The miniseries won (Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Special Visual Effects) and was nominated for Outstanding Miniseries . It also won a Golden Globe nomination for Armand Assante (Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television).
The climax is brutal and unflinching. Disguised as a beggar by Athena, Odysseus reveals himself only to his loyal swineherd Eumaeus and his son. The is not heroic swordplay but a cold, calculated execution. Odysseus strings the great bow (which none other could even bend) and shoots Antinous through the throat. A bloody melee follows, and every suitor is killed. The final, emotionally devastating scene is the reunion with Penelope, who tests him by asking him to move their wedding bed—built around a living olive tree, immovable. Only then does she know he is truly her husband. Visual and Musical Style Production Design: The series is notable for its grounded, grimy aesthetic. Costumes are not clean white togas but dirty wool, leather, and bronze. The world feels tactile—sun-scorched, salt-caked, and dangerous. The monsters (Cyclops, Scylla) were a mix of practical animatronics and early CGI, which, while dated by today’s standards, has a tangible, creepy quality missing from modern green-screen epics. l odissea 1997
In the landscape of television history, few literary adaptations have achieved the grandeur, fidelity, and emotional resonance of "L'Odissea" (released internationally as The Odyssey ), the 1997 NBC and RAI co-production directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky. While the title in Italian, L'Odissea , pays homage to its classical source, the "1997" moniker distinguishes it from previous silent or small-screen versions. This miniseries remains the most ambitious, visually stunning, and complete cinematic adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, standing as a landmark in 1990s television event programming. Production Background: A European-American Collaboration The project was a massive international undertaking. Conceived as a two-part miniseries (totaling approximately three hours), it was produced by Hallmark Entertainment and the Italian state broadcaster RAI. With a budget estimated at over $30 million—an astronomical sum for television at the time— L'Odissea aimed to compete with big-screen epics like Gladiator (which would follow three years later). Disguised as a beggar by Athena, Odysseus reveals
Odysseus’ journey begins with the (a lost battle), then the Lotus Eaters (where his men lose their will to return). The most famous sequence is the Cyclops episode: Assante’s Odysseus cleverly introduces himself as "Nobody," blinds Polyphemus (a towering, grotesque puppet/animatronic), and then, in a moment of fatal hubris, reveals his true name—earning Poseidon’s eternal wrath. A bloody melee follows, and every suitor is killed
Shot by Sergei Kozlov, the miniseries uses a desaturated color palette, giving the Mediterranean an almost post-apocalyptic bleakness. The sea is often gray and churning, not azure blue.
While its special effects show their age (the Cyclops looks more like a Dinosaurs puppet than a horror), the emotional core, the psychological depth of Armand Assante’s Odysseus, and Konchalovsky’s unromanticized vision of war and homecoming make it essential viewing. It is not a gleaming fantasy—it is a story of grit, tears, and the relentless human need to return. “There is nothing more admirable than a man who, though he has endured every misfortune, still keeps the fire of endurance in his heart.” – Odysseus, L'Odissea (1997) Article by [Your Name/Publication] – A comprehensive guide to Andrei Konchalovsky’s 1997 television masterpiece, L'Odissea.
Meanwhile, Penelope fends off 108 suitors led by Antinous (played by Richard Treloar) and Eurymachus. Telemachus (Alan Stenson), now a young man, searches for his father.