Theo Angelopoulos | |
---|---|
Born | Theodoros Angelopoulos 27 April 1935 |
Died | 24 January 2012 76) Piraeus, Greece | (aged
Alma mater | |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Years active | 1965–2012 |
Spouse | Phoebe Economopoulou (1980–2012; his death) |
Children | 3 |
Awards | Palme d'Or (1998) |
Website | Official website |
Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος, pronounced [ˌændʒəˈlɒpəlɒs]; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on,[1] and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world.[2][3][4] He started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of political films about modern Greece.
Angelopoulos' films, described by Martin Scorsese as that of "a masterful filmmaker", are characterized by the slightest movement, slightest change in distance, long takes, and complex, carefully composed scenes. His cinematic method is often described as "sweeping" and "hypnotic."[2][5]
In 1998 his film Eternity and a Day went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and his films have been shown at many of the world's esteemed film festivals.[6]
Biography
Theodoros Angelopoulos was born in Athens on 27 April 1935. His father Spyros hailed from the town of Ampeliona, Messenia in the Peloponnese.[7] During the Greek Civil War, his father was taken hostage and returned when Angelopoulos was 9 years old; according to the director, the absence of his father and looking for him among the dead bodies (during the "Dekemvriana" in Athens) had a great impact on his cinematography.[8][7] He studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to study film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) before returning to Greece. There, he worked as a journalist and film critic. Angelopoulos began making films after the 1967 coup that began the Regime of the Colonels. He made his first short film in 1968 and in the 1970s he began making a series of political feature films about modern Greece: Days of '36 (Meres Tou 36, 1972), The Travelling Players (O Thiassos, 1975) and The Hunters (I Kynighoi, 1977). In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.[9]
Theo Angelopoulos is a masterful filmmaker. He really understands how to control the frame. There are sequences in his work—the wedding scene in The Suspended Step of the Stork; the rape scene in Landscape in the Mist; or any given scene in The Traveling Players—where the slightest movement, the slightest change in distance, sends reverberations through the film and through the viewer. The total effect is hypnotic, sweeping, and profoundly emotional. His sense of control is almost otherworldly.
He quickly established a characteristic style, marked by slow, episodic and ambiguous narrative structures as well as long takes (The Travelling Players, for example, consists of only 80 shots in about four hours of film). These takes often include meticulously choreographed and complicated scenes involving many actors.
His regular collaborators include the cinematographer Giorgos Arvanitis, the screenwriter Tonino Guerra and the composer Eleni Karaindrou. One of the recurring themes of his work is immigration, the flight from homeland and the return, as well as the history of 20th century Greece. Angelopoulos was considered by British film critics Derek Malcolm[3] and David Thomson[4] as one of the world's greatest directors. Famous film directors including Werner Herzog[10] Emir Kusturica,[11] Akira Kurosawa,[12][13][14] Ingmar Bergman,[15] Wim Wenders,[16] Dušan Makavejev,[17] William Friedkin,[18] Manuel de Oliveira,[19] Michelangelo Antonioni among others,[20] were also admirers of his works.
While critics have speculated on how he developed his style, Angelopoulos made clear in one interview that "The only specific influences I acknowledge are Orson Welles for his use of plan-sequence and deep focus, and Mizoguchi, for his use of time and off-camera space."[21] He had also cited Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 work Stalker as an influence.[22]
Angelopoulos was awarded honorary doctorates by the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium in 1995, by Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, France, by the University of Essex, UK in July 2001,[23] by the University of Western Macedonia, Greece in December 2008,[24] and by the University of the Aegean, Greece in December 2009.[25]
Death
Angelopoulos died late on Tuesday, 24 January 2012, several hours after being involved in a crash while shooting his latest film, The Other Sea in Athens.[26] On that evening, the filmmaker had been with his crew in the area of Drapetsona, near Piraeus when he was hit by a motorcycle ridden by an off-duty police officer. The crash occurred when Angelopoulos, 76, attempted to cross a busy road. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated in an intensive care unit but succumbed to his serious injuries several hours later. Prior to his death he suffered at least one heart attack.[27][28] His funeral was a public expense, on 27 January at the First Cemetery of Athens.[29]
