As "Vangelis and the Journey to Ithaka" (2013 release from the UK; 132 min) opens, Vangelis is talking to the camera: "I always feels uneasy". We then go to "Alexander", the 2004 Oliver Stone movie, and how Vangelis became involved in that. Along the way talking heads like Henri Mancini heap the praises on Vangelis. At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.
Couple of comments: this is directed by veteran UK film maker Tony Palm. Here he is given broad access to the supposedly shy Vangelis, best known for his movie scores ("Chariots of Fire", "Blade Runner"), but involved in a bunch of other things. Let me state upfront that I've always had an affinity for Vangelis, a wonderful score writer. But this documentary does not do him full justice. For that the documentary is too unfocused and feels haphazard. Aphrodite's Child (the first band that Vangelis was in) is barely mentioned. Film scores are dissected, or not. And then there are the endless TV commercials... Not being focused also leads to the film being overly long for its own good. I would've preferred a shorter movie (by at least 30 min.) that uses its running time without wasting a second. That is definitely not the case with this documentary.
I missed this documentary when it came out a decade ago. For some reason it popped up when I was browsing Amazon Prime the other night, and I just decided to give it a shot. If you are a fan of Vangelis, I'd readily suggest you check this out (with expectations in check), and draw your own conclusion.
