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Le Voyage des comédiens

Original title: O thiasos
  • 1975
  • Tous publics
  • 3h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
Le Voyage des comédiens (1975)
DramaHistoryMusicWar

Greece, 1939-1952: Fascist, Nazi, and Communist conflict, as seen through the eyes of a family of travelling provincial players.Greece, 1939-1952: Fascist, Nazi, and Communist conflict, as seen through the eyes of a family of travelling provincial players.Greece, 1939-1952: Fascist, Nazi, and Communist conflict, as seen through the eyes of a family of travelling provincial players.

  • Director
    • Theodoros Angelopoulos
  • Writer
    • Theodoros Angelopoulos
  • Stars
    • Eva Kotamanidou
    • Vangelis Kazan
    • Aliki Georgouli
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    4.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Theodoros Angelopoulos
    • Writer
      • Theodoros Angelopoulos
    • Stars
      • Eva Kotamanidou
      • Vangelis Kazan
      • Aliki Georgouli
    • 20User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 12 wins & 2 nominations total

    Photos60

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    Top cast46

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    Eva Kotamanidou
    Eva Kotamanidou
    • Electra
    Vangelis Kazan
    Vangelis Kazan
    • Aegisthus
    Aliki Georgouli
    Aliki Georgouli
    • Clytemnestra
    Kiriakos Katrivanos
    Kiriakos Katrivanos
    • Pylades
    Stratos Pahis
    Stratos Pahis
    • Agamemnon
    Nina Papazaphiropoulou
    Nina Papazaphiropoulou
    • Old Woman
    Giannis Fyrios
    Giannis Fyrios
    • Accordionist
    Alekos Boubis
    • Old Man
    Maria Vassiliou
    Maria Vassiliou
    • Chrysothemis
    Grigoris Evangelatos
    Grigoris Evangelatos
    • Poet
    Petros Zarkadis
    Petros Zarkadis
    • Orestes
    Kosta Stiliaris
    Kosta Stiliaris
    • Chites Leader
    Nena Menti
    Nena Menti
    • Communist Singing Girl
    Giorgos Mazis
    Giorgos Mazis
    Costas Messaris
    Costas Messaris
    Stelios Lionakis
    Stelios Lionakis
    Yorgos Kafkas
    Giannis Kafaloukos
    • Director
      • Theodoros Angelopoulos
    • Writer
      • Theodoros Angelopoulos
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews20

    7.84.6K
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    Featured reviews

    10SpelingError

    A hypnotic masterpiece.

    This is my second time watching this film and it's just as great as I remember it being. In regards to Angelopoulous, the only other film I've seen from him is "Landscape in the Mist", which I also really enjoyed, but I like this one much more. "Landscape in the Mist" is definitely the more accessible of the two films since it has a greater emphasis on characterization, but while I enjoyed that film quite a bit, I prefer this film for its greater focus on its mysterious charm.

    I stopped caring about the story and the characters about half an hour into this film and instead focused on the film's style. Angelopoulos seamlessly blends personal and political history in a number of hypnotic ways in just about every single sequence. And this is accomplished despite the film being almost four hours long! Throughout all the long takes in the film, Angelopoulos managed to drop my jaw a number of times. For one, he found all kinds of creative ways for the various political figures and set pieces to creep into the frame and intrude on or interrupt the characters lives. For example, the film sometimes showed the sounds of a patrol of Nazis or a political march in the distance get louder and louder until the characters eventually entered the frame. Also, sometimes when the characters would exit from the frame of a shot, it would linger in that location for a while until a soldier or a military vehicle would enter the frame, often indicating the film is jumping from past to present. This unconventional shooting style gave a hypnotic style to the film which I found quite mesmerizing and poetic.

    The way violence is shown in this film is also impressive, specifically in regards to which bits are shown onscreen and which are shown offscreen. A recurring aspect to the violence was that, right when a violent bit would start, the characters would run away from the frame and the sounds of gunfire, explosions, or screaming could be heard in the distance, creating a strong sense of claustrophobia and (at times) fear of the unknown in the process. In many other cases, the violence served to prevent the actors from performing time and time again. The main highlight to the violence though is a lengthy sequence in the middle where the actors come across a gunfight between a patrol of Nazis and a group of Communists while sneaking through a town at night. The way the violence and the military units in this sequence are framed (they're only shown through the gaps between various houses and stores), in addition to a dose of surrealism, is nothing short of perfect.

    Really, this film kept me glued to the screen from beginning to end in a way that few films have accomplished, and that it accomplishes this in spite of its length makes me all the more impressed by it. Some people may take issue with its lack of characterization, but I didn't mind that at all since it contributed to the film's mysterious power. Of course, I understand that many people will be intimidated by this film's length (which is understandable as I was worried it would be a chore to get through when I first watched it), but I still recommend giving it a chance anyways.
    10iathanas

    Theo Angelopoulos' Masterpiece

    The Travelling Players is possibly the greatest movie in the history of Greek cinema. It is directed by the world-renowned Greek director Theo Angelopoulos and it presents the life in Greece from 1939 to 1952 through a family of travelling provincial players. It explores the political history of Greece during a very dramatic period, that includes dictatorship, the WWII outbreak, the Italian invasion and the subsequent German occupation and it continues with the liberation of the country and the very bloody Civil War.

