MUSIC NOVELIST STAFF & CREW HERO
Alan Breck Stuart "Kidnapped" "1492 Conquest of Paradise" Vangelis "Mambo Kings" Tito Puente
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson "Mr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" "Chicago Overcoat" "Odyssey" Mike Hammer & "I, the Jury"
AROUND THE MOVIE
("Jack The Ripper")
Richard Mansfield
"We allmost lost him as he performed Richard Mansfield "
Very often Armand Assante performe charachters in movies that are based on real life stories, but his charachter is still ficitional like his part in "American Gangster" as Dominic Catano !
The American actor Richard Mansfield is here shown to the left, in a role I presume is "Dr. Jekyle and Mr. Hyde" it does´nt say what part he is performing, but this is my wildest guess. He was born in Germany in 1857 and died in 1907.
This photo is an early and very rare sample of picture manipulation one must admire.
And while talking of that, we must be impressed by the devellopment of this art, thinking of what we can do ....now around 100 years later. We can hardly tell manipulation from the real thing !
Besides being known for his Shakepeare performances he got into the spotlight, more than he attended to, as "Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" while he was on tour in London early autum 1888, because of the parts authenticy he was accused of also being "Jack The Ripper". Some one thought that if an actor could performe transformation from 'nice man' to 'evil monster' that well, he had to be like this somehow for real.
And today there are actually people who thinks Armand Assante performes villians so well he must be a mobster himself.
A 100 years later (1988) Armand Assante performed Richard Mansfield in the TV limited Series "Jack The Ripper"
See more information about the real Richard Mansfield here
WikiPedia
You can see the photo shown and other pictures taken of Richard Mansfield here
digitalgallery.nypl.org
Armand Assante was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for his role as Richard Mansfield in 1989.
Awards and Nominations
In a short interview from October 1991(Just finishing his part in "Q&A") Armand Assante tells about his blood sugar collaps (Hypoglycemic Shock) during making the movie "Jack The Ripper".
When your blood sugars falls, your Insulin raises and you black out.
Any one who is a bit familiar with diabetes knows that if you get to much Insulin you might go in a coma or simply die.
There is no other cure for low blood sugar but to eat regulary, keep a diet, not overdo alcohol nor coffee, avoid stress and get a lot of sleep. Not something that would be easy for Armand Assante's line of business.
Living a tough life with many asignments and very long working hours Armand Assante suddenly collapsed during the takes.
Besides that, - his second daughter Alesandra was born in May 1988.
It all became to much for him.
So Armand Assante slows down and alter several of his habbits.
GoogleNews/Archive
You can watch several clips from "Jack The Ripper" visiting the page "His Life" and write the movie title in the searchfield (Ctrl + f)
This article (from Toledo Blade, October 16, 1988) does´nt particulary focus on Armand Assante but tells about the "Jack The Ripper" production all in all.
It was a 4 hour mini-series introduced in TV.
This version is different because it comes up with a conclusion about who the killer is...
GoogleNews/archive
You can find the articles at "Armand about Acting" decade: 1980 - 1989
("Kidnapped")
Alan Breck Stuart and
Allan Breck Stuart
Alan Breck Stewart, a Jacobite, “a condemned rebel, and a deserter, and a man of the French Kings” it says in Stevenson's novel.
And he actually existed. But the story is fictional.
The full plot of "Kidnapped" is described here at Robert Louis Stevensen official site.
In the upper part of the site is a link ...so you can go and read the book itself online.
"Kidnapped" goes on in a time with a hard political situation between the english and the scottish...Breck being loyal to the scottish clan.
The real Allan Breck
When we see the bronze sculpture of Alan Breck here (visit the PDF below), we can see that Armand Assante's version of him is a fine look-a-like.
"The man with Belt of Gold" he is described, and Armand Assante make's alot of Alan Breck Stuart's vanity and his fine cloth and the hat with the feathers.
"It's the feathers of an African Parakit !" Assante says in his performance of Breck.
On page 6 it's told how Stevenson came to write "Kidnapped".
In the originally manuscript Alan Breck's face was dotted from smallpox, we don't see Armand Assante that scared. It also says "His eyes were unusually light and had a kind dancing madness in them"
External link to PDF file about the real Allan Breck
Vangelis
made the music to
Ridley Scott's
"1492 Conquest of Paradise"
It´s absolutly majestic music, listen to the intro music to "1492" there are several good clips from the movie also with the handsome "Sanchez" Armand Assante.
