Review of Odissea

I have never before written a review simply confirming the prior reviews -- seems a duplication -- but there is always a first time for everything. The year was 1968. The Vietnam war was ripping the US to bits, there were soldiers shooting students, the only refuge was rock music ... and TV was generally junk. And then out of literally nowhere this adaptation appeared on US TV as a "mini-series" (itself rare!) adaptation of the Homerian epic (also rare, the common wisdom was that the Kirk Douglas version a decade earlier had nailed it and put it to bed) starring stars no one had ever heard of, and featuring an international cast. I can tell you this -- those that watched were hooked off the start, as the exceptionally high writing acting and production values were literally unknown in network TV at the time. Bekim Fehmiu -- a name I cannot pronounce even a half-century later -- was great and Irene Pappas was majestic. The pacing was brilliant, equal parts poetry, action, emotion, the gamut. Even special effects! The only spoiler here is that I already warned you this review was somewhat repetitive. But by all means add this review to the list of those saying this production was decades ahead of its time and worth a look, assuming you can find it.