SuperHeroBooks - Electra
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List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $3.06
Your Save: $ 11.92 ( 80% )
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Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Irene Papas, Giannis Fertis, Aleka Katselli, Notis Peryalis, Manos Katrakis
Directed By: Mihalis Kakogiannis
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792852032
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 0792852036
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2002-03-05
Running Time: 113
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1962-12-01
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: recommended, with qualifications
Comment: I think this title would be a worthwhile addition for anyone interested in art films, or who has an interest in classical Greek tragedy. All the more so, since the dvd sells for a modest price. However, for someone who is in the exploration stage of viewing foreign art films,there are some things to consider. While artistically filmed in black and white, the emphasis is almost totally on dialogue and dramatic tableau rather than action. Of course, this is the nature of Greek plays, but may seem rather stark,even alien, to modern tastes. Irene Papas as Electra gives a convincing portrayal of a woman obsessed with revenge. Her facial expressions convey extremely well the intensity of this passion. While this sort of monomaniacal focus of destructive emotions may be a common element of ancient Greek drama, by present-day standards it could appear somewhat sick and monotonous. If one had a relative like Electra to contend with,who had such a self-absorbed attitude, it would no doubt be quite tiresome. But in the play this passion is distilled into a purity that becomes art. But be warned that there is no apotheosis from all this negativity into anything hopeful. The oppressive atmosphere of revenge metamorphoses into an oppressive atmosphere of guilt. After all, it is a tragedy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A nice portrayal of greek tradgedy
Comment: I enjoyed the acting in this very interesting film. It was refreshing to view a film untainted by the worn out formula of graphic sex, violence, explosions and vulgarity. However, this movie has a portion of sexual tension and violence at its base, like a greek tragedy should. Good acting and lots of options with subtitles and dubbing. If you're not in the mood for this radical departure, you may not like it. But I was hungry for a change of pace and this delivered nicely. I got so absorbed in the acting I felt like I was in the presence of the actors. There are a couple over-acted scenes and offbeat background music on occasion, but not enough to detract from the overall acting or interfere with the storyline. It was also gratifying to see the treachery of Electra's adulterous mother, the queen, who has her lover kill the returning king in the beginning of the story come back to her in spades when Electra and her brother exact their revenge years later. The confrontation between Electra and her mother, 16 years after her father's murder, is very well-acted and a bit spell-binding. It was a neat movie with a neat plot that I'll watch again and again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Classic Film of a Classic Play
Comment: I show this film to high school students and after they get past the relatively crude production values, English subtitles and strange music, they begin to sense the power of the story. The intensity of the characters becomes almost hypnotic and the fact that this is a really old film becomes unimportant. My only regret is the story is closer to the Sophocles/Aeschylus versions that show the traditional endorsement of revenge killings. The revolutionary antiestablishment undertone of the Euripides text is ignored despite the fact that it raises timeless questions these actors could have explored to great effect.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Electra
Comment: Bitterness in ancient Greece. If you go for Greek tragedy you'll enjoy this. Agamemnon returns home to Mycenae, is murdered by his wife and her lover, and his daughter Elektra schemes revenge. The real Mycenae stands in for itself and the acting is top-notch. Regarding this DVD: beware of using the dubbed English track - the voices don't always say what they should at certain points. Also, the great Irene Papas' powerful voice is "girlie-fied" by whoever dubbed her. Stick to the original Greek track and access the English subtitles instead. The film is in 16:9 format but is not anamorphic. This is not a problem due to the excellent b & w transfer, and no serious graininess is introduced when it is vertically expanded to fit your widescreen TV screen. Recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "The death of a king is never simple"
Comment: I came to view this film the long way around. I have watched the Richard Straus Opera "Elektra" in which there are people of the same name but different spelling than the film. In the play Elektra the eldest daughter is upset because her mother Klytämnestra and her mother's lover Aegisth killed her father the king, Agamemnon. She calls on her father's spirit, and vows vengeance. Her younger sister Chrysothemis tries to talk her out of it. Her mother comes to here drugged and sleepless asking Elektra what can be done to make amends so her nightmares will end. Elektra tells her that the blood of an impure woman must be shed. Later Elektra is told that her brother, Orest is dead so she tells her sister that she must help kill the mother and lover. Orest turns up alive and is coaxed into killing first Klytämnestra and then Aegisth. So much emotional hate and joy is released that Elektra dances until she falls dead.
Then there are several translations of the play by Sophocles 410 BC.
Now we come to the interpretation for this 1962 film play directed by Michael Cacoyannis of "Zorba the Greek" fame. The film takes 113 minutes; Approximately 15 minutes of dialog, 30 minutes of mime to cut out the bulk of the dialog from the play, and the rest filler of people milling around. I do not mean to sound trite but be prepared for long moments where we have to listen to an off key string instrument or a bunch of horns th keep us focused of where the action should be. There is a moving song and a chorus that speaks out now and them. The set is the Greek landscape with a few structures. It is shot in black and white. This is saved by exceptional acting.
There is a touching scene where Agamemmnon retunes to great his wife and children. Then we watch as Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus net in Agamemmnon for the kill. Orestes gets led out to a foreign land and Electra is under house arrest until she grows up. She cuts off her hair in protest and is married off to an innocuous peasant. Will she ever get revenge? And is Orestes even alive? What ho, strangers approach.
This is a tale of "...A family so noble and so damned at the same time."
To get a different take on the story you can read "Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life" by Thomas Moore, where he tells the story a little different in depicting the role of becoming a mother.
The media itself is a DVD with options of Greek: Mono, English: Mono or French: mono. Then the option also of English, French and Spanish Language Subtitles. The singing is done in Greek only but you can use English subtitles to tell what they are singing. There are no pamphlets with this package.
Antigone ~ Irene Papas
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Editorial Reviews:
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From "one of the world's most talented filmmakers" (Los Angeles Times) comes this riveting, OscarÂ(r)-nominated* retelling of Euripides' searing classic. Written, produced and directedby Michael Cacoyannis (Stella, Zorba the Greek), and starring legendary Greek beauty Irene Papas (The Trojan Women), Electra is "majestic and awesome" (The New York Times)"a truly powerful and visually impressive picture" (Boxoffice). Desolationand despair reign supreme in the kingdom of Mycenae: The great Agamemnon has been brutally murdered; his son, Orestes, has fled to an unknown land; and his daughter Electra has been imprisoned withinthe very walls of the castle she once loved so well. All hope seems lost until the sacred oracle speaks and replaces Electra's broken spirit with an unquenchable desire for justiceand bloody vengeance! *1962: Foreign Language Film
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