You Tube
"Columbus Sighting Land"
VANGELIS is not unfamiliar with making music for movies her is to example the music from "Alexander" or you proberly also know their music from "Chariots of Fire".
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is greek composer and born in 1943. His artist name is Vangelis.
He is self-tought and began making music at the age of 4. He can't read notes and just pretending doing so, as his teachers asked him to play somthing. Yet is sounded as it should.
He creates eletronic music what some one call "New Age Music".
"Chariots of Fire" made him world wide known from this album you might also know this "Italian Song".
Ridley Scott has used Vangelis before in "Bladrunner"
Vangelis is also known for his very gentle meditation music like "Fields of Coral"
He is also well known for the majestic music "Mythodea" created for the NASA as a theme for "Mars Oddysey".
He also got known for music made together with the singer Jon Andersen and to ex. here in "I'll find my Way Home"
Less know is his "Psalmus Ode" with the beatifull voice of a boy singer.
Vangelis is of course known for many other music compositions than these mentioned, you can find references here....
Info about Vangelis Wikipedia
Independent Vangelis site
The music from
"Mambo Kings"
Some of the music in this film is composed by Nestor Castillo and other music is simply CUBAN.
Soundtrack composer was: Carlos Franzetti and Robert Craft.
And Franzetti is actually from Argentina.
So what is Cuban music ?
It is not one special music, but a wide range of creolized music styles based on it's culturels origins from Europe (mainly Spain) and Africa.
Some of it more like Jazz and other in the hip-hop reggea genre.
Arturo Sanduval who delivers the "Mambo Caliente" is a jazz trompeter and pianist.
From the soundtrack of "Mambo Kings" Mambo Caliente by Arturo Sanduval nominated for Best Instrumental Composition written for a Motion Picture...
While Celia Cruz was a Salsa singer. Her real name is: Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso.
Salsa means sauce...but is also a dance.
The world wide known song she sings in "Mambo Kings" she performed before here you can see her very young:
Guantanamera YouTube
With spanish voice-over (Armand Assante & Antonio Banderas) from the movie scenes the song "Guantanamera" with Celia Cruz.
Tito Puente was a latin jazz and mambo musician.
The unforgetable "Drumming Scene" with Armand Assante and Tito Puente.
Armand Assante's heart-acking version of "Beatifull Maria of my Soul" that recieved an Academy Award Best Original Song nomination for it's original song which also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the same category.
Here is the same song (in spanish) in Antonio Banderas' version.
Original written by Nestor Castillo and song by Cesar Castillo.
Cuban music is known world wide and is very popular because of it's rythme.
But it's said you have to have it running in your blood, may be why Armand Assante fought so with it, and had to hang out in Cuban Clubs for long to get one with it.
The history of Cuba is that it was originally inhabited by native american people called Taino or Arawak and they came from North or Central South America.
The Island was called Caobana.
In 1492 Columbus arrived on the island and declared it Spanish.
Cuba remained spanish for almost 400 years.
Slavery becomes commen after the spanish arrive and many people from Africa ends up at Cuba.
The mixed population is the background of this fantastic music.
In 1956 a revoulotion broke out and Fidel Castro came to the island. It´s about this time Cesars' and Nestor's story takes place.
Whole story of Cuba.
Read interviews and articles about the time when Armand Assante worked with his role in Mambo Kings...Go direct.
("Kidnapped")
Robert Louis Stevenson
Armand Assante turning into "Mr. Hyde" in his role as Richard Mainsfield in "Jack the Ripper"
It´s the name of the young man in "Kidnapped" David Balfour the scottsman, that meet Alan Breck Stuart the rebel and Jacobite in this political adventure.
Balfour is the maidenname of Robert Louis Stevenson's mother.
Robert Louis Stevenson lived from 1850 - 1894 and was a scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer.
Even borned and raised in Scottland he ended his days on the Samoan Islands where he had bought some land and lived with his family.
The moist air in the Highlands was of course not good for his Tubercolosis and he enyoed living in Hawai.
The scinny, fragile man suffered from Tubercolosis all his life and yet he was very energic and wrote many novels, poetry and travel writing he even made music.
It's hard to tell which story became the most famous "Treasure Island" or "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" both been filmatized several times.
As goes for "Kidnapped" it has also been filmatized ealier before Armand Assante got his part as Alan Breck Stuart.
