The Travelling Players is one of the major neglected movie masterpieces of our times.

The human tragedy becomes increasingly compelling as it unfolds, while Angelopoulos' stately visual style is constantly arresting.

The stately pace of the film soon becomes compulsive; and the shabby provincial Greece of rusting railway tracks and flaking facades which the slow camera examines is visually beguiling.

With its stately pace and obscure references to mythology and contemporary events, the film requires patience. But its power and intelligence more than repay the effort.