He practiced law briefly, after graduating from the University of Athens, but found himself drawn to the arts and began publishing essays, short stories, and poetry. Following compulsory military service, he went to Paris early in the 60s and enrolled at the Sorbonne as a literature student. But soon after he dropped out to attend IDHEC, the noted Paris film school. After an apprenticeship under Jean Rouch at the Musée de l'Homme, he returned to Greece, where he became a film critic for a left-wing journal. His first attempt at professional directing, in 1965, was aborted by a dispute with the producer. It was not until 1968 that he turned out his first film, a half-hour documentary. His first fiction feature followed in 1970. Collaborating on his own scripts, Angelopoulos went on to assert himself as Greece's premier contemporary director. His films are typically structurally episodic and thematically ambiguous. Travelling Players (O Thiasos, 1975) was named best film by the British Film Institute. Alexander the Great (O Megaléxandros) won the "Cinema 80 series" Golden Lion at the 1980 Venice Film Festival, and Landscape in the Mist shared the Silver Lion at Venice in 1988.