A tribute to Theo Angelopoulos, drama and comedy - interview with Andrew Horton

Andy you will be back in Greece in a few days and on May 21^st, you will talk at the HAU (Hellenic American Union) about Theo Angelopoulos and his "Cinema of Contemplation" after his sudden loss; I never had the chance to ask you, when you met Theo and how was your relationship with him, over the years?

In 1975 when O THIASOS came out I was teaching film & literature at Deree College and I was also the film critic for the English language monthly magazine THE ATHENIAN. So I both interviewed Theo and invited him out to the university to speak about his film with the students. And at the time there were no film classes in Greece, so he enjoyed meeting students and discussing his work including his time spent in Paris when he became a filmmaker, and I deeply appreciated O THIASOS and the fact that everybody went to see the film in the cinemas especially because the Junta was still in power and no one could believe a film with a “leftist” point of history could be shown in the cinemas! Thus long story short, we have been in touch ever since and it was thus a pleasure to put together my two books on his films.

And I was deeply touched that I got to be on the set of his last film THE OTHER SEA in January a week before he died and it meant a lot to me that he asked me late last year to read the script and give any advice I wished to about it since he respected me as a screenwriter too.

What unique element/elements inspired you to write two books on his work and so many articles for his movies?

I love films from around the world and of course Hollywood has also had many important filmmakers, thus as both a screenwriter and a film scholar I have embraced many cultures. One of my screenplays for instance, was DARK SIDE OF THE SUN (1988) which became Brad Pitt’s first film and which was shot in Montenegro, Yugoslavia. Thus I appreciate films and filmmakers who somehow capture elements of their own cultures in a way that can be appreciated around the world.

With Theo, I began with O THIASOS, of course, with interviews and my film reviews, but then with each film that he did I was fascinated how he would take on different stories and approaches to cinema but always with similar themes such as that of THE ODYSSEY or seeing life as a journey towards our own Ithacas as of course Cavafy’s poem “Ithaca” also reflects.

In my presentation at the Hellenic American Union on May 21^st, I wish to share my respect for Theo’s diversity and insight in “capturing” much of the life and spirit of Greeks mixing mythology, history and the contemporary world together in films such as THE SUSPENDED STEP OF THE STORK, ULYSSES’ GAZE and ETERNITY AND A DAY and THE WEEPING MEADOWS.

I also admire his courage and talent in using what I call “slow cinema and long shots.” The average shot in a Hollywood movie today is about two seconds long. But many shots In Theo’s films are between two and ten minutes long! What does an extended shot mean or do for the viewer? It allows him and her to “take in” everything in the shot including the landscape, the characters, the music and sounds and this is why I titled my book on his films as a CINEMA OF CONTEMPLATION.

We live in a culture around the world that is so so fast with mobile phones, TV news, reality TV, films like AVATAR that are so full of speed, violence and non stop action and more that it is very difficult to simply ENJOY A MOMENT of solitude or reflection. I thus do appreciate it when I show clips of Theo’s films to groups when members of the audience, young, middle aged and older folk, all say, “Some of those scenes were the most powerful scenes we’ve ever seen in a film.”

I realized this late winter was full of travelling for you?

With Theo's passing, I have received many invitations to speak about his films and to help various festivals set up either a special event or a retrospective of his films. To date, I have already given memorial talks and screenings in Oklahoma and Boston and helped with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival tribute which will be in late May and I will speak and give a presentation to the Greek community of Sydney, Australia in December. I am also in touch with the Angelopoulos family to see if I can be of any help in seeing if Theo's last film THE OTHER SEA can be completed.

And how do you link comedy and drama in your life? I have seen that you mention Aristophanes, ‘carnival of life’ and New Orleans’ way of life, during your seminars, your talks and in your books.

Our lives all include comedy and drama, but I feel it’s important to become more aware of the importance of both and how they cross paths. Yes, Aristophanes became popular during some of the most tragic times of ancient Athens, and it says a lot when a country like Israel can win the Best Foreign Film Oscar for a, yes, comedy like THE BAND’S VISIT (2007) when the news is so full of the violence and bombings that are part of contemporary Israeli and Palestinian life. And yes, you mentioned the key word and concept CARNIVAL! For twenty years of living in New Orleans taught me how important it is for every culture to have a spirit and time when you can “be and do anything you wish!” And it is that spirit we all need to nourish within ourselves in daily life. Yes, to deal with work, family, friends, but also to ENJOY them and help them thrive.

I have observed that you write all over the years about comedy (‘Laughing Out Loud’ book, being a wonderful work) what drives you to write about comedy?

Even scientists show us that people who laugh live an average of ten years longer than those who don’t! And in my life, I have fortunately had family and friends and students and colleagues who have understood and cultivated the importance of a comic view of life! So in both my screenplays and my books on film and culture, I do tend to focus on comic elements. One course I teach, for instance, is GLOBAL FILM COMEDY which lasts 15 weeks so we cover 15 countries from Greece and France and England to New Zealand and Lebanon and the Czech Republic and on till the students have come to appreciate laughter in all 15 nations!

From where do you get your inspiration of writing another book? You’ve written over 20 books on cinema, I know you write wonderful scripts (many of which were already filmed). I want to know your personal way of creating a new book and a new script?

I joke seriously when I say, I don’t LOOK for projects to become scripts or books, but they FIND ME! I wrote the Angelopoulos books because I appreciate his films and there were no books on his work in English at the time, and the same is true of my book on Henry Bumstead, the Hollywood production designer whose Oscars included TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE STING. I knew him personally and I realized he was the best production designer working with Clint Eastwood, Hitchcock and others and there was no book on him and since he was aging (he passed away in 2006) a lot of film history would be lost when he was gone. And this goes for screenplays, for I have written a feature script about Melina Mercouri that I would love to see get made because I knew Melina and Jules Dassin personally and I was encouraged by her dear friend, the late Phedon Papamichael, to write the script which he gave me a lot of “stories” and details that I did not know since they were friends since childhood. Inspiration? Well, closer to “follow the paths that open before you!” And, like Melina, help others and enjoy your own life and friends and family!

Interview by: Alexandra Belegrati

Andrew Horton is an award winning screenwriter and author of over twenty books on film, screenwriting and culture. He is the Jeanne H Smith Professor of Film and Video Studies at the University of Oklahoma.