| Ulysses' Gaze | |
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 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Theo Angelopoulos |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Odyssey byHomer |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Harvey Keitel Maia Morgenstern Erland Josephson |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | Eleni Karaindrou |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Roissy Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 176 minutes |
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| Box office | $42,202 |
Ulysses' Gaze (Greek:Το βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα,translit. To Vlemma tou Odyssea) is a 1995internationally co-producedwardrama film directed byTheo Angelopoulos, loosely based onHomer's epic poemOdyssey, and starringHarvey Keitel,Maia Morgenstern andErland Josephson.
The film was selected as the Greek entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the68th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.[1][2]
Successful Greek filmmaker A (Harvey Keitel), returns to Greece. He has come to participate in a screening of one of his earlier films and to begin a personal journey across the Balkans. After the screening is disrupted by local ideological conflict, A takes a taxi from Greece toAlbania. Ostensibly A is searching for 3 undeveloped reels of film shot by theManaki brothers. The mysterious reels could predate the brother's first film,The Weavers, which is believed to be the first film shot in the Balkans.
A's journey fuses his own memories, the experiences of the Manaki brothers, and contemporary images of the Balkans. A drifts from Albania toNorth Macedonia,Bulgaria,Romania andSerbia. He travels on a train, a barge laden with a statue ofLenin (Polyphemus) and eventually a row boat. Though A makes some acquaintances along the way, he never lingers. His search for the roots of cinema, memory, and the Balkan identity pull him inevitably towards decay and death.
A eventually travels to the besiegedSarajevo. He meets Ivo Levy (Erland Josephson), the curator of an underground cinema archive who had attempted to develop the missing reels before the war. A convinces Levy to continue his work with the reels. The film ends on a rare foggy day in Sarajevo. Ironically the fog protects locals from snipers and gives the city a rare chance to flourish. A explores the city with Levy's family. Near the river the family encounters military personnel and they are executed.
Ulysses' Gaze is part of Angelopoulos' trilogy on borders, his first film made outside of Greece. The film shown at the beginning was inspired by a screening of Angelopoulos' earlierThe Suspended Step of the Stork.
The dialog played over loudspeakers in the town square was spoken byMarcello Mastroianni.[3]Gian Maria Volonté died during filming, and was replaced by Erland Josephson. The film is dedicated to Volonté's memory.
Eleni Karaindrou composed thefilm score, which was released throughECM in 1995.[4]
Featuring:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ulysses’ Theme" | 1:25 |
| 2. | "LitanyVariation I" | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation I" | 1:27 |
| 4. | "Woman’s Theme" | 1:09 |
| 5. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation II" | 1:11 |
| 6. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation III" | 1:33 |
| 7. | "The River" | 4:57 |
| 8. | "Ulysses’ Theme" | 2:11 |
| 9. | "Ulysses’ Theme, Litany" | 6:54 |
| 10. | "Ulysses’ Gaze" | 17:02 |
| 11. | "Byzantine Psalm" | 1:12 |
| 12. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation IV" | 1:32 |
| 13. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation V" | 1:30 |
| 14. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation VI" | 3:33 |
| 15. | "Ulysses’ Theme, Lento, Largo" | 5:29 |
| 16. | "LitanyVariation II" | 3:29 |
| 17. | "Ulysses’ ThemeVariation VII" | 1:31 |
| Total length: | 59:27 | |
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