Kidnapped
"Kidnapped" was filmatized by Disney in a shorter version, with Peter Finch as Alan Breck Stuart (1960) IMDb
and in 1938 with Warner Baxter in the leading role IMBD
besides that in many versions and foreign languages.
Read the plot for "Kidnapped" and use the link for reading the novel online.
robert-louis-stevenson.org/novels/13-kidnapped
Read about Stevenson here
WikiPedia
Armand Assante get's involved in Stevenson's work twice, since he is Richard Mainsfield (american actor) in "Jack The Ripper" and being "him" he performes "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" at a London Theatre during the investigation of the cruel murders in White Chapel and are even under suspition of being Jack The Ripper.
Treasure Island
"Treasure Island" is about pirates and burried gold.
Long John Silver as the dominating character a pirate that got every thing a real pirate must have. A parrot on his shoulder, one wooden leg and a crutch in some movie version even a patch over one of his eyes, indicating he lost it.
Stevenson says this the inspiration for coulorfull pirate came fom his freind William Henley, a writer and editor. His freind was handicapped and always leaned on his crutch.
Since then pirate types have been molded from this ficitional 'typical' pirate that Stevenson created.
The story about the pirates and finding the gold on Treasure Island has capitivated millions of people since Stevenson wrote it.
The characters in it have also been inspiration for now-days priate dramas like the movies about Pirates of Carribbean with Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow.
Read the plot of "Treasure Island" here with a link to the virtual book
robert-louis-stevenson.org/novels/7-treasure-island
Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
"Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" has also been filmatized numerous of times.
The story is about a doctor that experiments with himself to release the deepest hidden animal natur in the human beings mind...and shows a story about the 'good' and 'evil' in a person or split personality. And it isn't just the mind that change the doctor's body also transforms into a grotesque monster with a hairy body that could remind us about a primate ape.
It´s said that non of the versions of this story (the should at least be 123 film versions of it) ever was fully loyal the Stevenson's original novel, he never tells us what 'Mr. Hyde' actually is doing at his nightly tours where he let out all there is in there with no remorse what-so-ever. He leaves it up to our imagination.
Read the plot of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" here with a link to the virtual book.
robert-louis-stevenson.org/novels/12-strange-case-dr-jekyll-mr-hide
Black Arrow
Less known but also filmatized several times is Stevenson's novel "The Black Arrow: A tale of the Two Roses" It's historical adventure and romance.
The event's goes on during the Wars of the Roses.
Stevenson first published this novel under the psedonymn Captain George North.
It has even been published in a Comic Book Version.
You can among other versions of filmatizing find on from 1911 at the IMDb.
Catriona
There is even a secuel to "Kidnapped" a story about David Balfour and what happens to him after the end of "Kidnapped"
WikiPedia
Of the many novels Steveson wrote few survived as being ever-greens but both "Treasure Island" and "Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" have had a remarkable impact on people and probably still will in the future.
In dispait of the many filmatized versions of "Kidnapped" it is far less known.
Robert Louis Stevensen Official Website
A movie 'based on a Comic Book script'
"I, the Jury" (1982) - Opening Title YouTube
All the book covers of Spillane's novels had shocking front covers..
Mike Hammer's 'father'
Mikey Spillane (1973)
On set (Febr.2012) making "The Night Never Sleeps" Armand Assante tells in a live interview that he was on location at Long Island as well, - as he did "I,The Jury" !
Armand Assante was neither the first Mike Hammer nor the last.
Before he performed this tough nail detective, Biff Elliot did the part in exactly the same storyline also called "I, the Jury" after the paperback success of the same name, written by Mickey Spillane.
The first "I, the Jury" is from 1953 and Armand Assante was 4 y old.
As Armand Assante took the part he was not to happy about all the violence in that movie.
I don't think with the violence we are used to now-a-days we would consider it
pretty violent ?
Mikey Spillane's first invented a
character called Mike
Danger who later turned into Mike Hammer. The
interesting thing is that his first versions of these
detective stories Spillane
wrote for Comic Books.
Much later his stories was printed as paperbacks
and very successful.
There are several stories about Mike Hammer.
You can still buy them on E-bay.
Armand Assante's part as Rico in "Judgde Dredd" also first came on the market as a Comic Book but I guess it's more well known than, Mike Hammer started out as a Comic Book character ?
See also: Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Comic Strip
Mike
Danger before he turned into Mike Hammer
What Mickey Spillane so
successfully wrote was never considered to be works
of literature of the higher aesthetic nature, on the contrary it was very violent stories with a good portion of sex and women who are waiting for a strong man to come and save them.But it sold !
To give an example "I, the Jury" sold six and a half million copies in the United States alone. And that was in 1947 and 1948, as hardcover version and Signet Paperback.
"I, the Jury" as a novel was published first time in 1947.
It is the most special story of all Spillane's detective novels, because it was a murder-mystery !
His other novels about Hammer has been described as detective thrillers.
Something very unusual for a man to do in the 40's was that the hard boiled detective shed a tear, when he found his best friend murdered.
The plot from the novel was toned down for the film version in 1953.
The later 1982 version with Armand Assante in the leading role was as the paperbacks full a lightly dressed weman if not bare naked, - and a hot sex/nude scene with Armand Assante's cute bare butt' right up in the best camera angle.
In Denmark "I, the Jury" has been shown in TV more than 100dred times.
In two versions. One where the nude scene is cut out and one un-cut.
The full version was shown late at night and the edited one in the afternoon where children might still risk watching it by chance...!!
They get traumatized by naked people, but not by violence. It's in the News every day anyway.....!?
Stacy Keach, who portrayed Mike Hammer in a CBS television series, "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer", which ran from 1984–1987 and had a syndicated revival in 1997–1998 was even pretty sucessfull.
Keach did a good performance and the series were absolutely worth watching.
Armand Assante's version of Mike Hammer is one of his best roles, if you ask his many male fans.
Armand Assante sure did a perfect work as always.
The two Mike Hammer's met each other and performed in the same movie "Chicago Overcoat" in 2011. (See further down)
There has been a couple of other actors in time performing Mike Hammer
There is a list of them here.
MIKE HAMMER*S WATCH
In 2006 I got mail from a New York dealer that asked us if were interested in posting a link for an E-bay bidding that might interest the fan scare. Of course we were.
So back then I put up an add. for Mike Hammer's watch at the "Noticeboard".
Rather Armand Assante's Rolex he wear under the takes
of "I, the Jury" and probably was given as a 'memorabilia' of
his Mike Hammer performance after the movie got finished.
I thought it was a little sad...that he sold it.
But later I understood he probably kind of invested this watch in his work producing "The Blind Dragon".??
It was sold during Christmas 2006 for more than 10.000 Dollars to a private collector.
Talking of E-bay and other places where to go shop-a-holic for collectors item here is the complete series Darren McGavin from 1958,
there was no episode title "I, the Jury" thou.
You must admit that Armand Assante's version of Mike Hammer had 'a little more sex appeal' !
Darren McGavin IMDb
SPILLANE AS A NOVELIST
Mickey Spillane as writer for Comic Books or as novelist was in contradiction to his enormous sales hated by most. Harsh words has been said about him and his stories.
Anthony Boucher maintained that I, The Jury should be "required reading in a Gestapo training school".
Written in six days it is a pulp classic.
Although Hammer received a 'life long achievement' award from the Private Eye Writers of America, no similar honour was forthcoming from the Mystery Writers of America. Hated by the 'liberal' writing establishment - for some reason - Hammer very probably represented a rampant right wing and reactionary politics.
Its interesting to note, for example, that the vogue for extreme violence - take any film from "Dirty Harry" to "Natural Born Killers" - is given huge support in opposing its censorship by the very people who would also condemn Hammer.!
Source f. Spillane as a novelist: The Thrilling Detective Website, with further info about the novel: "I, the Jury"
A really well written site to merge yourself into, in case you are a Spillane fan.
Mickey Spillane, the king of the pulp novelists...Mini Profile at the IMDB
"Chicago Overcoat"
"Chicago Overcoat" World Premier:
October 10, 2009
at the Chicago Film Festival
CIFF
DVD release April 19, 2011
One of the young Filmakers and Producer at Beverly Ridge Pictures, Chris Charles.
Please notice: in some places is says six and other five young men..both are true.
At first they were six, later five as you see them in "What's your 2wenty" interview.
In no specifik order, the 5 young men behind this movie production are:
Brian Caunter, Kevin Moss, John Bosher, Chris Charles and Phil S. Plowden.
The 2 wenty interview with Armand Assante is not there...if you can find it ?
Please send us a link !
