Theo Angelopoulos, the magisterial Greek auteur whose hypnotic long takes and mythic tapestries immortalized the fractures of Hellenic history, harvested the Palme d’Or and sculpted fifteen cinematic cathedrals before a Piraeus motorcycle stole him mid-shot.
| Theo Angelopoulos | |
|---|---|
| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Theodoros Angelopoulos |
| Stage Name: | Theo Angelopoulos |
| Born: | April 27, 1935 |
| Died: | January 24, 2012 (age 76 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Athens, Greece |
| Nationality: | Greek |
| Religion: | Greek Orthodox |
| Parents: | Mr. and Mrs. Angelopoulos |
| Spouse: | Phoebe Economopoulou (M. 1980) |
| Relationship: | Married |
| Children: | Three daughters |
| Occupation: | Film Director, Screenwriter, Producer |
| Net Worth: | $10 million to $15 million |
Early Life And Education
Theo Angelopoulos was born on April 27, 1935, in Athens, Greece. He was raised by his parents, publicly identified as Mr. and Mrs. Angelopoulos; his father’s arrest and presumed execution during the 1946–49 Civil War scarred the family psyche.
His ethnicity is Greek. He embraces the Greek Orthodox faith. Law studies at the National and Kapodistrian University ended abruptly; conscription followed, then Paris.
At the Sorbonne he devoured literature and anthropology under Claude Lévi-Strauss, then trained at IDHEC—only to be expelled for “insolence.” Returning penniless, he sharpened knives as a film critic for the banned leftist daily Demokratiki Allaghi.
Career
Angelopoulos detonated in 1970 with Reconstruction, but supernova status arrived with the History Trilogy: Days of ’36 (1972), The Traveling Players (1975)—four hours of Brechtian fury—and The Hunters (1977).
Silence and Borders trilogies followed; Landscape in the Mist (1988) and Eternity and a Day (1998) seized Cannes’ Palme d’Or.
Fifteen features, each a fresco of exile and memory, collaborated with Eleni Karaindrou’s haunting strings and Giorgos Arvanitis’ glacial frames. His final trilogy on Greece’s crisis halted forever on January 24, 2012, beneath Piraeus floodlights.
Social Media
Theo Angelopoulos had no social media accounts.
Personal Life
Theo Angelopoulos, at his death aged 76, left producer Phoebe Economopoulou—wed beneath Attic stars in 1980—and three daughters who bear his silences.
He stood undisclosed in height. A Kolonaki apartment sheltered vintage 35 mm prints; Euboean summers vanished while he restored his father’s wooden caique, phone silenced, Aegean the only witness.
Net Worth
Theo Angelopoulos commanded an estimated $10 million to $15 million, forged from Palme royalties, Hellenic Cinema Center advances, RAI co-productions, and discreet Peloponnesian vineyards inherited from his mother.