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Portrait
of Irene Papas
Streaming interview
However
hard she may resent that, Irene Papas stands alone as a true symbol
of Greek cinema, an incarnation of antique poetry.
The striking tragedian's figure, which she earned for herself
in her native Peloponnesos region, has inspired many directors
and still fascinates many audiences throughout the world. After
a brilliant stage debut, Irene Papas started her movie career
in Nikos Tsifiros's Lost Angels (1948).
She compelled instant recognition opposite Anthony Quinn in 1964's
Zorba the Greek. Director Michael Cacoyannis limelighted
the brilliant tragedian in Antigone (1960), Electra
(1962), The Trojan Women (as Helen of Troy, 1971)
and Iphigenia (1977).
The rest of her fruitful career has yielded quite a few classics
and gems with such directors as Jack Lee Thompson (The Guns
of Navarone), Robert Wise (Tribute to a Bad Man)
, Costa-Gavras (Z), Francesco Rosi (Chronicle
of a Death Foretold) , Manoel de Oliveira, John Landis
(Into the Night). Her co-stars bear the names of
Gregory Peck, Katherine Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Yves Montand,
James Cagney, Michel Piccoli, Michelle Pfeiffer...
Although she did not follow her compatriot Melina Mercouri into
politics, she did speak up against the military junta which took
over Greece between 1967 and 1974. Irene Papa's never-ending strength,
integrity and charm are what true myths are made of.
FilmFestivals.com
reporter
Robin Gatto
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