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Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981), as well as for the films ''Blade Runner'' (1982), '' Missing'' (1982), ''Antarctica'' (1983), '' The Bounty'' (1984), '' 1492: Conquest of Paradise'' (1992), and ''Alexander'' (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series '' Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'' by Carl Sagan. Born in Agria and raised in Athens, Vangelis began his career in the 1960s as a member of the rock bands the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child; the latter's album '' 666'' (1972) is recognised as a progressive-psychedelic rock classic. Vangelis settled in Paris, and gained initial recognition for his scores to the Frédéric Rossif animal documentaries ', ', and '. He released his first solo albums during this time, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Greco (2007 Film)
''El Greco'' is a Greek biographical film about the life of the Greek painter of the Spanish Renaissance, Domenicos Theotokopoulos, known worldwide as El Greco. Based on the fictionalised biographical novel, ''El Greco: o Zografos tou Theou'' (''El Greco: the Painter of God''), by Dimitris Siatopoulos, it was released in 2007, directed by Yannis Smaragdis and written by Jackie Pavlenko. The main cast features prominent contemporary Greek actors like Lakis Lazopoulos, Dimitra Matsouka and Dina Konsta, and includes popular actors of the Greek cinema of the 1960s such as Sotiris Moustakas and Katerina Helmi, who, along with Juan Diego Botto, Laia Marull and others, surround the leading actor, Nick Ashdon, who portrays El Greco. Plot The film tells a fictitious story of Domenicos Theotokopoulos, better known as El Greco, a great Greek artist of the 16th century with an uncompromising character, who sets off from his homeland Crete and goes to Venice and finally Toledo, in search ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive Rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the style emerged from psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop or rock traditions in favour of instrumental and compositional techniques more commonly associated with jazz, folk, or classical music, while retaining the instrumentation typical of rock music. Additional elements contributed to its " progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of " art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. Progressive rock includes a fusion of styles, approaches and genres, and tends to be diverse and eclectic. Progressive rock is often associated with long solos, exte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
666 (Aphrodite's Child Album)
''666'' (subtitled ''The Apocalypse of John, 13/18'') is the third and final studio album and only double album by Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child, released in June 1972 by Vertigo Records. An ambitious double-LP concept album, ostensibly an adaptation of Biblical passages from the Book of Revelation, ''666'' was composed by keyboardist Vangelis and lyricist Costas Ferris. Conflict within the band and with their record company over the album's uncommercial style led to its release being delayed for more than a year. Though it was eventually released to a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it later attracted a cult following among fans and musicians and became the group's most acclaimed project. It has appeared on various lists of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time.''Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock'', 2005. Conception and production The concept for ''666'' was created by Vangelis and film director Costas Ferris, who served as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over 3.6 million, it is the List of urban areas in the European Union, eighth-largest urban area in the European Union (EU). The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of . Athens is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BCE. According to Greek mythology the city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by exposure to light. He assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, which were universal messages that could potentially be understood by any Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. He argued in favor of the hypothesis, which has since been accepted, that the high surface temperatures of Venus are the result of the greenhouse effect.Extract of page 14 Initially an assistant professor at Harvard Universi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Personal Voyage
''Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'' is a thirteen-part, 1980–81 television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David Oyster, Richard Wells, Tom Weidlinger, and others. It covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. Owing to its bestselling companion book and soundtrack album using the title, ''Cosmos'', the series is widely known by this title, with the subtitle omitted from home video packaging. The subtitle began to be used more frequently in the 2010s to differentiate it from the sequel series that followed. The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, and was the most widely watched series in the history of American public television until '' The Civil War'' (1990). As of 2009 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander (2004 Film)
''Alexander'' is a 2004 epic historical drama film based on the life of the ancient Macedonian general and king Alexander the Great. It was co-written and directed by Oliver Stone and starred Colin Farrell. The film's original screenplay was derived in part from the book ''Alexander the Great'', published in 1973 by the University of Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox. After release, while it performed well in Europe, the American critical reaction was mixed to negative. It grossed $167 million worldwide against a $155 million budget, thus making it a commercial failure. Four versions of the film exist, the initial theatrical cut and three home video director's cuts: the "Director's Cut" in 2005, the "Final Cut" in 2007, and the "Ultimate Cut" in 2014. The two earlier DVD versions of ''Alexander'' ("director's cut" version and the theatrical version) sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Oliver Stone's third version, ''Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut'' (2007), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conquest Of Paradise
''1492: Conquest of Paradise'' is a 1992 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, produced by Alain Goldman, written by Roselyne Bosch and starring Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, and Sigourney Weaver. It portrays a version of the travels to the New World by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on Indigenous peoples. The film was released to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage. The premiere debuted less than two months after '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' by John Glen, often leading to confusion between the two films. The film received mixed to negative reviews, with particular criticism aimed at the film's historical inaccuracies. Plot Aware that the world is round, Christopher Columbus lobbies for a trip westward to Asia, but lacks a crew and ship. The Catholic theologians at the University of Salamanca heavily disapprove of Columbus's plan, not being keen on ideas that go against the writing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bounty (1984 Film)
''The Bounty'' is a 1984 British epic historical drama film directed by Roger Donaldson. It depicts the voyage and mutiny of HMS ''Bounty'', with Robert Bolt's screenplay adapting the 1972 book ''Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian'' by Richard Hough. It stars Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as William Bligh, with supporting roles played by Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Bernard Hill and Edward Fox. ''The Bounty'' began production in late 1978 under director David Lean as a long-time passion project, but multiple complications, including a prohibitively high budget and screenwriter Robert Bolt suffering from a heart attack, led to a period of development hell that ended with the hiring of newcomer director Donaldson. Filming took place primarily on-location in Donaldson's home country of New Zealand, French Polynesia and England. The film was made by Dino De Laurentiis Productions and Bounty Productions Ltd. and distributed by Thor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarctica (1983 Film)
is a 1983 Japanese drama film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and starring Ken Takakura. Its plot centers on Taro and Jiro, the 1958 ill-fated Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole, its dramatic rescue from the severe weather conditions on the return journey, the relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Sakhalin Husky, Sakhalin huskies, particularly the lead dogs Taro and Jiro, and the fates of the 15 dogs left behind to fend for themselves. The film was a big cinema hit, globally, particularly in Japan, where it held the box office record for Japanese-produced films, until it was eventually surpassed by Hayao Miyazaki's ''Princess Mononoke'' in 1997. The original electronic synthesizer score was created by Greek composer Vangelis, who had recently written music for ''Chariots of Fire'' and ''Blade Runner (soundtrack), Blade Runner''. The soundtrack is available worldwide in various formats as ''Antarctica (Vangelis album), Antarctica''. Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missing (1982 Film)
''Missing'' (stylized as missing.) is a 1982 American biographical thriller film, thriller drama film directed by Costa-Gavras from a screenplay written by Gavras and Donald E. Stewart, adapted from the book ''The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice'' (1978) by Thomas Hauser (later republished under the title ''Missing'' in 1982), based on the disappearance of American journalist Charles Horman, in the aftermath of the United States-backed Chilean coup of 1973, which deposed the democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende. The film stars Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea, Janice Rule and Charles Cioffi. Set largely during the days and weeks following Horman's disappearance, it examines the relationship between Horman's wife Joyce Horman, Beth and his father Edmund Horman, Edmund and their subsequent quest to find Horman. ''Missing'' was theatrically released on February 12, 1982 to critical acclaim. The film premiered at the 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