    The Travelling Players was a very controversial movie. The film was to participate officially in the Cannes Film Festival, but the conservative Greek government, sought (and failed) to prevent this to happen, because the film tells the modern Greek history through a left- Marxist perspective.

    Angelopoulos proves that he's a master filmmaker on every level. From direction and writing to every technical aspect. Cinematography in particular.

    Also, the music by Loukianos Kilaidonis is fantastic and elevates the film in a different level.

    The Travelling Players is a masterpiece that everyone should watch.
    YP

    A great but ponderous work; covers modern Greek history by retelling ancient Greek tragedy.

    This is a landmark film, a must see for anyone that wishes to understand modern Greek history and politics. The plot is a loose retelling of the Oresteia cycle of tragedies by Aeschylus--the names of the characters (Orestes, Electra, Chrysothemis) are an obvious hint. Betrayal, revenge and redemption are only part of the story. It takes place in Greece between 1936 and 1952, years filled with fascist dictatorship, war, Axis occupation, civil war and repression. Greece's traumatic history is seen through the eyes of a traveling company of actors, who travel all around provincial towns to perform a single play: "Golfo", a pastoral tragedy told in folk-song-inspired rhyming couplets.

    This is not a movie for action-loving, short-attention-span viewers. Angelopoulos and his long-time collaborator, renowned cinematographer Arvanitis, have developed a very distinctive style, and "O Thiassos" is an uncompromising example. There are no close-ups, very little panning, some slow tracking; shots are long (both in point of view and time); almost every shot is filmed in overcast conditions; actors are dwarfed by their surroundings, which are all unglamorous, even depressing in their wartime run-down look. One could say that the purpose is to accentuate the tragic, the sense that the characters are cogs in the machine of history; but ancient tragedy did the same in big style, opulent costumes, and terrifying masks. Angelopoulos' politics induces him to focus on ordinary people in ordinary surroundings instead. The result is strangely, hauntingly lyrical to many; a real downer for some.

    The film came out in 1975, a year after the end of the dictatorial right-wing regime of the "colonels" (1967-74), and after decades of repression of communists and their sympathisers. Angelopoulos' point of view is sympathetic to the left/communist side. Under full democracy, it was finally allowed to be expressed. The film helped shape the political sensibilities of a whole generation of Greek baby boomers. Its sixteen-year trek (plod, some would say) through Greek history will probably bewilder non-Greek viewers, but it is a deeply affecting crash-course in what shaped contemporary Greece. It is also an impressive re-interpretation of tragedy, as original as any I have seen on film.
    10d-apergis

    A rare masterpiece

    O Thiasos is one of those cerebral and omphaloskeptic movies that just do not happen anymore, shamelessly demanding from the viewer to attune to its eccentric pace. Space and time become pawns in the director's hands, who in effect accomplishes their operatic tranquility in contrast to the static directorial style. In rejecting all conventions of academic narrativity it sustains its formulaic enigma throughout its considerable length, persistently (and obsessively) questioning the freedom of man in a world domineered by irreversible occurrences. Boosted equally by grandeur, mystifying symbolism and pictorial lyricism the film comes to its redeeming conclusion. Enchanting, liberating, revolutionary, focused and precise. Both coldly objective and passionately subjective. A rare masterpiece.
    10kaljic

    The Beauty of Banality

    We watch movies to forget the true banality of life. Movies are packed with witty, non-stop dialogue, head-spinning action which takes place in a short period of time, and, of course, beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous women. We are so conditioned by contemporary movies, we forget or want to forget ordinarily life.

    The Traveling Players by Angelopoulos has none of this. The dialogue is ordinary, spoken by ordinary people, by ordinary men and women. When they speak it is not rapid-fire, non-stop delivery, but ordinary speech most times separated by long periods of silence.

    The beauty of The Traveling Players - or any film by Angelopoulos - the ordinary is beautiful. The sweeping, long scenes in this movie are stunning. We quickly identify with one or more of the traveling players. In the dialogue we can hear words spoken by a close friend or acquaintance. When the film ends nearly four hours later, you will want to see more.

    This movie should not be missed.

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The whole film is accomplished in around 80 shots.
    • Quotes

      Elektra's Father: [before he is executed by the Germans] I came cross the sea, from Ionia. Where did you come from?

    • Connections
      Featured in Apefasisamen kai diatassomen: I Hounta, i logokrisia kai o ellinikos kinimatografos (1967 - 1974) (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Giati hairetai o kosmos (Ymnos tis 4is Avgoustou)
      Music by Gerasimos Fren

      Performed by Vangelis Kazan

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    FAQ14

    • How long is The Travelling Players?Powered by Alexa

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 5, 1975 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • Greece
    • Languages
      • Greek
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • The Travelling Players
    • Filming locations
      • Aigio, Greece
    • Production company
      • Papalios Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 3h 50m(230 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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