Review – Ulysses

Early in his career – 1954 to be exact – Dino De Laurentiis produced this genuinely strange version of Homer’s Odyssey. And oh is it ever bizarre. My particular favorite part was when our hero gets stranded on an island full of people who apparently can’t tell the difference between togas and dresses. These guys look like the cast from a Hasidic production of The Rocky Horror Show. But that was scarcely the only odd moment in the picture. For example, the crew escapes from Polyphemus by getting him drunk on “wine” that apparently comes directly out of grapes when a frantic juicing dance is done on them. No fermentation time required. Most of the rest of the production is on par with such moments (though it does drag badly in spots). Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn head an otherwise-mostly-Italian ensemble. At least it was a little better than the Armand Assante version. Mildly amusing