Filmography
Year | Original title | English title | Director | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | Η εκπομπή (I Ekpombi) |
Broadcast | Yes | Yes | Short film |
1970 | Αναπαράσταση (Anaparastasi) |
Reconstitution | Yes | No | |
1972 | Μέρες του '36 (Meres tou '36) |
Days of '36 | Yes | No | Part 1 of the "Trilogy of History" |
1975 | Ο Θίασος (O Thiassos) |
The Travelling Players | Yes | Yes | Part 2 of the "Trilogy of History" |
1977 | Οι Κυνηγοί (I Kinighi) |
The Hunters | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 3 of the "Trilogy of History" |
1980 | Ο Μεγαλέξανδρος (O Megalexandros) |
Alexander the Great | Yes | No | |
1983 | Αθήνα, επιστροφή στην Ακρόπολη (Athina, epistrofi stin Akropoli) |
Athens, Return to the Acropolis | Yes | Yes | Segment of Capitali culturali d'Europa |
1984 | Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα (Taxidi sta Kythira) |
Voyage to Cythera | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 1 of the "Trilogy of Silence" |
1986 | Ο Μελισσοκόμος (O Melissokomos) |
The Beekeeper | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 2 of the "Trilogy of Silence" |
1988 | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη (Topio stin Omichli) |
Landscape in the Mist | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 3 of the "Trilogy of Silence" European Film Award for Best Film 1989 |
1991 | Το Mετέωρο Bήμα Tου Πελαργού (To Meteoro Vima tou Pelargou) |
The Suspended Step of the Stork | Yes | No | Part 1 of the "Trilogy of Borders" |
1995 | Το βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα (To Vlemma tou Odyssea) |
Ulysses' Gaze | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 2 of the "Trilogy of Borders" |
1995 | Lumière et compagnie | Lumière and Company | Yes | Yes | Co-director/co-writer Segment: Up to 52 seconds |
1998 | Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) |
Eternity and a Day | Yes | Yes | Co-writer Part 3 of the "Trilogy of Borders" Palme d'Or 1998 |
2004 | Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει (Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzi) |
Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow | Yes | No | Part 1 of the trilogy on modern Greece |
2007 | Chacun son cinéma | To Each His Own Cinema | Yes | Yes | Co-director/co-writer Segment: Trois minutes (Three Minutes) |
2008 | Η Σκόνη του Χρόνου (I skoni tou chronou) |
The Dust of Time | Yes | No | Part 2 of the trilogy on modern Greece |
2011 | Mundo Invisivel | Invisible World | Yes | Yes | Co-director/co-writer Segment: Sky below |
—[30] | I alli thalassa | The Other Sea | Yes | Yes | Part 3 of the trilogy on modern Greece |
Awards
Angelopoulos won numerous awards, including the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for Eternity and a Day (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera). His films have been shown at the most important film festivals around the world.[6]
Lifetime achievement awards
Theodoros Angelopoulos was also the recipient of many awards for his long standing career.[6]
Year | Provider | Award |
---|---|---|
1995 | Université libre de Bruxelles | Honorary Doctorate |
1996 | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | European Silver Ribbon[60] |
2001 | University of Essex | Honorary Graduate[23] |
2003 | Copenhagen International Film Festival | Honorary Award[76][lower-alpha 10] |
2003 | Flaiano Film Festival | Honorary Award[77] |
2004 | Montreal World Film Festival | Grand Prix Special des Amériques[78] |
2004 | Busan International Film Festival | Hand Printing[79] |
2008 | University of Western Macedonia | Honorary Graduate[24] |
2010 | Yerevan International Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award[80] |
2009 | University of the Aegean | Honorary Graduate[25] |
2010 | Dokuz Eylül University | Honorary Doctorate |
— | Paris West University Nanterre La Défense | Honorary Doctorate |
Notes
- ↑ At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1968, The Broadcast was also the recipient of a Honorable Mention by the Hellenic Association of Film Critics Award.[31]
- 1 2 3 At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1970, Reconstitution was also awarded:
- The Best Greek Cinematography: Giorgos Arvanitis
- The Best Greek Supporting Actress: Toula Stathopoulou.[32]
- ↑ At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1972, Giorgos Arvanitis was awarded the Best Greek Cinematography prize for Days of '36.[34]
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Travelling Players was also awarded:
- The Best Film in the World for 1970–1980 by Italian Film Critics Association.
- One of the Top Films in the History of Cinema by FIPRESCI.
- The Grand Prix of the Arts, Japan.
- The Golden Age Award, Brussels.
