The Amazing Works of Theodoros Angelopoulos Quiz

Answer: Bruno Ganz

The Swiss actor Bruno Ganz played Alexandros, a old-age Greek poet, who befriends a refugee boy from Albania during the last days of his life. Ganz also had a role in "The Dust of Time". Harvey Keitel was the main actor in "Ulysses' Gaze", Marcello Mastroianni was in "The Beekeeper" and Willem Dafoe was in "The Dust of Time".

Answer: The Suspended Step of the Stork

The Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) played a long considered lost Greek politician in "The Suspended Step of the Stork", eventually discovered by Alexandros, the main character in the film. In "The Beekeeper" his role was Spyros, a beekeeper, who left his house and travelled all over Greece to meet the spring, like his bees.

Answer: False

"Alexander the Great" is a film about a Greek outlaw set in the start of the 20th century. The Italian actor Omero Antonutti played the main role.

Answer: Voyage to Cythera

Loukianos Kilaidonis composed the soundtrack for "The Travelling Players" and "The Hunters". Christodoulos Chalaris composed the soundtrack for "Alexander the Great". Eleni Karaindrou composed the excellent soundtracks of "Voyage to Cythera", "The Beekeeper", "Landscape in the Mist", "Ulysses' Gaze", "Eternity and a Day", "The Weeping Meadow" and "The Dust of Time". All three are famous Greek composers.

Answer: False

The island of Cythera is used as an allegory for the Promised Land, as in the infamous painting "The Embarkation for Cythera" by Antoine Watteau. "Voyage to Cythera", a very innovative film, is in fact a movie within a movie. The Italian actor Giulio Brogi played Alexandros, a Greek director who made a movie about a Greek refugee from the Soviet Union, inspired by a random old man who saw in the street. Manos Katrakis (1908-1984), who played the role of the old man, was one of the greatest Greek dramatic actors of all times.

He died a few days after the completion of the film.

Answer: Miltos and Yannakis

The Manakis Brothers were photographers who introduced cinematography in Greece and all Balkanic countries in the start of 20th century, in a very difficult era for that area. The legendary "three reels" used by these pioneers in the first film ever made in the Balkans were considered long lost. "Ulysses' Gaze" is the gaze the protagonist got when he discovered such a legendary item, just like Ulysses when he arrived to his homeland Ithaca after a 10 year journey from Troy.

The famous American actor, Harvey Keitel, was truly excited to work with Angelopoulos.

Answer: Taxi driver

Thanasis Vengos (1927-2011) was one of the greatest Greek comedians and film actors of all time. He was also producer and director of many films. In "Ulusses' Gaze" he played the taxi driver who drove A, the protagonist, to the Greek-Bulgarian border to start his journey through the Balkans.

At some point he stopped the taxi to have a "conversation" with the Greek nature. It was a very unusual role for that great comedian.

Answer: Landscape in the Mist

Voula, played by Tania Palaiologou, was the main heroine in "Landscape in the Mist". She was a girl who took a journey all over Greece with her little brother to get to Germany, where they thought that their father lived. Eleni is the name of the main heroine in "Reconstruction", played by Toula Stathopoulou, "The Weeping Meadow", played by Alexandra Aidini and "The Dust of Time", played by Irene Jacob. All ladies are Greek, except for the Swiss Irene Jacob.

Answer: Okinawa

The meadow that weeps is in fact a dream which Alexis, Eleni's husband, had in his last night in the Pacific Ocean. This great film follows Eleni and Alexis, Greek refugees from Odessa, in a story throughout the first half of 20th century in Greece, until the tragedy of the Greek civil war (1946-1949). Alexis emigrated to the U.S.A. and he joined the U.S. Army to be able to take U.S. citizenship.

After that, he could take Eleni and their two sons to the U.S.A., just to find his tragic end in the battle of Okinawa.

The film is a true masterpiece, in the spirit of the great ancient Greek tragedies.

Answer: Golfo The Shepherdess

"The Travelling Players" goes back and forth in time, as a group of travelling players plays "Golfo The Shepherdess" all over Greece from 1939 to 1952, following the major historical events of this era. The film is the first real masterpiece from this genius of the world cinema. "Golfo The Shepherdess", "Daphnis and Chloe" and "Erotokritos" are Greek romantic plays written by Spyros Peresiadis, Longus and Vitsentzos Kornaros, respectively. "Lysistrata" is a war comedy by Aristophanes.