From left: Mike Starr, Kathrine Narducci, Frank Vincent and Danny Goldring
Frank Vincent in a scene from
"Chicago Overcoat"
Robert Gerdisch is Michael Casso
and the story how is was made, - fictional...
But it´s actually the other way around...!
Most movies Armand Assante had a part in has more or less been based on a true story, or been a dramatizing of a historical event...to times a well known bestseller novel.
He tends to pick parts in stories that are deeply realistic and very serious.
This movie seemed so realistic, that I searched for the "notorious mobster Stefano D'Agnostino" all over the internet, even in the FBI files !! He was no where to find.
"Is Stefano D'Agnostino a real character or is he fictional ?" I asked the producer at Beverly Rigde Pictures, Chris Charles...
He said: "Stefano D'Agnostino is a fictional character. Chicago Overcoat was partially inspired by the Family Secrets Trial that was going on in Chicago during production of the film, but the story and all of its characters are all fictional."....
The Story around this movie is pretty amazing.
If I told you, that: OK...there was these 5 young men that knew each other from school, they thought "Why not make a mobster movie ?" and they did..even thou they never made any movies before, and then they simply wrote a storyboard and asked some of the best actors in the field of being 'mobsters' to performed the most significant roles in it, - and they did and in the middle of the worst economic crises ever they raised the money they needed for the production of it...so they finished it and all...and went to Movie Festivals with it and of course won 2 or 3 prices for it...why not ?
Would´nt you say: "Oh, come on, - that's ficitional ?"
I haven't finished the story: They were all young men in their 20s but the story they wrote is about a very matured man, telling this all seen with his eyes and feelings ....
I don't know what you would say ??...but you can watch for yourself at the link a bit further down what Armand Assante said.
BEHIND THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE
Watch an exiting Featurette ...meet the very young men behind this work, see some fine drawings from the storyboard and Armand Assante is there as well.
traileraddict.com/trailer/chicago-overcoat/featurette-behind-the-scenes
Armand Assante made all his shootings in one day...one of the locations he was filmed in was the now defunct Joilet Correctional Center. Some scenes with Armand Assante from the movie..Vimeo.com
Read more about the story behind the movie, how six young men behind this script and concept got to make such movie....
Article brought in connection with "Chicago Overcoat's" Wold Premier at the CIFF.
associatedcontent.com/article
Mike McNamara from What's your 2wenty.TV gives you just a glimse of the 5 young, handsome men behind this production as well as glimses of some of the carachters...Here only the start of this interview, but at least you can see for your self...the creative people behind this. Pay attention to the epic music.
YouTube
(What´s your twenty ? is Urban Slang read here what is means ?)
Here I found the "Whole Thing"...but brew some coffee and make a sandwich..sit comfortable and enjoy almost half an hour with the full interview (part 3) also Mike Starr interview, he is real funny...
www.2wenty.tv
Don't miss part 4 with Armand Assante...I think it´s comming up soon...
but you see a glimse of him in the one at the bottom, it's nr. 1...
Visit Philip S. Plowden's "Behind the scenes of "Chicago Overcoat"...
philipplowden.com/news
Read Director Brian Counter's "How we made Chicago Overcoat"
examiner.com/indie-film-industry-in-chicago
A Price winning movie
And "Chicago Overcoat" of course has it's own space at WikiPedia
The movie won the "Best Dramatic Feature" at the 8th Garden State Film Festival and "Best Cinematography" at the 7th Midwest Independent Film Festival.
Wiki
Two parts of "Chicago Overcoat" with subtitles in a laguage I don't recognize (Romanian ?)...It all starts in Chicago in 1986..Peteava.ro (uploaded summer 2010)
Funny Video
"What's a chicago overcoat ?"
Cast and crew answeres the best they can...Armand Assante last...!!
beverlyrigdepictures.com
From our own archive
See also:
Armand Assante to Chicago Tribune, december 2, 2008
Go direct...
Armand Assante in a wonderfull TV interview with Janet Davies (one of his great fans) at ABC 7 NEWS, december, 2008
Armand Assante talk about his role in the movie...
Go direct...
And while this interview takes place they show a clip with Armand Assante in another gangster role: Bugsy Siegel from the "Marrying Man" you might want to see that again...YouTube
A LITTLE ABOUT THE OTHER CHARACTERS
Stacy Keach (in the role of Ray Berkowski in "Chicago Overcoat") and Armand Assante have something in common, they both performed Mike Hammer, Armand Assante in "I, the Jury" and Stacy Keach in "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" a TVseries running from 1984 to 1985.
