Movie
Studio(s):
Starring:
Genre:
On DVD:
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Grade:
B+
Running Time:
119 Minutes
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou aka Vangelis, is given the documentary treatment in the film Vangelis and the Journey To Ithaka. The documentary is spread out across Vangelis’ career as he scores epic films, lowers himself to scoring commercials, (literally) paints masterpieces, and influences some of the worlds most well known artists.
The documentary was a fascinating look into the life of a humble man. Though his friends attest to his being a humble person, his life’s work really reflects that, as does his persona during interviews. People regard him with such respect and after seeing him compose a complete masterpiece all in one sitting for cameras, no doubt that respect is rightfully earned.
Other interesting facts about the composer that pop up are pretty wild. For example; he wrote thousands upon thousands of compositions but he never wrote a note, didn’t even know how. He simply pieced together the songs in his head, played them and recorded them, then had someone come in behind him and transcribe them to sheets. That simply blows my mind.
Along the way we get interviews with directors that he worked with such as Oliver Stone and Ridley Scott, as well as musicians, singers, actors, and scattered artists who’d all been inspired by Vangelis’ genius. Through archive footage of performances, clips from films, and even commercials we get a glimpse at the man’s work and how it effected the ages. His approach of scoring movements and emotions rather then simply writing a mood made him infamous, but his 1981 score for the film Chariots of Fire really put him on the map. See all this and more in Vangelis and the Journey To Ithaka Review by AJ Garcia
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