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Athens 2004 - 10 Years Anniversary


kevzz

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Well, yeah, except Persepolis 1971 and Athens '04 were 1-time things, highly stylized. And what was odd about Athens was that it was staged to be seen from one side and actors attempting to ape statues. The other model I know that Papaioannou might've used is the Pageant of the Masters down in Laguna Beach where the townspeople go crazy pretending to be non-moving figures in famous paintings. That's more DP's style or what he did for Athens -- cast people who were NOT getting paid anyway, of dubious talent as mannequins. How difficult could that be? Thank God, none of the Athens mannequins sneezed or chortled while passing in review in front of the camera!! :lol:

http://www.foapom.com/pageant-of-the-masters/

AF's right about there being lots of movement in the Klepsydra, of course (in a relative-to-immobility sort of way). If you want "living statues", try the ancient Talami parade in Orsogna, Italy (there's also a 1929 silent film of it on YouTube, but digitised at the wrong speed).

As for the Persepolis and Athens parades being "1-time things, highly stylized"- I think the same may, in its way, have been true of Blackpool, and no doubt of many other parades where some bright spark on the organising committee said "Hey, why don't we do a theme of scenes from history?"

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I was loosely referring to what was reported during the lead-up to the Sochi Games.

There's probably no reason to rehash all the negative publicity that lead up to the Games. The up-to-the minute reports about the unfinished hotels, double toilets, stuck elevators - along with with the constant slamming from columnists like Keith Olbermann made me feel bad for the athletes who had trained hard in those Olympics.

Given that this is an Athens thread, I was just referring to the similarities I noticed between the two.

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AF's right about there being lots of movement in the Klepsydra, of course (in a relative-to-immobility sort of way). If you want "living statues", try the ancient Talami parade in Orsogna, Italy (there's also a 1929 silent film of it on YouTube, but digitised at the wrong speed).

As for the Persepolis and Athens parades being "1-time things, highly stylized"- I think the same may, in its way, have been true of Blackpool, and no doubt of many other parades where some bright spark on the organising committee said "Hey, why don't we do a theme of scenes from history?"

The thing is...I find this whole "living statues" thing so corny, un-original and so un-dynamic. The damned Klepsydra was really only worthwhile for the lower rung of people in the stadium, otherwise it was just another one of those other parades. Anyway...isn't the Blackpool thing an annual event? It sure looks like one. The point is if you want to present a 'museum,' then just send people over to the various museums. The whole concept was so unimaginative...and yeah, dress it up with some striking theatrical designs but the whole idea is really a snooze.

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The best Opening Ceremony especially the Clepsydra was just beyond. I could watch it forever.

In your opinion. Although a very impressive OC, I found it to be quite boring, ESPECIALLY Clepsydra. I would hate to have been in the audience paying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a ticket to see a damn parade that I would need binoculars to know what I'm looking at.

Also I'm so proud that Dimitris Papaioannou who directed it all is gay :wub:

I would think that a gay guy would be able to create something far more fabulous than that!

And I guess that explains the Clepsydra parade. Us queens and our parades lol

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The best Opening Ceremony especially the Clepsydra was just beyond. I could watch it forever.

Also I'm so proud that Dimitris Papaioannou who directed it all is gay :wub:

Hmmmm.

An interestingly untimely first post there (and inevitably controversial on a forum with so many gay men who think Nick Hytner would have done a far better job).

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Hmmmm.

An interestingly untimely first post there (and inevitably controversial on a forum with so many gay men who think Nick Hytner would have done a far better job).

Well, not just Nick Hytner...but Vangelis was really the other option and the one lusting for the job -- except Gianna didn't want another strong personality she would have to confront and do battle with. So she picked the young, pliable DP who would owe her.

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Well, not just Nick Hytner...but Vangelis was really the other option and the one lusting for the job -- except Gianna didn't want another strong personality she would have to confront and do battle with. So she picked the young, pliable DP who would owe her.

Yeah, I just picked Hytner as a gay director with a known capacity for epic staging combined with emotion and wit (and experience of both stage and film). Lacking such experience, Vangelis would have been quite a gamble- but then so was choosing a multi-media artist for a "mass-market" event, I suppose.

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Yeah, I just picked Hytner as a gay director with a known capacity for epic staging combined with emotion and wit (and experience of both stage and film). Lacking such experience, Vangelis would have been quite a gamble- but then so was choosing a multi-media artist for a "mass-market" event, I suppose.

No, Vangelis actually had great credentials: he did the ceremony for the IAAF WOrld Champs in Athens in 1997, a few weeks before the IOC vote. Quite spectacular. ANd then he did a multi-media concert Methodea, which was the hot ticket item in Athens for the summer of 2001. But then Gianna didn't want another "diva" director to deal with. It's all in my book, pp. 73-74.

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No, Vangelis actually had great credentials: he did the ceremony for the IAAF WOrld Champs in Athens in 1997, a few weeks before the IOC vote. Quite spectacular. ANd then he did a multi-media concert Methodea, which was the hot ticket item in Athens for the summer of 2001. But then Gianna didn't want another "diva" director to deal with. It's all in my book, pp. 73-74.

Oh blimey- I'd actually seen some of the 1997 video too (but it had ribbon-twirling, so I didn't watch a lot).

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Its a shame that they have let many of their buildings fall into disrepair following the games. I was there in September last year and visited the swimming venue, valedrone and main stadium and it was really sad.

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Its a shame that they have let many of their buildings fall into disrepair following the games. I was there in September last year and visited the swimming venue, valedrone and main stadium and it was really sad.

Indeed, the crisis has taken a massive toll on the Olympic facilities - just like the remainder of the country...in retrospect, it's just one more case in favour of the theory that the Olympic Movement can only survive with a big emphasis on cost reduction and use of previously existing venues. Only dictatorships with substantial amounts of natural resources can truly afford to build temples of sport like the Bird's Nest.

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