Aesop

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.

Alexander

November 2004 •English

Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

September 1916 •English

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Immortals

November 2011 •English

Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.

Medea

December 1969 •Italian

Based on the plot of Euripides' Medea. Medea centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed her for another woman.

300: Rise of an Empire

March 2014 •English

Greek general Themistocles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. Themistocles faces the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god, Xerxes and Artemesia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

Královský život otroka

June 1992 •Czech

Socrates

June 1971 •Italian

A false accusation leads the philosopher Socrates to trial and condemnation in 4th century BC Athens.

The Sycamore

July 2025 •English

Two weary travellers seek out shade and sustenance from an idle tree. Based on the fable, "The Travellers and the Plane Tree" by Aesop.

The Fox and the Grapes

June 2024 •English

Ash awakes to find his apartment ransacked and a mysterious stranger trapped on his roof terrace. Who is she? And why can't he recall the events of the night before? Tensions rise to a climactic altercation, prompting the stranger to share a fantastic tale. Inspired by the Aesop fable of the same name.

The Colossus of Rhodes

June 1961 •Italian

While on holiday in Rhodes, Athenian war hero Darios becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow the tyrannical king, one from Rhodian patriots and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.

The Trojan Women

May 1971 •English

In the aftermath of the Trojan Wars, Queen Hecuba takes stock of the defeated kingdom. Her son has been killed, and his widow, Andromache, is left to raise their son, Astyanax, alone. Hecuba's daughter, Cassandra, fears being enslaved by her Greek masters, while Helen of Troy risks being executed. Astyanax also becomes the focus of the Greeks' attention as the last male heir of the Trojan royal family.

The Centurion

October 1961 •Italian

A Roman soldier falls in love with the daughter of a Greek city's anti-Roman leader.

The Return

November 2024 •English

After twenty years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king has finally returned home, but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.

Troilus & Cressida

November 1981 •English

The bitter Trojan War drags on - the Greeks blame Achilles' apathy for low morale, while Troy's hero Hector challenges one of the enemy to a personal duel. And after her father exchanges Cressida for a Trojan prisoner, the war becomes personal for her distraught lover Troilus.

The Tragedy of Man

November 2011 •Hungarian

Jankovics's adaptation of the eponymous play is divided into multiple parts, and depicts the creation and fall of Man throughout history.

Night in Paradise

May 1946 •English

Aesop of fable fame poses as an old man and woos away a princess who wants a king for his gold.

NENIKIKAMEN

Invalid date •Greek

Pheidippides, a brave soldier and messenger of ancient Athens, is ordered by the Athenian general, Miltiades, to run to Sparta and request aid to confront the Persian army led by King Darius the 1st, in the Battle of Marathon.

From Death to Life

June 1911 •English

A chemist named Aratus invents a concoction that will turn creatures to stone, but only realizes the dangers of his creation when his wife falls victim to it.

Antigone

May 1961 •Greek

In Thebes in ancient Greece, King Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother Jocasta, having two sons - Eteocles and Polyneices - and two daughters - Ismene and Antigone. King Oedipus dies a beggar in the exile after gouging out his own eye, and Eteocle agrees to reign in Thebes in alternating years with Polynices. However, he refuses to resign after the first year and Polynieces raises an army and attacks Thebes, and they kill each other. The ruler of Thebes Creon decrees that Eleocles should have an honorable burial while the body of the traitor Polyneices should be left on the battlefield to be eaten by the jackals and vultures. However, Antigone, who was betrothed to Creon's surviving son Haemon, defies Creon's orders and buries her brother. When Creon is reported of the attitude of Antigone, he sentences her to be placed in a tomb alive. Antigone hangs herself in the tomb and Haemon tries to kill his father first and then he kills himself with his sword...