L Odissea 1997: ((free))

Its legacy is significant. For over a decade, it was the gold standard for Homer on screen—until the 2024 film The Return with Ralph Fiennes, which covers only the final act. It has also been used for decades in university classics and literature courses as a visual companion to Homer’s text due to its narrative fidelity. Today, L'Odissea 1997 is available on DVD and Blu-ray (often titled simply The Odyssey ) and streams on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and YouTube (often in high-definition remasters).

Shot by Sergei Kozlov, the miniseries uses a desaturated color palette, giving the Mediterranean an almost post-apocalyptic bleakness. The sea is often gray and churning, not azure blue. l odissea 1997

Composed by Eduard Artemyev (known for Solaris and Stalker ), the score is a haunting fusion of period-appropriate string instruments (lyre, flute) and modern ambient synthesizers. The main theme, a mournful adagio for oboe and strings, perfectly captures the loneliness of the wanderer. Critical Reception and Legacy Upon its US broadcast (NBC, May 18–19, 1997), L'Odissea received strong reviews. The New York Times called it "the rare television epic that honors its source without feeling like a lecture." Critics praised Assante’s ferocious performance, with Variety noting he "makes Russell Crowe’s Maximus look like a well-fed centurion." Its legacy is significant

Odysseus’ journey begins with the (a lost battle), then the Lotus Eaters (where his men lose their will to return). The most famous sequence is the Cyclops episode: Assante’s Odysseus cleverly introduces himself as "Nobody," blinds Polyphemus (a towering, grotesque puppet/animatronic), and then, in a moment of fatal hubris, reveals his true name—earning Poseidon’s eternal wrath. Today, L'Odissea 1997 is available on DVD and

Meanwhile, Penelope fends off 108 suitors led by Antinous (played by Richard Treloar) and Eurymachus. Telemachus (Alan Stenson), now a young man, searches for his father.