Orpheus in the Underworld

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

February 2010 •English

Accident prone teenager, Percy discovers he's actually a demi-God, the son of Poseidon, and he is needed when Zeus' lightning is stolen. Percy must master his new found skills in order to prevent a war between the Gods that could devastate the entire world.

The Blue from the Sky

December 1932 •German

Out of unlikely circumstances an underground ticket vending girl and a mail pilot fall in love.

Argonauts

December 1971 •Russian

A cartoon version of the voyage of the Argonauts (Greek Mythology) with the aim of getting the Gold Fleece.

Oedipus Rex

January 1957 •English

The story of Oedipus' gradual discovery of his primal crime, killing his father and marrying his mother, filmed by the famed British theatrical director Sir Tyrone Guthrie. This elegant version of Sophocles' play adds a brilliant stroke: the actors wear masks just as the Greeks did in the playwright's day.

Odysseus: Odysseus

July 2023 •Dutch

In this graduation film and modern interpretation of the famous epic, Odysseus relates how he, after winning the Trojan War, resolutely returns to his home in Ithaca. A story about psychedelic lotus flowers, introverted one-eyed giants, sexy Sirens and queer witches. About sea, wind, and carnivorous drag queens. And about letting go.Based on a Spotify playlist full of pop music by contemporary celebrated artists, including Frank Ocean, Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX, Rosalía, Nicolás Jaar and James Blake.

The Illiac Passion

December 1967 •English

Prometheus, on an Odyssean journey, crosses the Brooklyn Bridge in search of the characters of his imagination. After meeting the Muse, he proceeds to the "forest." There, under an apple tree, he communes with his selves, represented by celebrated personages from the New York "underground scene" who appear as modern correlatives to the figures of Greek mythology. The filmmaker, who narrates the situations with a translation of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, finds the personalities of his characters to have a timeless universality.

The Return from Olympus

February 1969 •Russian

Olympus. Here are all the most important gods: mighty Zeus, his treacherous wife Hera, handsome singer Apollo, ruler of the seas Poseidon, warrior Ares, goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite and wise Athena. Here is the illegitimate son of Zeus, Hercules - a demigod-half-man. Having missed the Earth, he begs for travel on it from Zeus before sunrise. He is accompanied by an eagle - a cunning and insinuating creature, the same one who once pecked Prometheus and from which Hercules saved him. On Earth, Hercules enters the temple dedicated to him and his twelve feats. There he remembers some of them.

Perseus

June 1973 •Russian

The cunning king Polidekt of the island of Serif sends the young hero Perseus to get the head of Gorgon Medusa, whose gaze turns people to stone. He is accompanied by the god of commerce and profits and the patron of thieves and athletes, Hermes, who pursues his personal interests. Perseus gets the head of Medusa, but uses it to save Andromeda, the daughter of King Kef.

Prometheus

February 1974 •Russian

The story of the titan Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus for people and was severely punished for this by Zeus: Prometheus' friend the blacksmith Hephaestus was forced to chained him to the rock, and every day the eagle that flew from Olympus pecked the recovering liver of Prometheus. But the agony of Prometheus was not in vain - people preserved his sacred gift.

Johnny Minotaur

April 1971 •English

Johnny Minotaur is a lyrical explosion of taboos: incest, intergenerational desire, pansexuality and autoeroticism are a few of the issues Charles Henri Ford grapples with through mythopoeic, sensual imagery, recitations of his diaries and a philosophical debate featuring an impressive narration by such artists as Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsberg, Warren Sonbert and Lynne Tillman.

Jason and the Argonauts

June 1963 •English

Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.

Minotaur

March 2006 •English

Long ago in the Iron Age, a shadow loomed over a lonely village. For generations, the village youths are stolen from their families and delivered as sacrifice to a mythical beast - the Minotaur, that dwells beneath a great palace. Theo, haunted by the loss of his love in an earlier sacrifice is convinced that the beast isn't real and that his girl still lives as a slave within the palace.

The Bright Night

October 1978 •French

In a montage alternating with moments of Nigel Rogers' interpretation of the most beautiful passages from "Orpheus," the opera by Striggio and Monteverdi, La Nuit Claire is an evocation of the celebrated myth, within which images of the love between its two modern protagonists, Anne and Julien, are inscribed. - BAM/PFA

Clash of the Titans

March 2010 •English

Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus is helpless to save his family from Hades, vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny.

Song of the West

March 1930 •English

Captain Stanton, who because of a misunderstanding over a woman with Major Davolo, has been cited for a court martial. As a scout, he is sent to escort a wagon train which is under military escort. It turns out that this escort is his own former regiment. When he meet Davolo, there is another fight and between Stanton and Davolo in which Davolo is killed.

Bride of the Regiment

May 1930 •English

As they are leaving the church following their wedding, Count Adrian Beltrami and Countess Anna-Marie are told that the Austrians are marching on the town to quell an Italian uprising. The bride and relatives induce the count to flee to his castle, but Tangy, a silhouette cutter, brings word from the revolutionary committee asking him to return; the count goes, asking Tangy to pose as the count and protect Anna-Marie.

The Desert Song

April 1929 •English

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

Der Vetter aus Dingsda

November 1953 •German

Clash of the Titans

June 1981 •English

To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head and battling the feared Kraken.

The Merry Widow

April 2001 •English

Lotfi Mansouri's spectacular last production as General Director of The San Francisco Opera with Yvonne Kenny making her debut in the title role, new dialogue specially commissioned from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein and an original ballet to set the scene ‘Chez Maxime’ bringing fresh insight into Lehár's classic operetta. This production also features another world premiere, Njegus's song, ‘Quite Parisian’.