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If you want films that actually retell Homer, begin with Ulysses (1954) and the two television miniseries both titled The Odyssey (1968 and 1997). For the Iliad and the wider Trojan War, the main options are Helen of Troy (1956) and Troy (2004). Many other films borrow the Odyssey’s shape, a long journey home and a hero’s trials, and place it in a new setting. The list below is representative rather than exhaustive. It separates three kinds of “based on” so you can choose by how closely you want the poem followed.
How to read “based on”
Adaptations of Homer fall into three groups, and the differences matter more than the titles alone:
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- Direct adaptations follow the episodes of a named poem, even when they cut material.
- Trojan War films draw on the Iliad, the Odyssey, or the wider war legend, often mixing in other material.
- Loose inspirations relocate or echo the homeward journey without retelling the poem.
The University of Chicago Library’s 2014 exhibit “O Homer, Where Art Thou? Adaptations of the Iliad and Odyssey: Ancient and Modern” sorts adaptations by four methods: abridgement, relocation, changed point of view, and parody. Those labels are a useful lens for each entry below.
Films that adapt the Odyssey
Ulysses (1954)
Directed by Mario Camerini, with Kirk Douglas as Ulysses (Odysseus). The American Film Institute’s catalog entry says the film recounts only some of the poem’s tales and leaves out Telemachus’s search for his father. It also uses Roman names, including Ulysses and Neptune. Runtime depends on the version: AFI records an Italian cut of 130 minutes, which is 26 minutes longer than the American release.
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- An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces.
The Odyssey (1968), Franco Rossi
This is an eight-episode European miniseries made for television, not a theatrical feature. The Korean Film Archive’s program notes for “KOFA Double Feature: The Odyssey On Screen” (screenings 6–14 August 2026) call it one of the more faithful screen versions of the poem. Plan to watch it as a series.
The Odyssey (1997), Andrei Konchalovsky
A television miniseries, broadcast by NBC on 18 and 19 May 1997. The American Film Institute names Armand Assante and Greta Scacchi in its cast. Like the 1968 version, it is television rather than cinema.
Rank #2
Films about the Iliad and the Trojan War
The Iliad and the Odyssey are distinct poems, and Trojan War films often draw on one, both, or the broader legend. The entries below show how that plays out.
The Fall of Troy (1911)
Directed by Giovanni Pastrone and Romano Luigi Borgnetto. The French education platform Odysseum, in its page “La guerre de Troie au cinéma,” presents it as an early monumental screen treatment of the Trojan epic. Do not confuse it with “The Homer’s Odyssey” (1911), a separate American Film Institute catalog entry.
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Helena (1924)
Directed by Manfred Noa, this German two-part film is described by Odysseum as a lavish Iliad adaptation organized around Helen’s abduction and the fall of Troy.
Helen of Troy (1956)
Directed by Robert Wise. The British Film Institute, in Richard Pickard’s “10 great Greek myth adaptations” (16 July 2026), calls it inspired by the Iliad. It reworks the Paris and Helen story as a romance that sets the war in motion, and the same source notes that its sensibility departs from Homer. Expect romance and spectacle rather than a close reading of the poem.
Rank #4
Troy (2004)
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The Korean Film Archive says it adapts Trojan War material from both the Iliad and the Odyssey and dispenses with the Greek gods in favor of human heroes and villains. The archive screened a new 4K remaster in August 2026, courtesy of Arrow Films. That screening does not by itself confirm a home-video or streaming release, so check current listings before planning around it.
Adjacent Trojan War films: La guerra di Troia (1961) and The Fury of Achilles (1962)
Odysseum lists both among significant mid-century Trojan War films. It says The Fury of Achilles (La collera di Achille) follows the canonical Iliad pattern more closely, which makes it the better pick if you want the Achilles story rather than a general war epic.
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Films that borrow the Odyssey’s structure
Nostos: The Return (1989)
Directed by Franco Piavoli. The Korean Film Archive describes it as a lyrical meditation built on Odysseus’s journey. Its speech is invented and untranslated, inspired by ancient Mediterranean languages. It works through mood and image rather than plot, so it suits viewers who want atmosphere over a retelling.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film moves the journey to Depression-era Mississippi and the American South. The American Film Institute calls it loosely based on the poem, and the Korean Film Archive describes three escaped convicts searching for treasure. It keeps the homeward-journey frame and little else of the plot.
Cold Mountain (2003)
Directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an American Civil War drama about a wounded soldier’s long journey home. The Korean Film Archive groups it among modern-context interpretations of the homeward-journey theme. It is not a literal adaptation of Homer, and it should be described that way.
Side-by-side comparison
| Film | Year | Homeric source | Form | Setting | Gods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses | 1954 | Odyssey, abridged | Feature | Ancient world; Roman names used | Neptune appears; role not stated |
| The Odyssey (Rossi) | 1968 | Odyssey | Eight-episode television miniseries | Not stated | Not stated |
| The Odyssey (Konchalovsky) | 1997 | Odyssey | Television miniseries (NBC) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Helen of Troy | 1956 | Iliad, inspired by | Feature | Trojan War, romanticized | Not stated |
| Troy | 2004 | Iliad and Odyssey | Feature | Trojan War, grounded take | Greek gods removed |
| Nostos: The Return | 1989 | Odyssey, lyrical | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | Odyssey, loose | Feature | Depression-era Mississippi | Not stated |
| Cold Mountain | 2003 | Odyssey themes, loose | Feature | American Civil War | Not stated |
Choosing by what you want
- To follow the poem closely: start with the 1968 miniseries, then the 1997 version if you want a second treatment of the same story.
- To watch one film in a single sitting: Ulysses (1954) is the most direct feature option, though it leaves out Telemachus.
- To see the Trojan War on a large scale: Troy (2004), keeping in mind it drops the gods.
- To see the Iliad through romance: Helen of Troy (1956).
- To see the Odyssey’s journey in another world: O Brother, Where Art Thou? or Cold Mountain.
A reader’s sense of “based on” will shift with the goal. A direct adaptation shows what Homer’s episodes look like on screen, while a loose inspiration shows how the homeward-journey pattern travels across periods and places.
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