Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; ; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world. He started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of political films about modern Greece.
Angelopoulos' films, described by
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
as that of "a masterful filmmaker", are characterized by the slightest movement, slightest change in distance,
long take
In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate bl ...
s, and complex, carefully composed scenes. His cinematic method is often described as "sweeping" and "hypnotic."
In 1998 his film ''
Eternity and a Day'' went on to win the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
51st edition of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
, and his films have been shown at many of the world's esteemed
film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
s.
Biography
Theodoros Angelopoulos was born in Athens on 27 April 1935. During the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
, his father was taken hostage and returned when Angelopoulos was 9 years old; according to the director, the absence of his father and looking for him among the dead bodies (during the "
Dekemvriana" in Athens) had a great impact on his cinematography. He studied law at the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
, but after his military service went to Paris to attend the
Sorbonne. He soon dropped out to study film at the
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) before returning to Greece. There, he worked as a journalist and film critic. Angelopoulos began making films after the 1967 coup that began the
Regime of the Colonels. He made his first short film in 1968 and in the 1970s he began making a series of political feature films about modern Greece: ''
Days of '36'' (''Meres Tou 36'', 1972), ''
The Travelling Players'' (''O Thiassos'', 1975) and ''
The Hunters'' (''I Kynighoi'', 1977). In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the
28th Berlin International Film Festival.
He quickly established a characteristic style, marked by slow, episodic and ambiguous narrative structures as well as
long take
In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate bl ...
s (''The Travelling Players'', for example, consists of only 80 shots in about four hours of film). These takes often include meticulously choreographed and complicated scenes involving many actors.
His regular collaborators include the
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Giorgos Arvanitis, the screenwriter
Tonino Guerra
Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors in the world.
Life and work
Guerra was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna.
Acco ...
and the composer
Eleni Karaindrou. One of the recurring themes of his work is immigration, the flight from homeland and the return, as well as the history of 20th century Greece. Angelopoulos was considered by British film critics
Derek Malcolm and
David Thomson as one of the world's greatest directors.
While critics have speculated on how he developed his style, Angelopoulos made clear in one interview that "The only specific influences I acknowledge are
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
for his use of plan-sequence and
deep focus
Deep focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique using a large depth of field. Depth of field is the front-to-back range of focus in an image, or how much of it appears sharp and clear. In deep focus, the foreground, middle ground, and b ...
, and
Mizoguchi, for his use of time and off-camera space." He had also cited
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...
's 1979 work ''
Stalker
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...
'' as an influence.
Angelopoulos was awarded honorary doctorates by the
Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium in 1995, by
Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, m ...
, France, by the
University of Essex, UK in July 2001,
by the
University of Western Macedonia, Greece in December 2008,
and by the
University of the Aegean
The University of the Aegean ( el, Πανεπιστήμιο Αιγαίου) is a public, multi-campus university located in Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, Syros and Lemnos, Greece. It was founded on March 20, 1984, by the Presidential Act 8 ...
, Greece in December 2009.
Death
Angelopoulos died late on Tuesday, 24 January 2012, several hours after being involved in an crash while shooting his latest film, ''The Other Sea'' in Athens. On that evening, the filmmaker had been with his crew in the area of
Drapetsona
Drapetsona ( el, Δραπετσώνα) is a suburb and a former municipality in the southwestern part of the Pireaus regional unit in the Athens Urban Area. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Keratsini-Drapetson ...
, near
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...
when he was hit by a motorcycle ridden by an off-duty police officer. The crash occurred when Angelopoulos, 76, attempted to cross a busy road. He was taken to hospital, where he was treated in an intensive care unit but succumbed to his serious injuries several hours later. Prior to death he suffered at least one heart attack.
Filmography
Feature films
Other films
Awards
Angelopoulos won numerous awards, including the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
51st edition of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
in 1998 for ''
Eternity and a Day'' (''Mia aioniotita kai mia mera''). His films have been shown at the most important
film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
s around the world.
Lifetime achievement awards
Theodoros Angelopoulos was also the recipient of many awards for his long standing career.
Notes
References
Bibliography and sources
;Books
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;Journals, magazines, and web
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External links
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* Theo Angelopoulos i
musicolog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelopoulos, Theo
1935 births
2012 deaths
Directors of Palme d'Or winners
Greek film directors
Greek screenwriters
European Film Awards winners (people)
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
Film people from Athens
Road incident deaths in Greece
University of Paris alumni
Greek expatriates in France
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners