elblanco1947

Though I was nine when this movie appeared, and well remember all of the talk about it at the time, amazingly I had never seen the movie until 50 years after its release. This is an outstanding movie. My wife and I started watching on AMC at 3:00 A.M. and could not go to bed until 6:30 when it was over, we were so gripped by the story.

Contrary to some reviewers who believe the editing should have been tighter and the movie shortened because some parts of the movie could be left out without affecting the main plot; I believe that this movie demonstrates very effectively the random capriciousness of life. It demonstrates as well that our actions have consequences, but also that things happen which intrude upon our lives entirely by chance.

The writing and acting are excellent for the most part. Watching the movie, one feels that these are events that really happened just as they were portrayed. These are emotions that were really felt just as they were portrayed. Contrary to what one may think from the way in which the movie and book title became a catch phrase for the supposedly stultifying conformity of the 50's, there is no ideological feel to the movie at all, just a human story, a story of the things which happen in a man's life, how he tries to deal with them honestly, yet practically, and the effects of his actions upon all those he loves.

The movie has the feeling of being powerfully real. It is life as we remember it from those days. Not surprisingly it is the thinly disguised autobiography of Sloan Wilson, the novel's author. Excellent drama, equal to the great, but more highly praised Best Years of Our Lives.

This is probably the best TV movie of all time. Odysseus is the perfect hero for the aging 1st world population, with his use of guile to triumph when strength is not enough. Despite the fact that one of my favorite parts of The Odyssey is left out, when Odysseus returns home after 20 years, his faithful pet Argus awaiting him, only to die after one greeting; I think this is an incredibly arresting film. Armand Assante is surprising terrific as Odysseus. He conveys with his expressions the depth of thought and emotion which characterized Odysseus. All the more amazing when one considers that Odysseus was an Achaean, a tall, fair race of people, though Odysseus was, himself, described by Homer as one of middle stature, for an Achaean, no doubt. This movie makes the tales of Homer seem more real than any film I have ever seen. The emotions of all are complex and real. The mutual love and devotion of Odysseus and Penelope are portrayed in a beautiful and believable way by the actors. The scene in which Odysseus returns to take back his kingdom is brutally and believably real. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. It should be required in the schools.