Zorba the Greek (1964)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas
Synopsis:
An Englishman befriends a Greek, who introduces him to his native culture with all its joy and cruelties.
Review:
The film responsible for the ambient music of scores of Greek restaurants, it is dramatically unsatisfying, partly because the Bates character is so ineffectual he cannot prevent one of the most shockingly unexpected murders of a heroine ever put on celluloid, partly because Quinn's performance is so full-blooded it unbalances the film. The theme that seems to emerge is that misery can best be transcended by the exteriorisation of grief, as in Zorba's final dance, and that this is the secret of the Greek people's fortitude. A very handsome film with undeniable charm, if you can take the slaying of Papas.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas
Synopsis:
An Englishman befriends a Greek, who introduces him to his native culture with all its joy and cruelties.
Review:
The film responsible for the ambient music of scores of Greek restaurants, it is dramatically unsatisfying, partly because the Bates character is so ineffectual he cannot prevent one of the most shockingly unexpected murders of a heroine ever put on celluloid, partly because Quinn's performance is so full-blooded it unbalances the film. The theme that seems to emerge is that misery can best be transcended by the exteriorisation of grief, as in Zorba's final dance, and that this is the secret of the Greek people's fortitude. A very handsome film with undeniable charm, if you can take the slaying of Papas.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 142m
Director: Michael Cacoyannis
Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas
Synopsis:
An Englishman befriends a Greek, who introduces him to his native culture with all its joy and cruelties.
Review:
The film responsible for the ambient music of scores of Greek restaurants, it is dramatically unsatisfying, partly because the Bates character is so ineffectual he cannot prevent one of the most shockingly unexpected murders of a heroine ever put on celluloid, partly because Quinn's performance is so full-blooded it unbalances the film. The theme that seems to emerge is that misery can best be transcended by the exteriorisation of grief, as in Zorba's final dance, and that this is the secret of the Greek people's fortitude. A very handsome film with undeniable charm, if you can take the slaying of Papas.