Thodoros Angelopoulos

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 as those of "a masterful filmmaker", are characterized by slight movement and distance changes, long takes, and complex, carefully composed scenes. His cinematic method is often described as "sweeping" and "hypnotic." Angelopoulos has said that in his shots, “time becomes space and space becomes time.” The pauses between action or music are important to creating the total effect.

In 1998 his film Eternity and a Day went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and his films have been shown at many of the world's esteemed film festivals. He studied law at the University of Athens, 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 takes (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 Giorgos Arvanitis, the screenwriter Tonino Guerra 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. Famous film directors including Werner Herzog Emir Kusturica, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Wim Wenders, Dušan Makavejev, William Friedkin, Manoel de Oliveira, and Michelangelo Antonioni, among others, were admirers of his works.

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 for his use of plan-sequence and deep focus, and Mizoguchi, for his use of time and off-camera space." He had also cited Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 work Stalker as an influence.

Angelopoulos was awarded honorary doctorates by the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium in 1995, by Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, 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, Greece in December 2009.

Death Angelopoulos died late on Tuesday, 24 January 2012, several hours after being involved in a 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, near Piraeus when he was hit by a motorcycle, which unconfirmed reports suggested was ridden by an off-duty police officer. The crash occurred when Angelopoulos, 76, attempted to cross a busy road. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated in an intensive care unit but succumbed to his serious injuries several hours later. His funeral was a public expense, on 27 January at the First Cemetery of Athens.

Filmography +Film and television work by Theo Angelopoulos Year Original title English title Director Writer Notes 1968 Η εκπομπή(I Ekpombi) Broadcast Short film 1970 Αναπαράσταση(Anaparastasi) Reconstruction 1972 Μέρες του '36(Meres tou '36) Days of '36 Part 1 of the "Trilogy of History" 1975 Ο Θίασος(O Thiassos) The Travelling Players Part 2 of the "Trilogy of History" 1977 Οι Κυνηγοί(I Kinighi) The Hunters Co-writerPart 3 of the "Trilogy of History" 1980 Ο Μεγαλέξανδρος(O Megalexandros) Alexander the Great 1983 Αθήνα, επιστροφή στην Ακρόπολη(Athina, epistrofi stin Akropoli) Athens, Return to the Acropolis Segment of Capitali culturali d'Europa 1984 Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα(Taxidi sta Kythira) Voyage to Cythera Co-writerPart 1 of the "Trilogy of Silence" 1986 Ο Μελισσοκόμος(O Melissokomos) The Beekeeper Co-writerPart 2 of the "Trilogy of Silence" 1988 Τοπίο στην ομίχλη(Topio stin Omichli) Landscape in the Mist Co-writerPart 3 of the "Trilogy of Silence"European Film Award for Best Film 1989 1991 Το Mετέωρο Bήμα Tου Πελαργού(To Meteoro Vima tou Pelargou) The Suspended Step of the Stork Part 1 of the "Trilogy of Borders" 1995 Το βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα(To Vlemma tou Odyssea) Ulysses' Gaze Co-writerPart 2 of the "Trilogy of Borders" 1995 Lumière et compagnie Lumière and Company Co-director/co-writerSegment: Up to 52 seconds 1998 Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα(Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) Eternity and a Day Co-writerPart 3 of the "Trilogy of Borders"Palme d'Or 1998 2004 Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει(Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzi) Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow Part 1 of the trilogy on modern Greece 2007 Chacun son cinéma To Each His Own Cinema Co-director/co-writerSegment: Trois minutes (Three Minutes) 2008 Η Σκόνη του Χρόνου(I skoni tou chronou) The Dust of Time Part 2 of the trilogy on modern Greece 2011 Mundo Invisivel Invisible World Co-director/co-writerSegment: Sky below — I alli thalassa The Other Sea Part 3 of the trilogy on modern Greece

Awards Angelopoulos won numerous awards, including the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for Eternity and a Day (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera). His films have been shown at the most important film festivals around the world.

YearIssuerAwardFilmResult Hellenic Association of Film Critics – Best Short Fiction name=n-TIFF-1968|At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1968, The Broadcast was also the recipient of an Honorable Mention by the Hellenic Association of Film Critics Award. At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1970, Reconstitution was also awarded: The Best Greek Cinematography: Giorgos Arvanitis The Best Greek Supporting Actress: Toula Stathopoulou. Best Film of the Year Shown in France Best Foreign Film Best Greek Director Days of '36name=n-TIFF-1972|At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1972, Giorgos Arvanitis was awarded the Best Greek Cinematography prize for Days of '36. FIPRESCI (Parallel Sections) Interfilm Award – Forum of New Cinema Best Greek Film name=n-TIFF-1975|At the Thessaloniki International Film Festival of 1975, The Travelling Players was also awarded: Palme d'Or Golden Hugo for Best Film Best Foreign Language Film Director Best Foreign Language Film FIPRESCI Alexander the Great Best Greek Film Alexander the Great Hellenic Association of Film Critics – Best Film Alexander the Greatname=n-C-1984|At the 37th Cannes Film Festival, the Best Screenplay was awarded to Theodoros Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra, and Thanassis Valtinos, and, the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award was awarded ex-aequo with Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders. Silver Lion Landscape in the Mistname=n-vff-1988|At the 46th Venice International Film Festival, Landscape in the Mist and Theodoros Angelopoulos were also awarded: European Film Award for Best Film Landscape in the Mist Palme d'Or The Suspended Step of the Stork Golden Hugo for Best Director Landscape in the Mist Palme d'Or Ulysses' Gaze Grand Jury Prize Ulysses' Gaze Prix Léon Moussinac – Best Foreign Film Ulysses' Gaze Best Foreign Film Director Ulysses' Gaze Best European Film Ulysses' Gaze Best Foreign Language Film Ulysses' Gaze Best Foreign Film Ulysses' Gaze Best Foreign Film Ulysses' Gaze Palme d'Or Eternity and a Day Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Eternity and a Day Best Greek Film Best Greek Director Silver Condor for Best Foreign Film Eternity and a Day Golden Bear Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow European Film Award for Best Film Trilogy: The Weeping Meadowname=n-EFA-2004-a|At the 17th European Film Awards (2004), Theodoros Angelopoulos was also nominated for Best Director. Special Jury Prize – Spiritual Competition Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow

Lifetime achievement awards Theodoros Angelopoulos was also the recipient of many awards for his long standing career. (Theodoros Angelopoulos was the head of the jury of the first edition of the Copenhagen International Film Festival, held between 13–20 August 2003.)

Grand Prix Special des Amériques

Hand Printing

University of Western Macedonia Honorary Graduate

University of the Aegean Honorary Graduate

Dokuz Eylül University Honorary Doctorate

Paris West University Nanterre La Défense Honorary Doctorate