please do drop a copy of Troy here; I have seen it and it was very very good but it'd be lovely to have a copy to hand

[Ewan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
I will never watch this

Me neither.

But — @Tintin and @Mark — if you've never seen it, DO watch Wolfgang Petersen's SUPERB 2004 movie Troy, with Brad Pitt as a fully believable, impressive (and complicated) Achilles, Eric Bana as the admirable, heroic Hector, Orlando Bloom as the pathetic Paris, a stunningly beautiful Diane Kruger as Helen, an Oscar-worthy masterclass by Peter O'Toole as King Priam, and a VERY well portrayed Odysseus by Sean Bean, who doesn't have much that screen time but shows so very clearly how likeable, clever, wry and astute Odysseus is. (I'd be certain Matt Damon in the new movie isn't coming close to matching this.)

If anyone would like a copy to watch, just say the word and I'll drop it in here.

But back to The Odyssey. Here's a totally impassioned and infuriated review by That Star Wars Girl, who's been in love with Greek mythology all her life, knows The Odyssey inside out, and argues convincingly that Christopher Nolan can't possibly actually ever have read The Odyssey himself.

There are hundreds of other reviews out there — many of them clearly bought and paid for! — but this to me is the best, most honest, and most powerfully persuasive that I've seen yet. Just 16 minutes, and (rare for these times) 100% unscripted, heartfelt, and spontaneous. If you care about this, you may enjoy her diatribe as much as I did.

The Odyssey Reaction REVIEW - It's AWFUL!

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YPO1LHNSkgU

I guess I am contrary, but now I have to watch it just to see if I agree with her.

The saddest part of that admission is I am sure I will, and after I will be saying to myself - "Why didn't I listen to her?"

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
But — @Tintin and @Mark — if you've never seen it, DO watch Wolfgang Petersen's SUPERB 2004 movie Troy,

Oh absolutely I've seen it. I said a few posts back:

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
The 2004 movie 'Troy' is still one of my favourites today.

I actually have it twice on DVD, the regular release and the extended edition. It is completely wonderful, beautiful and stunning in every single way (Rose Byrne most certainly included, my goodness), the setup, the politics, the slow-burn tension that explodes with just about the most exhilarating battle sequences you have ever seen put to film -- with the exclusion of the Two Towers and The Return of the King, of course.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
The Odyssey Reaction REVIEW - It's AWFUL!

I just watched her video. Brutal is a good word to describe this scathing review. Full respect to her for knowing the source material - as do I, in several different translations. In my opinion, the very best translation of the Odyssey (and Iliad) is by E.V. Rieu, first published around the 1940s. My cherished copy, a little worn these days, was hand-bound by my Dad - a classicist - in 1959.

I did laugh out loud with her allusions to Christopher Nolan having obviously failed to read the book, which has been 'out' for three thousand years...

I think he did read the book, and knows the book. I have a different take to her. Though I haven't even seen it yet (and probably won't), I base my opinion on everything I have so far seen, read and heard in the build up and subsequent release of this movie.

I don't think they were lazy or sloppy. I don't think they were ignorant of the source material. How could they be? No, what they did with this film was completely deliberate. The writing, the casting, the production, everything. It's par for the course these days. Take a beloved character, or a beloved story, and ritually eviscerate it in high definition for all to see and weep over. They did it with Star Wars, they did it with Star Trek, they did it with Dr. Who, they did it with Tolkien, they did with Marvel, and the list goes on. Take an established cultural landmark and disfigure it.

The material doesn't matter. The story doesn't matter. Hell, even the box office doesn't matter. The only thing that matters (to them) is ticking a box and satisfying certain "criteria". You don't get good reviews otherwise (shill reviews obviously). You don't get to walk the red carpet at the Oscars, either, and you probably don't get to keep making movies.

That's the game these days. It isn't about making the best possible entertainment anymore, it's about supporting an agenda. That agenda is cultural deconstruction and historical revisionism to meet the expectation of the modern world. It's about redefining virtue for the next generation. The modern day writer is under pressure to focus on that, not the quality of the content. Even big name directors like Christopher Nolan are selling out. It's such a shame.

In my view, when you replace authenticity with 'diversity', you send the message that race, gender, or sexuality is the defining characteristic of someone's worth; that the identity of the character is more important than the unfolding story of that character. If they think that's what movie-goers will line up to see, they're wrong. But I don't think any of them will get that message until certain big-name studios start going bust.

[Tintin]

Here's an interesting little post concerning Laocoön, a Trojan priest:

This is a statue of the only man in Troy who saw the trap. He tried to warn everyone, and this is what the gods did to him because of it...

His name was Laocoön, a Trojan priest. When the Greek army vanished and left a giant wooden horse outside the city gates, all of Troy celebrated. Only Laocoön refused to believe it. He warned his people the horse was a trick and, to prove it was hollow, hurled his spear into its side.

In Virgil's telling, he spoke a line that has outlasted almost everything else about Troy: "I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts."

He was right. The horse was packed with soldiers, and Troy was hours from destruction.

This sculpture shows what he got for it. Two enormous sea serpents rise out of the sea and coil around him and his young sons, dragging all three down together. The father's whole body is knotted in the struggle, every muscle straining, his face locked in a scream. The gods wanted Troy to fall, and Laocoön was in the way.

The Trojans watched him die in agony and drew exactly the wrong conclusion: they decided the gods were punishing him for attacking a holy gift. So they pulled the horse inside their own walls, and that night, Troy burned...

The statue is called Laocoön and His Sons. It is the work of three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes, Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, and dates to the Hellenistic period, making it well over two thousand years old.

Buried for more than a thousand years, it was dug out of a Roman vineyard in 1506, and Michelangelo rushed across Rome to see it the day it was found.

It has been called the single greatest depiction of human suffering in the history of art, but it endures because of what it is really about: the man who sees the truth, says it out loud, and is destroyed for being right while the crowd watches...

It is one of the oldest patterns there is, and it has never stopped repeating.

There is nothing new under the sun.

It truly is a beautiful piece of art

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

See the shilling for yourself.



Can you take these comments seriously? Does he really believe what he's saying?

Anyone who really believes in their position will be prepared to staunchly defend it.

Shills aren't. Because they can't. That's why on tweets like this, they disable the ability to reply (bottom left corner).

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tintin (here)
Please do drop a copy of Troy here; I have seen it and it was very very good but it'd be lovely to have a copy to hand

If I know you as well as I think I do, you may hugely enjoy this.

• Troy (2004)
  2.3 Gb Mp4 + subtitles (valid for anyone to download for 3 days)
  
  https://we.tl/t-Ex6ERCOLimLLZciK
  

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

I'm amazed you haven't seen it, Tintin. If you enjoyed Gladiator, you will enjoy this.

[Tintin]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
I'm amazed you haven't seen it, Tintin. If you enjoyed Gladiator, you will enjoy this.

But, I have seen it - see this post, again

Yes, Gladiator is wonderful too

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Tintin (here)
Please do drop a copy of Troy here; I have seen it and it was very very good but it'd be lovely to have a copy to hand

If I know you as well as I think I do, you may hugely enjoy this.

• Troy (2004)
  2.3 Gb Mp4 + subtitles (valid for anyone to download for 3 days)
  
  https://we.tl/t-Ex6ERCOLimLLZciK
  

Excellent, thankyou Now downloaded

[Tintin]

Continuing The Odyssey theme, some linguistics, which I found interesting:

Source: Homer Pavlos on X:

There are some powerful secrets and symbols in the Odyssey that you can only understand if you speak Greek. The Odyssey, apart from being a literary work, also conceals a profound philosophy that most people are unaware of, not intentionally, but because this philosophy cannot be fully understood in the English language; it can only be grasped in Greek, thanks to the richness of its philology and the etymology of its words. The three most important suitors who die are Antinous, Eurymachus, and Amphinomus. In English, these names mean nothing, but in the Greek language, they carry great significance due to Homer's deliberate choice of them.

