LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Irene Papas
built 803 days ago
The Ancient Greek tragedy is vividly brought to the screen by Michael Cacoyannis ("Zorba the Greek") and bolstered by an "Electra"-fying lead performance from Irene Papas. Here, Electra and brother Orestes (Yannis Fertis) plot to kill their mother after the siblings come to believe she murdered their father. This was the first in Cacoyannis' Euripides trilogy that included "The Trojan Women" and "Iphiginea." 113 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: Greek Dolby Digital mono, English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer. In Greek with English subtitles.
Source:
Irene Papas is the modern embodiment of classic Greek plays, her great tragic face so fiercely beautiful that it limited her roles in Hollywood movies. Still, she is well remembered from Zorba the Greek and The Guns of Navarone as well as The Brotherhood, The Power and the Prize and Anne of the Thousand Days.
Source:
It´s not easy to define "Las Troyanas" (The Trojan Women), the version of Eurípides´ play carried out by Irene Papas. What is clear is that this stunning performance, which took place in Sagunto (Valencia, Spain) in September, 2001 goes beyond the normal boundaries of theatre into what could be called a "full scenic event" mixing without prejudice arts (music by Vangelis, orthodox drama, traditional chants from Valencia…) and sciences (new technologies by the cyberpunkish group la Fura dels Baus, famous for their show about the Mediterranean Sea in the '92 Olympic games opening ceremony, together with architecture and engineering represented by Santiago Calatrava´s impressive scenography: fifteen 20-metre tall iron tubes that could move resembling in turn a huge organ, hi-tech columns or threatening cannons. By the way, Calatrava, a well-known Valencian architect, will probably design the Olympic stadium for Athens 2004 games, and according to papers, Papas was the person who put the architect in touch with Greek authorities). More famous names: Sofía, the Queen of Spain (Greek, and personal friend of Irene) attended the premiere. But the surprises about this play don´t finish there. The "location" (no, here we can´t speak of a simple theatre) chosen by Papas is ... absolutely original: instead of using the Roman amphitheatre Sagunto has got, she prefered an abandoned warehouse (crumbling walls, broken window panes…) in the decaying industrial port of the town: where else to better express the message of destruction after war, one of the main topics in the play?
Source:
The third and final phase of the Consortium’s project will be concluded in Rome, at Tor Vergata, in an ex-bus depot where this summer Irene Papas will stage five tragedies of the epic “Theban Cycle” by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Sagunto, Athens and Rome will therefore become three universities that offer training and study for the performing arts; course centres which are not limited to teaching theory but which offer young actors the chance to be actively involved in creating their own productions.
Source:
Irene Papas is impeccable as Sophocles' tragic heroine who defies the edict of the ruler of Thebes and bestows the rites of burial on her slain brother, thereby bringing about her own downfall. Co-stars Manos Katrakis. 82 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Greek; Subtitles: English. In Greek with English subtitles.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Irene Papas