Frank Vincent performes the leading part as Lou Marazano, watch him here in an intense scene from the movie...IMDbVideo
He often performed gangsters and he is well known for his parts in "Raging Bull", "Goodfellas" and "Casino" but did you known he also lent his voice and talents to video games ?
The hitman Lou Marazano's ordinary day "at work in the office" shooting scene....YouTube
Dominic Capone (in his role of '31rst Street Crew' in "Chicago Overcoat") is really Al Capone's grandson...meet him here in this small clip on...
YouTube
Actor Robert Gerdisch performing Michael Casso in the movie is proberly the youngest actor on the set, but he has tryed it all before....
IMDb
Kathrine Narducci (Lorraine Lionello) says: "I love Armand Assante..." read a short interview about her feelings about being invited to play a role in this movie, that she describes a being very violent...
becksmithhollywood.com
Danny Goldring is performing Veteran Homicide Detective Ralph Maloney, in the movie. He is on to Lou Marazono (Frank Vincent) and is determinated to do whatever it takes to link him to the crimes.
IMDb
CHICAGO IS A GREAT CITY
You might wanna go street viewing at some of the places "Chicago Overcaot was shot...
Quote:"..... THE ENTIRE FILM WAS SHOT ON LOCATION IN CHICAGO (exteriors and interiors)! It features such diverse neighborhoods as The Loop, Pilsen, Chinatown, Beverly , Bridgeport, Logan Square, Cicero, and the formerJoliet Correctional Center, to name but a few. The Green Mill (where Al Capone hung out), The Italian Village, and the famous Rosa's Lounge on Armitage are also featured in the film...."
The young producers behind this movie production loves their city, which is felt clearly watching the movie, follow the link here below and read about the locations in Chicago where the scenes were shot (page two at the end..) , besides that this interview/review from Broadway World is the most thorough I've been able to find about "Chicago Overcoat" (2 pages)
It's an interview with the leading character Frank Vincent..
Broadwayworld.com
"Odyssey"
Official website for the
"Odyssey"
Up till the 90ties he often performed a villain and was more or less framed as the 'bad guy', he surprised the critics performing a hero.
"We worked six days a week, 90 hours, and did it all in 14 weeks !"
says Armand Assante about the tough work, that he loved doing even if he got very ill..
Start here reading the articles and interviews with Armand Assante made during this demanding work.
The very photo here to the left is standing framed in Armand Assante's home as you can see if you watch this video clip made by russian Andre Tan who also seems to be pretty impressed by his Odysseus..(clips from the TVseries)
Some fuzz was made out of it since on May the 2nd 1998 I find an add at www.nbc.com/specials/odyssey and it says among other:
NBC´S EDUCATIONAL EXHIBITON ON HOMER´S THE ODYSSEY OPENS MAY 5 WITH 3000 STUDENTS SCHEDULED TOUR
Armand Assante proberly never wrote so many autographs in one day...
First article at this site..
Armand Assante wins an Emmy Award ...
for his role as Gotti as "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Special" at he 49th Annual Prometime Emmy Awards in Pasedena, California and he was nominated for his role in "Odysseus" but did´nt win the award.
He gets nominated for a Golden Globe Award the same year for his role as Odysseus.
In 1998 Armand was nominated by Sattelite Awards likewise for his role in "Odysseus" for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Very soon 8 mill. people all over the world have watched it on TV and are thrilled about it,
making the role did an impression on Armand Assante as well:
"Man is nothing without God" Armand says here. "Man is nothing without a morality. What´s so oncredible and so oble about it all is that this is the first emergence of man´s consciousness. All the episodes that happen to Odysseus are methaphores that resonate today.
We all have our own Cyclops, our own bigotry or one-eyed-ness, our own myopia that paralyzes us---and we´re terrifyed of it.
We all have to drive out the eye of our own Cyclops in life. The Odyssey---not unlike the bible--is a piece one could meditate upon for one´s entire life."
In the beginning of it, you see a very young Odysseus running fast to get home, his wife is about to give birth to his first and only son....as the story goes by Armand Assante ages and in the end you see a very mature Odysseus with his bow and arrow...Athena even transform him into an old beggar where we hardly can see who he is...
