Get ready for TCM’s dive into Greek and Roman mythology on Wednesday nights in July with a TCM Spotlight on Mythology Movies.
TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz hosts the series which kicks off on July 9 at 8:00 pm ET with two films featuring the work of Ray Harryhausen (who instantly became synonymous with films based on mythology with his famous stop-motion monsters) with 1981’s Clash of the Titans followed by 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. The first night if rounded out by 1962’s satire My Son, The Hero and the somewhat more serious The Minotaur from 1960.
Since we all have to wait until 2026 for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, you can bone up on previous versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey on July 16 with Robert Wise’s Helen of Troy (1956) and the TCM premiere of Ulysses (1954). Ulysses gives way to an improbable team-up between Hercules, Samson and Ulysses (1963) and Cannon Films unfortunate Hercules (1983) starring Lou Ferrigno.
July 23 gets serious with a night of films adapted from Greek Tragedies, starting with Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Oedipus Rex (1967) and followed by Pasolini’s Medea (1969). The evening wraps up with Michael Cacoyannis’ Electra (1962) and Iphigenia (1977), also a TCM premiere.
The spotlight ends on July 30 with four contemporary takes on mythology, starting with Down to Earth (1947), and followed by Black Orpheus (1959), Phaedra (1962), and Pygmalion (1938).
Stay tuned to Conskipper for all of your classic movie news.