Jim Henson's The Storyteller - Greek Myths

One of Jim Henson's finest hours was the Storyteller series that aired on HBO in 1987. As with his other non-Muppet creations (Labyrinth), Henson fills the screen with wonderful creature...( read more )

By nature, the Greek myth episodes are a bit more mature and downbeat (ages 8 and older) than the rest of the series, yet give the audience lasting impressions of oft-quoted tales. In "Perseus and the Gorgon," King Argos locks away his wife when it is foretold his future son will kill him. Soon mother and son (Perseus, fathered by none other than Zeus) are washed ashore and another angry king looks to take away Perseus's mother. How can Perseus win the day? By killing the evil Gorgon whose snake-covered head includes eyes that turn humans into statues. Derek Jacobi stars as the brilliant Greek designer in the second tale, "Daedalus and Icarus." The father goes through many hardships, including the famous episode of his son flying too close to the sun. All is not well and does not end well. John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) directs the tale of "Theseus and the Minotaur." A young man reunites with his father, King Aegeus, but is cursed by his witch of a stepmother (literally). When Theseus tries to stop the regular sacrifice to the half-bull, half-man Minotaur, a new curse awaits the young prince. The magical musician Orpheus (Art Malik) finds his muse in "Orpheus and Eurydice." Unfortunately, she soon dies and goes to Hades where Orpheus follows, attempting to win her soul from the devil himself. --Doug Thomas

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71% liked it

Unrated, 95 min.

Directed by: John Madden, Tony Smith (III), Paul Weiland, David Garfath

Released: November 2, 1997

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DVD Released: September 7, 2004

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Top Flixster Reviews

November 24, 2007

zarala233's review

I used to watch The Storyteller when I was around eight years old, so when I bumped into the tales in Youtube last week, I was stunned & all sort of pleasant memories came back to me!! I looked for the series on dvd everywhere, until I finally found a copy of "Jim Henson's The St... ...( read more )
May 28, 2007

gaijin's review

holy crap!!! loved the original series! John Hurt was fantastic as the storyteller, excellent voice, diction and great narration!
May 3, 2007

acorn072681's review

I enjoyed this movie. They may have cheanged the original stories around a bit, but I loved the fact that they didn't try to make everything lite and flowery. The stories are how they were supposed to be... dark.
April 27, 2007

messiahmiracles1's review

this is the best tv series ever aired!!! the imagery is incredible, the tales are not gimpy and told in great wit.... a MUST see!
April 25, 2007

YourWorstNightmare07's review

Has to be one of my favorite movies. I love Henson as it is, but then I also love hearing stories. Great stories, some with morals and what not.

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November 24, 2007

zarala233

I used to watch The Storyteller when I was around eight years old, so when I bumped into the tales in Youtube last week, I was stunned & all sort of pleasant memories came back to me!! I looked for the series on dvd everywhere, until I finally found a copy of "Jim Henson's The Storyteller - The Definitive Collection" at "The World's Biggest Bookstore" here in Toronto!! containing the complete series, which consists of thirteen episodes, nine from the first season & four from the second season "Greek Myths". If u grew up watching this, u should definitely have this marvelous series in ur collection!! it is very affordable & the quality is pretty good considering how old this series is!!