Iphigenia (1977) User Reviews

only Greeks know how to cook up an authentic feast from a Greek tragedy

[lasttimeisaw · 8/10 · 28 June 2015]

First of all, I have to give vent to my random thought about the story of Iphigenia (as in most Greek tragedies), where men predominately are vapid barbarians, blinded by belligerence, superstition and misogyny, they would prefer engaging a bloody warfare to returning home, certainly this type of story is worlds apart from my way of thinking, yet, this film adaption is a painstaking cinematic wonder to behold, not to mention Kakogiannis superb dexterity in extracting the heart-rending theatrics out of his stage but utterly dedicated cast, headlined by the legendary Irene Papas and a bracing debut performance from Papamoschou as the titular heroine represents the virtues of innocence, self-sacrifice and true grit.

The third piece of Cacoyannis' Greek TRAGEDY trilogy, the other two are ELECTRA (1962) and THE Trojan WOMEN (1971), both I have yet to watch. IPHIGENIA firstly astonishes in its epic scale, its solemnity and optic grandeur is quite unparalleled for its time, and what could be more legitimate than a Greek tragedy concocted by a Greek maestro in situ? This proposition alone is alluring enough!

This is a prelude of the Trojan War, Agamemnon (Kazakos) has to tough decision to make, under the oracle from Artemis, he must sacrifice her first-born child, Iphigenia, in order to atone a slip when his army accidentally slaughtered a sacred deer in a temple dedicated to Artemis, a consequence is that all his fleet is kept at bay without the aid of wind to sail while his men are growing fatigued, bored and anxious for the battle. Then Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra (Papas) and Iphigenia are tricked to the front, under an ostensible pretext to marry Iphigenia to Achilles (Mihalopoulos), but soon the lie is debunked, can Iphigenia escapes her doom? It is a no-brainer actually because it is named "tragedy" for an obvious reason.

When fate rules, individual effort cannot alter it, so what is intriguing falls on the process itself, how Clytemnestra fights wholeheartedly and desperately for saving her beloved daughter, how Achilles transitions from an outsider to swear protection for her with no regard of his own life, how Agamemnon is tormented by the guilt and grief yet he is too proud to disregard the interest of the bigger picture. But most essentially is Iphigenia's own mental progress, from a bright young bride-to-be to a designated oblation for others' sacrilege, her anticipated wedding-day turns into her last-day-on-earth, and from the initial entreatment to her final tranquil acceptance of her unfair fate. On paper, it is a role seems too challenging for Papamoschou, who is only 13-year-old at then without any acting experience, but in reality, her performance is a key element ascribed to the film's success (a Palme d'Or competitor and an Oscar nominee). Bearing an angelic appearance, she balances against histrionics her co-stars, establishes a poignant image of a martyr, St. Joan of Arc style, and never let her own innocuousness off the map, that's what we call a pathos generator.

There is no question of how excellent is Papas, the Greek equivalence of Anna Magnani, her expressive face alone can be so revealing and informative, as in ZORBA THE Greek (1964), another Kakogiannis film, words are powerless in front of her presence. But here, equipped with her mother tongue, she is in her full wings to bring Clytemnestra to life, an anguished mother fights bravely from her submissive position to defend her own blood, to no avail nevertheless, she shines in every scene. A solid theatrical background benefits Kazakos greatly in rendering gravitas to Agamemnon, but compared to Papas and Papamoschou, he is rather stiff and so are Mihalopoulos and Karras (who plays Menelaus, Helen's husband).

Last but not the least, two thumbs-up for Theodorakis' engaging score, percussively rollicking during the frenetic spectacles and imposingly impassioned during the central narrative. Surely, only Greeks know how to cook up an authentic feast from a Greek tragedy, highly recommended!

"Farewell, beloved light."

[brogmiller · 8/10 · 12 January 2021]

Euripides was called by Aristotle 'the most tragic of poets'. The grittiness, tragic irony and psychological penetration of his plays proved to be of great appeal to director Michael Cacoyannis. He filmed a magnificent 'Electra' in 1961 with Greek actors but his 'Trojan Women' of 1971, despite a starry, international cast, is alas a monumental misfire. Six years later he has favoured once more an all Greek cast for 'Iphigenia' and has scored what can only be described as a palpable hit.