The name Antinous means the one who opposes rational arguments, the irrational one ('anti' + 'nous' = mind/intellect). Antinous is the first to speak, the most irreverent of all, and the first to be killed. Odysseus reveals his true self, he has changed after ten years fighting at Troy and another ten struggling against the seas. The first trial he faces upon his return is a war within his own mind, his reason. That is why Homer creates Antinous as his first enemy: the one who fights against logic, according to his name. Odysseus triumphs over him.

Next comes Eurymachus. He is warlike but also two-faced. His name means the broad, great fighter ('eurys' = wide/broad + 'machites' = fighter). Eurymachus puts Odysseus in a dilemma and tries to shift the blame onto Antinous. He personifies discord and duplicity, a man without morals, capable of anything to avoid punishment. Yet Odysseus overcomes this obstacle as well, which symbolizes moral superiority. He does not yield, and his mind is not poisoned.

Third is Amphinomus. His name means the one who distorts the law ('amphi' = around/both sides + 'nomos' = law). He is the most compassionate of the suitors. Amphinomus tries twice to discourage the other suitors from murdering Telemachus. Odysseus even tries to warn Amphinomus to leave the house before the final battle. Nevertheless, Amphinomus stays and dies along with the others.

Through this, Odysseus, and by extension Homer, teaches us that in life, sacrifices are required, even when they demand that we show no compassion when the goal is more important and serves a greater purpose that will improve things overall. These are sacrifices that most people, even brave and heroic ones, cannot make.

That is why there are many people, but few are truly heroes.

Homer Pavlos

[Tintin]

A pointed yet impossible to disagree with post, here, with some beautifully generated images based on Homer's text, not Emily Wilson's risible tome which appears to have been the 'woke' non-inspiration behind Nolan's slop.

Given that kyanōpis means (fairly obviously) deep-blue perhaps the Late Elizabeth Taylor would have made a good candidate:

________________________

Source: https://x.com/AncientBritonX/status/2078283541419380858

Helen of Troy as a real Mycenaean noblewoman (~1200 BC).

Based on Homer’s epithets (‘white-armed’, ‘lovely-haired’), later poets (xanthē hair, kyanōpis eyes), and actual Late Bronze Age frescoes like the Mykenaia.

Elaborate sculpted hair with curls & beads, dramatic kohl, rich patterned textiles, heavy gold jewelry — PG-13 Edition (she may have gone bare breasted for certain ceremonies). Historically grounded. No Victorian sheets or Hollywood race swapping bull****.

Which one feels most like her to you?

____________________



____________________

Living Greek actresses:



____________________

Source: Women in Antiquity

Mykenaia

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Positive reviews be like:

https://x.com/Shaughn_A2/status/2078190544602210765
@Shaughn_A2
#TheOdyssey is the greatest movie ever made…🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖

[Tintin]

Iphigenia (1977)

I have not yet seen this but judging on the comments via the Youtube link and some on X, may just have to race the top of my 'must watch' list.

Here's a link to the FULL film on YouTube:

Iphigenia (1977)| Oscar-Nominated| Full Length Movie based on Euripides' Tragedy| English Subtitles

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5jD-IuhwLmk

Excerpted comments:

"The 2017 film 'The Killing of the Sacred Deer' is thought to be based around the Iphigenia story. I never expected watching that film to lead me to THIS buried classic. I was riveted throughout - especially by the actress who plays Clytemnestra."

"I was at the LA premier of this film and, since then, have watched it about 10-times on my computer. It is a Masterpiece (as well as"Electra" (1962), which is also on youtube.)"

"Amazing performances, a movie worthy of Greek Drama. Apart from the exceptional play of the famous Greek actors, little Iphigenia nailed the role considering she is only 13 with absolutely no acting experience before."

"I’d caution people before they watch this that it is perhaps the most gut-wrenching film they will ever see. A masterpiece that will haunt you."

"Superb film. Irene Papas is devastating as Clytemnestra. The whole trilogy deserves far more attention."

