Many movies have been made from this poem, bearing the same name, and otherwise. One of the more recent attempts to cash in on Homer all of these centuries later, was the NBC mini- series/mini-epic, starring Armand Assante as the forlorn journeyman.
I would like to take a look at a script in this article, form one of the adaptions. It is not from the NBC mini-series, but actually from one of my favorite new movies, “O Brother Where Art Thou?” While the movie itself is not a classic, the Joel and Ethan Coen did base their film, while loosely, on this epic poem, oh yes, did I forget to tell you, it’s a poem!
Now, if you have not seen this movie, please don’t let any misconceptions hold you back from renting it. The acting is wonderful, George Clooney took away a Golden Globe for his performance as Ulysses Everett McGill, and the song from the soundtrack has topped the country charts for weeks now. If you aren’t into George Clooney or country music, please rent this movie because you will be pleasantly surprised.
“O Brother Where Art Thou,” follows a similar plot as “The Odyssey.” Our lead character, Everett, is in jail, and separated from his family. Although Odysseus was not jailed, he was separated from his family, longing to go home, and prevented form doing so. Therefore we see the correlation between the two characters circumstances. Everett embarks on an elaborate plan to get back home, taking with him his two friends and fellow inmates, Pete and Delmar, who could be likened to Odysseus’s troops. Along the way they run into numerous characters, as did Odysseus and his men, including three sirens at a river bank, and a cyclops of sorts, but in this film we call him Big Dan Teague and he is played by John Goodman with an eye patch.
The protagonist is our lead character, and the antagonists are many...the many obstacles the are there to prevent him from returning home to his family. There are temptations, threats, and dangers, but in both stories, the hero does triumph and return home. What he returns home to
