Antigone
by Yorgos Javellas

Our Price: $32.00
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.99 (click here)
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases

Product details

VHS Movie Reviews of Antigone

Movie Review: Be warned...
Summary: 1 Stars

Movie Review: Good film, but DVD suffers from poor transfer quality
Summary: 4 Stars

Movie Review: Wow!!
Summary: 5 Stars

Movie Review: Irene Pappas performs Sophocles's "Antigone" in Greek
Summary: 5 Stars

Following the ending of "Oedipus the King," Oedipus was exiled from Thebes, blind and a beggar. We also learn from "Oedipus at Colonus" that his sons, Eteocles and Polyneices engaged in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. The two brothers kill each other and Creon (Manos Katrakis), brother of Jocasta, becomes king. He orders that Eteocles, who nobly defended his city, shall receive an honorable burial, but that Polyneices, for leading the Argive invaders, shall be left unburied. This leads Antigone (Pappas), sister to both of the slain brothers, to have to choose between obeying the rule of the state, the dictates of familial binds, and the will of the gods.

It is too easy to see the issues of this play, first performed in the 5th century B.C., as being reflected in a host of more contemporary concerns, where the conscience of the individual conflicts with the dictates of the state. The conflict in "Antigone" is not so clear cut: Creon has the right to punish a traitor and to expect loyal citizens to obey. Ismene (Maro Kodou), Antigone's sister, chooses to obey, but Antigone takes a different path. The fact that the "burial" of her brother consists of the token gesture of throwing dirt upon his face, only serves to underscore the ambiguity of the situation Sophocles is developing. Even though the playwright strips Creon of his son, Haemon (Nikos Kazis) and wife, Eurydice (Ilia Livykou) by the end of the drama, it is not a fatal verdict rendered against the king's judgment, but rather the playing out of the tragedy to its grim conclusion.

The more you know about the conventions of the Greek theater, the more you will enjoy this filmed performances. The cast manages to maintain the formalities of the ancient drama while infusing the performances with more modern, naturalistic techniques of acting. Pappas is at the center of the performance just as her character is at the heart of the play. I have seen her in a few roles where she has performed in English, but they only hinted at the legendary passions she displays in this film. This is the one for which you will remember Irene Pappas as an actress.

General Video

• Genres > Art House & International
• By Genre > Classics
• By Original Language > Greek
• Art House & International - By Genre - Classics - General