Armand Assante was about 47 years old as he played to part, and the young Odysseus we see in the beginning is ? may be 25.
It's one of the major parts Armand Assante did that really many fans think as one of his best...The TV mini-series also made alot of new fans world wide. Alone by the many uploads from this Mini-seris on You Tube you can tell how people loved it.
All the wellknowned scenes from Odyssey's long jorney are figuring in this filmatising of Homer's poem...except for one very wellknown pictured at many potteries..
Can you guess what event is missing ?
(Read the answer further down...)
Homer who wrote the "Odyssey" as a poem and part of a greater piece: The Iliad should have lived around 800 B.C. and there is proberly very few works that old that has been the course of creations in so many ways....
Even 'The Beatles' wrote a song (here changed slightly) seen from Penelope's viewpoint "Across the Universe" Odyssey here song by a woman supported by clips from Konchalovski's Odyssey....YouTube
The real song with the real text...
Educational
In the years after "Odyssey" had been presented to most TV viewers around the world Armand Assante recieved letters from teachers that used it for education, as Armand Assante says himself...the original poem is very whimsical.
Even here at the "assantefansite" we recieved e-mails from teachers that wanted Armand Assante to come and introduce a week of "Odyssey" for the students and before showing him in his role as Odysseus they would like him to tell about the work and story, whether it fit into Armand Assante's tight shedule or not, we don't know...but we kindly suggested they wrote a letter about it and sended it to his address.
As so many others they thought it was his official site, - one must conclude as soon as you looked Armand Assante deeb in the eyes...you can no longer read, even if you are a teacher.
The role as Odysseus gave Armand Assante the opportunity to show the depths of his talent as an actor. Homer did describe Odysseus as a hero, but he also pointed out his many weaknesses, - he was after all just a human being and a colorfull one.
Not so different from any of us today.
This is what Armand Assante said about him:
''Odysseus was a liar. He was a con man, a hero, a rake, a pirate who killed hundreds of people. In modern cinema you can compare him to someone like Patton or the Godfather. He's not always right, but you always want to look at him.
If I have an interpretation of the character, it's as the first mythological Greek hero who stood in defiance of the gods.
He's saying, 'I will not leave my life in your hands.' He's very much in the face of the gods. He's trying to take charge of his own fate.''
The TV mini-series was full of amazing performers among others Eric Roberts who performed Eurymachus, one of the men the wanted to mary Penelope to take over Odysseus's Kingdom.
They met again in the "Chaos Experiment" (Steam Experiment) in Grand Rapids and are now together again in "Jesse" (screeening at Long Island International Film Expo 2011-July 7 - 14 July)
Facts or fiction ?
Whether the story of Odysseus is fact or fiction is hard to say.
There is no conclusive archaeological or historical evidence to support the story.
The names, places and events associated with Odysseus are not known to have been recorded in ancient times.
None has been discovered consequently.
The story is at the most imaginative, a fabulous tale of persistence, courage and bravery, thou this very story became the reason of the discovery of Troy.
The first city of Troy was founded in the 3rd millennium BC. During the Bronze Age. Since then there seems to have been at least 10 rebuildings of it found in layers in archealogical diggins.
Heinrich Schliemann found the first (1868) versions of Troy inspired from Homers Poem.
To us Odysseus is real, because we seen him with our own eyes !
The event that is'nt there is Odysseus being tied to the mast not to be temptated by the the sirens...
Leaving Hades, Odysseus and his men sailed for many days without sight of land.
Not before long, though, strange disquieting sounds reached the ears of the men aboard the ship.
The sounds tugged at their hearts and made them want to weep with joy.
Odysseus at once realized that they were approaching the Sirens that Circe had warned him about.
The sorceress had told him to block every man’s ears with wax for if any were to hear the song of the Sirens, he would surely jump off the ship, go close to the Sirens and the winged monsters would kill them.
Odysseus did exactly that with his men, but he himself wanted to hear their strange song. He thus ordered his sailors to tie him up to the mast so he could not jump into the sea in an attempt to meet the Sirens.
(quote from:www.greeka.com/ionian/ithaca/ithaca-myths/odysseus)
(click on the image to see more Waterhouse paintings)
It's bold to bring the story without this famous scene, but I don't think we ever missed anything because we were so richly intertained.
Why it is'nt there ..puzzles me ? Might be the scenes was ruined by light or wheather ?
Or the editors had to cut it out because of the time shedule for the mini-series ?