Christopher Nolan’s magnificent The Odyssey has rekindled interest in its source, Homer’s centuries-old epic poem Odyssey. Nolan’s film is a commanding adaptation of the Ithacan king Odysseus’s 20-year-old effort to return home after the Trojan War to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. Starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland in the principal roles, The Odyssey explores its hero’s lingering guilt over his culpability for lives lost during and after the war.Cinematic adaptations of Homer’s seminal work date back to the silent era. The Italian production L’Odissea, from 1911, is among the earliest versions. L’Odissea is also the title of an eight-episode Italian mini-series made in 1968.Irene Papas as Penelope in L’Odissea (1968).For old and new fans of a foundational text that has resonated through the centuries, the TV show is an excellent way to spend several hours in the company of flawed humans, capricious gods and frightening monsters.L'Odissea is available on YouTube in Italian and a French dub. While both come with English subtitles, the French version includes an important prologue that is missing from the Italian episodes uploaded on YouTube. The handsomely produced series is faithful to the original text, giving a sense of the breadth and sweep of Homer’s poem that isn’t always possible in Nolan’s film.