Classical Mythology

750 THE SURVIVAL OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY

Gaze (1995). Mr. A (played by Harvey Keitel), a famous Greek-American direc-

tor, returns to Greece and the Balkans in search of the lost films of the pioneer-

ing Manakia brothers, which they made in 1903. His personal and professional

odyssey, which crisscrosses the Balkans and culminates in war-torn Sarajevo, in-

volves many powerful and poetic episodes, including his encounters with

women, and juxtaposes present and past in provocative images. Hailed as a mas-

terpiece and condemned as pretentious and tiresome, this epic movie (almost

three hours long) contains much beautiful and evocative cinematography. O

Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), a comedy with American folk and traditional mu-

sic directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, is very loosely but brilliantly based on the

Odyssey; George Clooney (Ulysses), John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson are es-

capees from a chain gang in the South during the Depression of the 1930s. Their

encounter with the Sirens is particularly funny, amidst many amusing, thought-

provoking, and heart-warming scenes.

HERCULES

There are several movies about the hero Hercules; some freely manipulate leg-

endary material, while others (e.g., Hercules and the Moon Men) make little or no

attempt to remain faithful to antiquity. Although these films are of dubious qual-

ity, two are worth mentioning: Hercules (1959) and Hercules Unchained (1959),

both starring bodybuilder Steve Reeves, attempt to recapture aspects of the orig-

inal legend and offer a modicum of entertainment, if one is not too discrimi-

nating. The Three Stooges Meet Hercules is a very funny screwball comedy for

those who like this sort of thing. In the world of Heraclean films, the popular

television series Hercules: The Legendary journeys, starring Kevin Sorbo (with An-

thony Quinn as a bumbling Zeus), however juvenile at times, deserves credit for

some clever reworking of material that is still recognizably classical and for em-

ployment of certain stunning special effects. Some of the titles are Heracles: In

the Underworld, The Circle of Tire and the Amazon Women, and The Lost Kingdom.

There is also The Xena Trilogy, recounting the adventures of Hercules (Sorbo

again) with "the beautiful and deadly princess Xena": The Warrior Princess, The

Gauntlet, and Unchained Heart. Disney's movie Hercules (1997) provides good

family entertainment and animation that is clever, for example, friezes and vase-

paintings that spring delightfully to life. This is myth-making of independent

spirit, a takeoff and transformation of the character bearing the unique creative

stamp of Disney, like it or not. Disney fans should consult the beautiful and in-

formative book The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation.^61

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

An important mythical adaptation, Jason and the Argonauts (1963, directed

by Don Chaffey), is especially noteworthy for its exciting special effects by Ray