- 1 2 3 At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1975, The Travelling Players was also awarded:[39]
- The Best Greek Actor: Vangelis Kazan
- The Best Greek Actress: Eva Kotamanidou
- The Best Greek Cinematography: Giorgos Arvanitis
- The Greek Critics Association Award
- 1 2 3 At the 37th Cannes Film Festival, the Best Screenplay was awarded to Theodoros Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra, and Thanassis Valtinos, and, the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award was awarded ex-aequo with Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders.[47]
- ↑ At the 46th Venice International Film Festival, Landscape in the Mist and Theodoros Angelopoulos were also awarded:[50]
- The Prize of the Students of the University "La Sapienza"
- The Pasinetti Award for the Best Film
- The OCIC Award tied with The Legend of the Holy Drinker (La leggenda del santo bevitore) by Ermanno Olmi
- The C.I.C.A.E. Award
- The Sergio Trasatti Award
- Best European Cinematographer: Giorgos Arvanitis
- Best European Director: Theo Angelopoulos
- Best European Screenwriter: Theo Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra, and Thanassis Valtinos
- Best European Supporting Performance
- ↑ At the 27th Chicago International Film Festival, Landscape in the Mist was also awarded the Silver Plaque for Best Cinematography
- 1 2 3 At the 17th European Film Awards (2004), Theodoros Angelopoulos was also nominated for Best Director.[73]
- ↑ Theodoros Angelopoulos was the head of the jury of the first edition of the Copenhagen International Film Festival, held between 13–20 August 2003.[76]
References
- ↑ Merry 2004, p. 145.
- 1 2 Horton 1999, preface.
- 1 2 Malcolm 2000.
- 1 2 Thomson 2002, pp. 21–22.
- 1 2 Horton 1999, back cover.
- 1 2 3 "Theodoros Angelopoulos – Awards". IMDb.
- 1 2 Horton 1999, p. 18.
- ↑ "Theodoros Angelopoulos", editions Kastanioti, p. 189.
- ↑ "Berlinale 1978: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ↑ "55ο ΦΚΘ: 1914 – 2014: 100 Χρόνια Ελληνικός Κινηματογράφος". Filmfestival.gr (in Greek). Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Θεσσαλονίκης. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "Ο Αγγελόπουλος ήταν μεγάλη μορφή του ευρωπαϊκού πολιτισμού, είπε ο Εμίρ Κουστουρίτσα". In.gr (in Greek). 25 January 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "Οι Ακίρα Κουροσάουα, Βιμ Βέντερς, Ίνγκμαρ Μπέργκμαν είπαν για τον Αγγελόπουλο..." In.gr (in Greek). 22 January 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ Lee Thomas-Mason (12 January 2021). "From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ↑ "Akira Kurosawa's Top 100 Movies!". Archived from the original on 27 March 2010.
- ↑ "Θ. Αγγελόπουλος: πέθανε ο ποιητής των εικόνων". Edu4u.gr (in Greek). 25 January 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ Δημητρόπουλος, Θοδωρής. "Ο Θόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος μέσα από τα λόγια των άλλων". Oneman.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "Θόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος, 1935 – 2012". Antikleidi.com (in Greek). 25 January 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ Μικελίδης, Νίνος Φένεκ (26 July 2014). "Επηρεάστηκα από τον Φελίνι, τον Αντονιόνι και τον Αγγελόπουλο". enet.gr (in Greek). Ελευθεροτυπία. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "Μανουέλ ντε Ολιβέιρα: Ο πρύτανης του σινεμά «έφυγε» σε ηλικία 106 ετών |thetoc.gr". The TOC (in Greek). 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ Σταθογιάννης, Πάνο (26 January 2012). "'Δεν έχω πει ακόμα αυτό που θα 'θελα να πω'. Η πιο ειλικρινής συνέντευξη του Θ. Αγγελόπουλου". LiFO.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ The Last Modernist, ed. Andrew Horton, 1997
- ↑ Horton, Andrew (29 September 2016). "3 – Angelopoulos, the Continuous Image and Cinema". The Films of Theo Angelopoulos – A Cinema of Contemplation. Princeton University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1400884421.
We should realize, however, that Angelopoulos is an unusual paradox in the history of cinema: he is very clearly "Greek" as I have demonstrated, and yet he is an international filmmaker who has been influenced by filmmakers from around the globe. He has observed: "I draw techniques from everything I've seen .... I continue to love ... very much the films of Murnau, Mizoguchi, Antonioni. More recently: Tarkovsky's Stalker, Godard's Every Man for Himself and of course Ordet ....
- 1 2 "Honorary Graduates :: Theodoros Angelopoulos". University of Essex. 9 December 2009.
- 1 2 "Honorary Graduates :: Theodoros Angelopoulos" (PDF). University of Western Macedonia. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009.
- 1 2 "Honorary Graduates :: Theodoros Angelopoulos". University of the Aegean. 12 July 2001. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012.
