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Saturday, December 10, 2022
Édipo Rei: A Tragédia de um Rei (1968) / Oedipus the King (1968)
A literatura grega
clássica prova ser, continuamente, uma excelente fonte de histórias para o
cinema. O exemplo em questão: “Édipo Rei” de Sófocles foi adaptada muitas vezes
para as telonas, começando em 1910. Em 1967 uma versão foi feita pelo famoso
diretor Pier Paolo Pasolini, mas hoje falaremos de uma versão que estreou no
ano seguinte, com um elenco fantástico que incluiu Orson Welles e Christopher
Plummer.
Classical Greek literature
is proven to be, again and again, an excellent source for stories for movies.
The example here: “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles has been adapted many times for
the big screen, starting as early as 1910. In 1967 a version was made by the
famous filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, but today we’ll talk about a version
released the following year, with a fantastic cast that included Orson Welles
and Christopher Plummer.
A história é conhecida, mas vamos
recapitular: com metade de seu peito nu, Édipo (Plummer) é um rei belo e
benevolente. Há uma
praga em curso e um assassino solto. O deus Apolo diz
que a praga não desaparecerá enquanto o assassino não for pego. Édipo ofende um
vidente (Welles) que faz terríveis previsões sobre a vida de Édipo. E elas se
tornam realidade: Édipo descobre que a mulher com quem ele é casado, Jocasta (Lili
Palmer), é na verdade sua mãe, e que foi responsável pela morte de seu pai.
The story is well-known, but let’s
recapitulate: with half of his chest bare, Oedipus (Plummer) is a handsome and
benevolent king. There is a plague going on and a killer on the loose. The god
Apollo says that the plague won’t go away until the killer is caught. Oedipus
offends a seer (Welles) who makes terrible predictions about Oedipus’ life. And
they do come true: Oedipus finds out that the woman he’s married to, Jocasta
(Lilli Palmer), is actually his mother, and that he was responsible for his
father’s death.
Muitos deuses gregos são
mencionados, mas Apolo é o mais importante na narrativa. Apolo é o deus da profecia
e dos oráculos, da música e da poesia, do arco e flecha, da cura, das pragas e
doenças e também protetor da juventude – um deus realmente muito poderoso. É
muito propício que ele seja o deus de destaque em “Édipo Rei”, pois se trata da
história de um jovem rei lidando com uma profecia tremendamente sombria.
There are several Greek
gods mentioned, but Apollo is the main one in the narrative. Apollo is the god
of prophecy and oracles, music and poetry, archery, healing, plague and
disease and also the protector of the youth – a pretty powerful god, for sure.
It’s very fitting that he’s the outstanding god in “Oedipus the King”, as it is
the story of a young king dealing with a tremendously dark prophecy.
Christopher Plummer domina cada
cena em que aparece em “Édipo Rei”. Nós normalmente não pensamos que o Capitão
Von Trapp de “A Noviça Rebelde” (1965) é um grande ator, mas Plummer certamente
era excelente. Plummer teve por quase uma década o recorde de mais velho
ganhador do Oscar por atuação, pois aos 82 ele ganhou o prêmio de Melhor Ator
Coadjuvante por “Toda Forma de Amor” (2010) – ele apenas perdeu o recorde em
2021 quando Anthony Hopkins ganhou o Oscar por “Meu Pai”.
Christopher Plummer
dominates every single scene he’s in in “Oedipus the King”. We don’t usually
think about Captain Von Trapp from “The Sound of Music” (1965) as a great
actor, but Plummer certainly was excellent. Plummer held for nearly a decade
the record for oldest acting Oscar winner, as he was 82 when he won the Best
Supporting Actor Oscar for “Beginners” (2010) – he only lost that record in
2021 when Anthony Hopkins won for “The Father”.
Nesta versão, a adaptação de uma
peça de centenas de anos foi um esforço conjunto do director Philip Saville e
do produtor Michael Luke. A linguagem nos diálogos é pomposa e pode ser a causa
de uma demora para entrarmos no clima do filme. É um filme teatral no seu âmago,
pois foi o primeiro filme feito pelo director Saville, que era um ator
dramático.
In this version, the adaptation of the
centuries-old play to a screenplay was a joint effort by director Philip
Saville and producer Michael Luke. The language in the dialogs is pompous and
it may be the cause of us taking a while to enter the mood of the film. It’s a
theatrical film in its core, as it was also the first film made by director
Saville, who was a trained dramatic actor.
A maior parte do filme acontece
em um anfiteatro e foi filmado em locação na Grécia. O local escolhido para as
filmagens foi depois transformado em sítio arqueológico. Boa parte da equipe foi
de profissionais gregos, como o diretor de arte Yannis Migadis e os
departamentos inteiros de arte, câmera e som.
Most of the film happens in
an amphitheater and was shot on location in Greece. The place chosen for the
shooting was later transformed into an archaeological site. A good part of the
cast were local Greek professionals, such as art director Yannis Migadis
and the whole art, camera and sound departments.
Não há nada muito especial em “Édipo Rei”. O filme se beneficiaria de mais Orson Welles –
embora não haja necessidade narrativa para mais cenas com o personagem. Pode
ser um filme raro – não estreou nos cinemas nos EUA e na Europa, e apenas se
tornou disponível quando foi exibido na TV – mas é uma adaptação fiel da peça. Sófocles ficaria orgulhoso.
There’s nothing very special in “Oedipus the
King”. The film could have benefitted from more Orson Welles – even though
there is no narrative need for more scenes with his character. It might be a
rare film – it was not theatrically released in the US and Europe, and only
became available when it was shown on TV – but it is a faithful adaptation of
the play. Sophocles would be proud.
This is my contribution to
the Charismatic Christopher Plummer blogathon, hosted by RealWeegieMidgetReviews and Pale Writer.
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6 comments:
Thanks for bringing this film to the blogathon. I love the casting so will definitely have to check this one out - I do love Orson Welles (even if he is just chewing scenery) so this does sound one to watch. Thanks again.
Did not know of this 60s version of Oedipus. Fascinating cast; too bad you weren't more impressed by it. I love the Sophocles plays; got to do Antigine while at college...Happy Holidays, Lê!
-Chris
Christopher Plummer was one classically-trained actor who could take on any role - Shakespeare, Greek myth, contemporary drama, costume drama, you name it -- be perfectly natural in it and end up being the best thing about the movie. It looks like this production took advantage of Plummer's theatrical background -- and it helps that he could pull off ancient costumes, togas, etc., and not look ridiculous.
I agree with the previous commenter who said Christopher Plummer could wear any kind of costume and not look ridiculous. As for this film, I've never come across it, but it if has Christopher P AND Orson Welles in it, I've gotta see it.
Terrific review as always, Le!
What an interesting write-up, Le! I have never heard of this movie, and when I thought about it, I realized that I've hardly seen Christopher Plummer in any older movies, except The Sound of Music. The others are more recent -- Dolores Claiborne, A Beautiful Mind, and Knives Out. I would like to see him in some other works, though!
I'm going to have to see this one, even if it isn't as strong as it could be--I had to read Oedipus for my English major and it would be interesting to see how Plummer did.
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