It actually lost out as Best Foreign Film at the Oscars to 'Madame Rosa' but so did 'A Special Day' and 'That Obscure Object of Desire' so no disgrace there.

The excellent screenplay by Cacoyannis has kept the structure of the original but has stripped everything down to the bare essentials. He has simplified the language and solved the eternal problem of how to interpolate the Greek Chorus by pretty well dispensing with it altogether.

The characters are not mythological icons but as played by Kostas Kazakos, Irene Papas and Tatiana Papamoschu we see Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia depicted as flesh and blood characters buffeted by Fate. Papamoschu is only thirteen here but her performance shows astonishing maturity. The scene where she pleads with her father Agamemnon for her life before nobly accepting that she must be sacrificially slaughtered for the good of Greece is utterly heart-rending.

Cacoyannis has wisely dispensed with a scene in the original manuscript in which a messenger relates how the Goddess Artemis has substituted a deer for Iphigenia on the altar. It has long been considered that this scene has been tacked on by a hand other than that of Euripides and would in any case be unacceptable to a modern audience. The climax that Cacoyannis has devised is absolutely devastating, eminently filmic and heightens the tragic futility of Iphigenia's death. A brilliant conception.

Kazakos is superlative as a King who must sacrifice his beloved daughter in order to appease the 'thousand-headed monster' of the army that he needs to conquer Troy. What can one say of the stunning Irene Papas? Her character's journey from joy, to anguish and finally to hate is brilliantly conceived. Her final close up gives dreadful note of what is to come. In future years she will wreak a terrible revenge on her husband and in turn be murdered by her son. Oh well, every family has its ups and downs!

Drama to behold.

[jrewingfan · 9/10 · 18 April 2006]

My interest was raised as I was flipping through and saw the name Iphigenia. My name is Eugenia so I thought OK, lets see what this is. I am so glad I stayed on the channel. What a wonderful, wonderful story. Drama, sadness, some over the top acting but a wonderful time to be had. I watch this and it makes me sad for all the drivel the movie industry puts out and these beautiful little gems get passed over. Give Iphigenia a try and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. I have even gotten my children (27, 25, 20 and 17) to enjoy it. It starts slow, however, the drama builds and you will be drawn in to the story. Watching this lovely film made me want to shroud myself in more Greek tragedy and pathos.

That any god is evil I do not believe

[tintin-23 · 10/10 · 13 September 2006]

With Iphigenia, Mikhali Cacoyannis is perhaps the first film director to have successfully brought the feel of ancient Greek theatre to the screen. His own screenplay, an adaptation of Euripides' tragedy, was far from easy, compared to that of the other two films of the trilogy he directed. The story has been very carefully deconstructed from Euripides' version and placed in a logical, strictly chronological framework, better conforming to the modern methods of cinematic story-telling. Cacoyannis also added some characters to his film that do not appear in Euripides' tragedy: Odysseus, Calchas, and the army. This was done in order to make some of Euripides' points regarding war, the Church, and Government clearer. Finally, Cacoyannis' Iphigenia ending is somewhat ambiguous when compared to Euripides'.

The film was shot on location at Aulis. The director of photography, Giorgos Arvanitis, shows us a rugged but beautiful Greece, where since the Homeric days time seems to have stood still. He takes advantage of the bodies, the arid land, the ruins, the intense light and the darkness. The harshness of the landscape is particularly fitting to the souls of the characters. The camera uses the whole gamut of available shots, from the very long, reinforcing the vastness and desolation of the landscape, as well as the human scale involved, to the extreme close-ups, dissecting and probing deep into the soul of the tormented characters. In particular, the film's opening, with a bold, accelerating tracking shot along a line of beached boats, followed by an aerial view of the many thousands of soldiers lying listlessly on the beach, is a very effective means of communicating Agamemnon's awesome political and military responsibility.