- ↑ Kermeliotis, Teo (25 January 2012). "Famous Greek film director Theo Angelopoulos dies in road accident". CNN. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ↑ "Director Angelopoulos dies after accident while filming". Kathimerini. 25 January 2012.
- ↑ "Culture – Film – Filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos dies in accident". The Guardian. Associated Press. 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "Το τελευταίο «αντίο» στον σκηνοθέτη Θ.Αγγελόπουλο". in.gr. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ↑ Left uncompleted by Angelopoulos' unexpected death in January 2012.
- 1 2 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1968)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 4 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1970)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Berlin International Film Festival (1971)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1972)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Berlin International Film Festival (1973)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Travelling Players (1975) – Awards". IMDb.
- ↑ "Cannes Film Festival (1975)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Berlin International Film Festival (1975)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1975)". IMDb.
- ↑ "British Film Institute Awards (1975)". IMDb.
- ↑ "I KINIGUI" [The Hunters]. Cannes Film Festival. 27 May 2023.
- ↑ "Cannes Film Festival (1977)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Kinema Junpo Awards (1980)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Awards of the Japanese Academy (1980)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Venice Film Festival (1980)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1980)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 4 "Awards 1984". Cannes Film Festival. 27 May 2023.
- 1 2 "Cannes Film Festival (1984)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Venice Film Festival (1986)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Venice Film Festival (1988)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "European Film Awards – 1989: The Winners". European Film Academy. 4 September 2008.
- ↑ "Berlin International Film Festival (1989)". IMDb.
- ↑ "European Film Awards (1989)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 "Cannes Film Festival (1991)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 "Festival de Cannes: Ulysses' Gaze". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ↑ "Cannes Film Festival (1995)". IMDb.
- ↑ "European Film Awards – 1995: The Winners". European Film Academy. 4 September 2008.
- ↑ "European Film Awards (1995)". IMDb.
- ↑ "French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (1996)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (1996)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Goya Awards (1997)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Mainichi Film Concours (1997)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Sant Jordi Awards (1997)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Turia Awards (1997)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Festival de Cannes: Eternity and a Day". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
- 1 2 "Cannes Film Festival (1998)". IMDb.
- ↑ "São Paulo International Film Festival (1998)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 "Thessaloniki Film Festival (1998)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards (1999)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards (2001)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Berlin International Film Festival (2004)". IMDb.
- 1 2 3 "European Film Awards – 2004: The Winners". European Film Academy. 4 September 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 "European Film Awards (2004)". IMDb.
- ↑ "special awards 2004". fIPRESCI. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012.
- ↑ "Fajr Film Festival (2005)". IMDb.
- 1 2 "Copenhagen International Film Festival (2003)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Flaiano International Prizes (2003)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Montréal World Film Festival (2004)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Pusan International Film Festival (2004)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Yerevan International Film Festival (2010)". IMDb.
Bibliography and sources
- Books
- Horton, Andrew (1999) [1997]. The Films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Cinema of Contemplation. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01005-6. OCLC 154632603.
- Kolovos, Nikos (1990). Θόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος [Theodoros Angelopoulos] (in Greek). Athens: Aegokeros. OCLC 28342373.
- Kolovos, Nikos (1999). Κινηματογράφος Η τέχνη της βιομηχανίας [Cinema: The Art of Industry] (in Greek). Athens: Kastaniotis. ISBN 960-03-2704-1. OCLC 54107678.
- Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood. p. 145. ISBN 0-313-30813-6. OCLC 53938047. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- Syska, Rafał (2008). Poezja Obrazu: Filmy Theo Angelopoulosa [Poetry of Pictures: Theo Angelopoulos Films] (in Polish). Kraków: Rabid. ISBN 978-83-60236-34-5. OCLC 297540425.
- Thomson, David (2002). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-375-41128-3. OCLC 49247183.
- Journals, magazines, and web
- Constantinidis, Stratos E. (May 2000). "Greek Film and the National Interest: A Brief Preface". Journal of Modern Greek Studies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University; Project MUSE. 18 (1): 1–12. ISSN 0738-1727. OCLC 360217850.
- Malcolm, Derek (15 June 2000). "Theo Angelopoulos: The Travelling Players". Guardian Unlimited. London.
External links
- Official website
- Theo Angelopoulos at IMDb
- Theo Angelopoulos in musicolog* Acquarello. "Great Directors: Theo Angelopoulos". Senses of Cinema (Issue 27). Archived from the original on 29 May 2010.