Die Bakchen (1974)

This is a film of the Euripedes tragedy "The Bacchae" produced on stage in Vienna by Ulrich Rasche and featuring prominent actors such as Bruno Ganz, fantastic stage machinery and a large chorus. The god Dionysus (AKA Bacchus), son of Zeus, returns to his native Thebes to demand the worship that he thinks his due. His cousin, Pentheus, rules Thebes as a secular state and is determined to keep it that way at any cost. He is even willing to employ the force of arms to keep the reveling followers of Bacchus in check.