Alexis Zorbas (1964)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Mihalis Kakogiannis

Writers:

Nikos Kazantzakis (novel)
Mihalis Kakogiannis (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Life. Lust. Love. Zorba.

Plot:

An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba.

Plot Keywords:

Greek | Greece | Sun | Mining | Friendship

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Alexis Zorba
Alan Bates	...	Basil
Irene Papas	...	Widow
Lila Kedrova	...	Madame Hortense
Sotiris Moustakas	...	Mimithos
Anna Kyriakou	...	Soul
Eleni Anousaki	...	Lola
Yorgo Voyagis	...	Pavlo (as George Voyadjis)
Takis Emmanuel	...	Manolakas
Giorgos Foundas	...	Mavrandoni (as George Foundas)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pia Lindström	...	Peasant Girl (scenes deleted)
George P. Cosmatos	...	Acne Faced Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Mihalis Kakogiannis		(as Michael Cacoyannis)

Writing credits
Nikos Kazantzakis		(novel)
Mihalis Kakogiannis		(screenplay) (as Michael Cacoyannis)

Produced by
Mihalis Kakogiannis	....	producer (as Michael Cacoyannis)
Anthony Quinn	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Mikis Theodorakis

Cinematography by
Walter Lassally		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Mihalis Kakogiannis		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Vassilis Photopoulos

Makeup Department
Alex Archambault	....	hair stylist
Monique Archambault	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Yannis Petropoulakis	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Cirino	....	first assistant director
George P. Cosmatos	....	assistant director (as George Cosmatos)
Panagis Roussos	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Mikes Damalas	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
George Antonakis	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Stavropoulou	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Johnny Dwyre	....	assistant editor

Other crew
May Capsaski	....	continuity
Vassilis Mariolis	....	location manager
Anis Nohra	....	production coordinator: International Film Service, Rome
Giorgos Provias	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• International Classics (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Finos Film  technical facilities

Also Known As:

Zorba the Greek (Philippines: English title) (USA)
Alexis Zorbas (Greece)
Zorbas o Ellinas (Greece) (video title)

Runtime:

142 min

Country:

USA | UK | Greece

Language:

English | Greek

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Crete, Greece

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Anthony Quinn had a broken foot during filming, and thus couldn't perform the dance on the beach as scripted, which called for much leaping around. Instead, he did a slow shuffle. Director Mihalis Kakogiannisasked Anthony Quinn what the dance was, and Anthony Quinn made up a name and claimed it was traditional.

Quotes:

Madame Hortense: I too fought breasts to breasts.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Michael Blanco (2004)

Mighty Quinn

What an exuberant film - not to be missed! It chronicles sadness and joy so beautifully that one can't help but want to weep, laugh, and dance along. There are four wonderful performances, led by Anthony Quinn, whose enthusiam for life almost leaps from the screen, giving rise to an almost sacrilegious thought: How could Rex Harrison's stuffy, embalmed Professor Henry Higgins have won the Best Actor Oscar over Quinn as Zorba? Lila Kedrova is heartbreaking as Madame Hortense, the dying prostitute with a colorful past. The always-enjoyable Alan Bates, and the striking Irene Papas as the Widow. Like Anna Magnani, Papas was an actress who transcended any language barrier, who didn't need dialogue at all - her face and body said everything she needed to.

For the most part the film looks great on DVD, with crisp, clear black-and-white photography. But I have one quibble: the transfer seems to have been made from the same source as the videotape prints in circulation, because there are a couple of instances of obvious post-production looping (possibly for prime-time television broadcasts), changing 'goddam' to 'old damn,' for instance - they even do this in the English subtitles. But read Quinn's lips - there's no mistaking what the original lines were! I'd expected that the original unedited soundtrack would have been restored.