No word but "sublime" can describe the stunning performances of Costa Kazakos (Agamemnon), Irene Papas (Clytemnestra), and Tatiana Papamoschou (Iphigenia). Kazakos and Papas embody the sublimity of the classical Greece tragedy. Kazakos' character is extremely down-to-earth, and his powerful look into the camera, more than his words, reveals the unbelievable torment tearing his soul. Irene Papas is the modern quintessence of classic Greek plays. In Iphigenia, she is terrible in her anguish, and even more so for what we know will be her vengeance. Tatiana Papamoskou, in her first role on the screen, is outstanding in her portray of the innocent Iphigenia, which contrasts with Kazakos' austere depiction of her father, Agamemnon.

Cacoyannis is faithful to Euripides in his representation of the other characters: Odysseus is a sly, scheming politician, Achilles, a vain, narcissistic warrior, Menalaus is self centered, obsessed with his honor, eager to be avenged, and to have his wife and property restored.

The costumes and sets are realistic: no Hollywood there. Agamemnon's quarters resembles a barn, he dresses, as do the others, in utilitarian, hand-woven, simple garb. Clytemnestra's royal caravan is made up of rough-hewn wooden carts.

The music is by the prolific contemporary music composer Mikis Theodorakis. Theodorakis' score intensifies the dramatic and cinematographic unfolding, reflects on the psychological aspect of the tragedy, and accentuates its dimensions and actuality.

This film and the story it narrates offer considerable insight into the lost world of ancient Greek thought that was the crucible for so much of our modern civilization. It teaches us much about ourselves as individuals and as social and political creatures. Euripides questions the value of war and patriotism when measured against the simple virtues of family and love, and reflects on woman's vulnerable position in a world of manly violence. In his adaptation of Euripides' tragedy, Cacoyannis revisits all of these themes in a modern, clear, and dramatic fashion.

The relationships governing the political machinations are clearly demonstrated: war corrupts and destroys the human soul to such an extent that neither the individual nor the group can function normally any longer. With the possible exception of Menelaus, whose honor has been tarnished by his own wife's elopement with her lover, everyone else has his own private motivation for going to war with Troy, which has nothing to do with Helen: the thirst for power (Agamemnon), greed (the army, Odysseus), or glory (Achilles). And so in a real sense, Helen became the WMD of the Trojan War. The war, stripped of all Homeric glamor and religious sanctioning, was just an imperialist venture, spurred primarily by the desire for material gain, all else being a convenient pretext.

Another conflict raised in the film is that between the Church and the State. Calchas, who represents the Church, feeling the challenge to his priestly authority and wishing to destroy Agamemnon for the insult to the Goddess he serves, tells him to sacrifice his daughter. In consenting to the sacrifice, the King comes closer to his moral undoing, but in refusing, loses his power over the masses (his army), who are brainwashed by religion. Of course, for Agamemnon, it's a game. The King must go along with the charade whether he honestly believes in the Gods or not, until he realizes, too late, that he has ensnared himself into committing a despicable filicide.

Is it a sacrifice or a murder, and how can we tell the difference between the two? By focusing on the violent and primitive horror of a human sacrifice--and, worst of all, the sacrifice of one's own child--Euripides/Cacoyannis creates a drama that is at once deeply political and agonizingly personal. It touches on a most complex and delicate ethical problem facing any society: the dire conflict between the needs of the individual versus those of the society. In the case of Iphigenia, however, as in the Biblical tale of Abraham and Isaac, the father is asked to kill his own child, by his own hand. What sort of God would insist on such payment? Can it be just or moral, even if divinely inspired? Finally, does the daughter's sacrificial death differ from the deaths of all the sons and daughters who are being sent to war? These are many deep questions raised by a two-hour film.

A great achievement

[CineMan-8 · 10/10 · 20 April 1999]

'Iphigenia' is the great achievement of Michael Cacoyannis. This masterful play is masterfully adapted for the screen and brought to life by a wonderful cast. Cacoyannis achieved the impossible. He managed to film a Greek tragedy to screen without losing its effectiveness and importance. A stellar greek cast helps him in this. Newcomer Tatiana Papamoschou is extremely impressive as Iphigenia. Equally impressive is Irene Papas ,who even though she sometimes seems over the top, it is very realistic. A wonderful Greek film, beautifully adapted and directed by Michael Cacoyannis, with an excellent music score by Mikis Theodorakis which is ideal in every scene.