_________________

Description:

Greek film directed by Michael Cacoyannis, based on Euripides' play "Iphigenia at Aulis". The score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis.

"Iphigenia" relates the story of an incident that took place just prior to the Trojan War. Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, had eloped to Troy with Paris, son of King Priam. Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, King of Argos, had assembled a huge expeditionary Greek force on the shores of Aulis that he planned to lead to Troy. But the winds refuse to blow. The oracle, demands that Agamemnon offers a sacrifice. Once the sacrifice is made, Artemis will consent for the armies to sail to Troy by allowing the winds to blow eastward. The sacrifice is to be Agamemnon's first-born daughter, Iphigenia. Under extreme pressure, Agamemnon sends a message to his wife Clytemnestra, asking her to send their daughter Iphigenia, to Aulis, ostensibly to wed Achilles.
-----------------

Original Title: Ιφιγένεια
IMDb rate: 7.7/10

Cast
Irene Papas
Kostas Kazakos
Tatiana Papamoschou
Kostas Karras
Panos Mihalopoulos

Movie Trivia:
1. "Iphigenia" was the last installment of Cacoyannis' "Greek Tragedy" trilogy. The first one being "Electra" (1962), which was followed by "The Trojan Woman" (1971), starring Katharine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave. Irene Papas also stars in all of them.

2. Greek Cypriot filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis (known mostly for directing "Zorba the Greek") was notably one of the best European directors of his time, and critics often compared him with Akira Kurosawa and Grigori Kozintsev. Being an experienced director by the time he filmed "Electra", Cacoyiannis creates a powerful work of art with great visuals. The crisp splendid black-and-white photography of the film creates a fascinating yet terrifying atmosphere.

3. Iphigenia was nominated for one Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. Iphigenia received the 1978 Belgian Femina Award and received the Best Film Award at the 1977 Thessaloniki Film Festival, where Tatiana Papamoschou also received the Best Leading Actress Award for her role as Iphigenia.

4. Cacoyannis made a number of changes to Iphigenia at Aulis in order to adapt it to modern cinema, some of them significant divergences from the original plot. Cacoyannis does away with the traditional Greek tragic chorus originally employed to explain key scenes, replacing it in some cases with a chorus of Greek soldiers. He adds new characters who were not present, but who were mentioned, in the original play, Odysseus and Calchas, to further the plot and voice certain themes.

5. As in Euripides' original work, Cacoyannis deliberately renders the ending ambiguous. Though Greek myth states that Iphigenia was miraculously saved by the deities at the moment of her death, this event is not directly depicted in either the play or the film, leaving Iphigenia's true fate in question although Agamemnon's expression leaves little doubt that her death, in fact, has just taken place.

5. In the original text of the "Iliad", borth parties are considered to be "Greeks". The distinction between Trojans and Greeks (called "Achaeans" by Homer), was invented by English scholars, who, influenced by Roman literature, thought of Trojans to be primordial Romans. This conception in attributed to Roman poet Virgil, who wrote his famous epic poem "Aeneid", heavily influenced by Homer's Odyssey. His goal, apart from telling a story that would live through the ages, was to to embellish the humble origins of the Romans and flatter roman emperor Augustus by linking his heritage to the idolized Trojans.

-----------------------------------

I've made the full film available for 3 days as a download via WeTransfer:
Size: 1GB

Link: https://we.tl/t-CbStzExmVhm1vG8g

[Tintin]

Posted by Mark (Star Mariner) (here)
Positive reviews be like:

https://x.com/Shaughn_A2/status/2078190544602210765
@Shaughn_A2
#TheOdyssey is the greatest movie ever made…🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖

Well, Matt Walsh, here, just as succinct and on-the-money as you'd find anywhere (the 'liberal woman' reference is to Emily Wilson); that's it, that's THE review - brilliant, frankly :

In “Apocalypto,” Mel Gibson transports you into the mind of a Mayan 500 years ago. In “The Northman,” Robert Eggers transports you into the mind of a Viking a thousand years ago. In “The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan transports you into the mind of a liberal woman in 2017.

Source: https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2079405201723715585