Ulysses (1954)

Strictly average movie

It is a performances centric movie

A Disappointing Continuation

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Me pareció una buena película pero totalmente inferior a la ODISEA(1997) protagonizada por Armand Assante

I rented this movie a few weeks back because I was preparing to honor Kirk Douglas on Hot Toasty Rag. I groaned and rolled my eyes during the first fifteen minutes. The production values weren't very good, some Italian actors had had their voices dubbed in English, and the acting style was extremely dated. As the scenes progressed, I started to get a sense of déjà vu. Halfway through, I started predicting what was going to happen! "If they meet a giant with one eye and get him drunk, I've seen this movie," I said to myself. Turns out, I saw the movie in a high school English class!My teacher had assigned Homer's works for required reading, but when the entire class flunked the test afterwards, she knew something was wrong. No one understood what had happened in the story! She tried explaining it and cited passages to help our little brains connect the archaic language to what she was saying, but again, it went over our heads. Finally, she knew there was only one way for us to learn Odyssey: she showed us the movie.The second time around-once I remembered I'd seen the film before-I was taken on a very enjoyable trip down Memory Lane. "There's the giant! There are the sirens! The pigs!" My review, as you can probably tell, is a little colored by my past. I have no idea how much I would have liked or disliked Ulysses if I'd seen it for the first time last month. You might turn it off and think it's ridiculous, or you might think it's a clear, understandable adaptation of a very dense classic poem. I consider this movie a sentimental favorite, like the first version of The Nutcracker my teacher showed the class in fourth grade. Plus, for half the movie, Kirk Douglas practically prances around in his underwear, so that's always fun.

I have always been a fan of Kirk Douglas, AND, of Homer's two books "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey".So when I saw this film it was, for me, what they call a "two-fer" or two for the price of one.The scenes with Polyphemus still impress me, and yes the comments about the wine not really being wine ( no time to ferment) are understandable, but, they don't really diminish the scene. (Hey, it's the movies).Another thing about ANY of these Italian movies, from this one to the traditional "Hercules" movies, is where do they find all those GORGEOUS women?. YIKES!!.I also love the scenes between the witch Circe, and Ulysses, there is a faint green glow the lighting designer bathes Circe with, to make her seem more "spooky".All in all this is a great movie for those who like Greco-Roman mythology, or Italian sword and sandal films, or even if you are a big Kirk Douglas fan!. BTW, look for a young Anthony Quinn, and remember that these two men would join up again later in "Lust for Life".So sit back and enjoy a 2500 year old story that seems as fresh and exciting as any story you see today, maybe even more so!. Pssst sorry NO GCI!

I've seen this one when I was 10...40 years later I can assure you that I Remember every part of it and than it gives me (along with the stories of Moses Ben Hur Jason and Spartacus ) a huge success among the Children and teenagers who have no opportunity to hear such stories who have even more suspense blood and hot pursuits than an average Bruce Willis story ! i just don't care if the movie is a masterpiece or a B-serie : its certainly a fantastic story-teller and that's what it matters.