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Zorba the Greek

During a trip to his father's estate in Crete, Greek-British writer Basil meets bon vivant Alexis Zorba. The ever cheerful Greek helps Basil realise his plans.

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Deze voorstelling maakt deel uit van Rialto Filmclub met als gastspreker deze maand Ernst-Jan Pfauth.

Zorba the Greek

Temporarily unable to put words on paper, the uptight Greek-British writer Basil decides to travel to a rural village on Crete where his father owns some land. He plans to reopen a disused mine on the estate. Waiting at the Athens port of Piraeus, he meets the peasant, musician and bon vivant Alexis Zorba and tells him of his plans. As luck will have it, Zorba has experience with mining, or so he claims. Basil decides to take him along. The mine soon proves too unsafe to reopen, but Zorba has an idea for an alternative venture: a sawmill. Meanwhile, Madame Hortense, the local hotel owner, and "the Widow" have appeared on the scene, two women who will play a crucial role eventually.

At the time, this successful mix of drama and comedy was a big hit, winning three Oscars. An even bigger hit was Zorba's Dance, Mikis Theodorakis' sirtaki, which is popular to this day. Starring Alan Bates, Irene Papas and Anthony Quinn.

Michael CACOYANNIS (1922-2011, Cyprus) is a director who made 15 feature films: not only directing, but also writing, designing costumes, producing and translating. He was primarily a man of the theatre however, with dozens of plays and opera productions to his name. Zorba the Greek is his best-known film, and won Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black-and-White).