P.S. Rumours say that the film lost the best foreign language film Oscar by only 1 vote!!!

A Memorable Shot from a Memorable Movie

[treagan-3 · 10/10 · 19 January 2006]

I only saw IPHIGENIA once, almost 30 years ago, but it has haunted me since.

One sequence particularly stays in mind, and could only have been fashioned by a great director, as Michael Cacoyanis undoubtedly is.

The context: the weight of history and a mighty army and fleet all lie on King Agamemnon's shoulders. An act of sacrilege has becalmed the seas, endangering his great expedition to Troy. He is told he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to Apollo in order to gain the winds for the sails of the Thousand Ships. He initially resists, but comes around, and tricks his wife Clytemenstra to bring their daughter to the Greek camp in order to marry the greatest of all warriors, Achilles.

Clytemnestra and Iphigenia arrive, find out about the sacrifice, and rage to the gods for protection and vengeance. Meanwhile, the proud Achilles discovers that his name has been used in this fraudulent, dishonorable way. He climbs a hill to tell Iphigenia that he will protect her.

The shot: The camera circles the two young people, without looking directly at each other. They bemoan their fate, and the weakness of men that deceive their loved ones and lust for war. Suddenly, they gaze at each other and, for one moment, we feel both their power and beauty, and the unstated--except by the camera--irony that in another time, another place, they perhaps could love each other and be married. It is a sharp and sad epiphany that lasts only for an instant.

What direction! What camera! What storytelling!

A wonderful film

[mjrk984 · 14 January 1999]

This film was the first movie I ever saw and cried watching. It's an adaptation of the classic play by Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis. The cast was wonderful, and the cinemotography was spectacular. The story of a young girl caught between her fears and the country's will, one cannot help but cry.

Excellent adaptation

[JohnSeal · 8/10 · 1 January 2006]

Michael Cacoyannis has had a relatively long career but has surprisingly few credits to his name, including some real duds such as the unfunny cold war satire The Day the Fish Came Out. Iphigenia, however, is a highlight. Adapted by Cacoyannis from the play by Euripides, it's a superior rendering of the classic tragedy and recently made its first television appearance in many years in the United States courtesy the Flix Channel. The film is shot on an epic scale but is decidedly not a 'big' film, with the emphasis placed on the simple story: in supplication to the gods, King Agamemnon (Kostas Kazakos)is compelled to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia (Tatiana Papamoschou), much to the consternation of Queen Clytemnastrae (Irene Papas). Kazakos and Papas are both outstanding, but it is the stunning Papamoschou who brings the most interesting elements to the screen, blending the innocence of childhood with the dawning realization that she is the pawn in a political game. Strongly recommended for fans of international cinema.

Pity and Fear

[ignatz928 · 6/10 · 12 February 2006]

Though I've enjoyed reading most of the (regrettably few) Greek tragedies I'm familiar with, until now Aristotle's "pity and fear," his words for what successful tragedies are supposed to provoke in their readers, was only a concept to me. I had never experienced it myself, not from texts and certainly not from the few and universally mediocre productions I've seen of classical Greek tragedy. I didn't expect to experience it during this film adaptation either, which begins as a good-looking but emotionally overwrought melodrama. Somehow, though, by its end the movie has worked up to a level of emotional intensity that does justice to Aristotle's famous phrase. Iphigenia is about the Greeks' determination to reach Troy, and about the terrible decision that their commander, Agamemnon, is presented with by the gods as the price for doing this. After his men inadvertently offend Artemis by killing a sacred deer, the gods withhold favorable winds from the Greek fleet, stranding their ships, halfway to Troy, on the island of Aulis. In this version of the old myth, taking place in a Bronze Age warrior society but produced by a young and troubled democracy, the leaders- Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles- enjoy only a partial and shaky control over their men, who, tired of waiting without adequate food or supplies, are on the brink of mutiny as the story begins. Odysseus is portrayed here as less just another tribal chieftain than as a dangerously eloquent demagogue, further stirring up the troops with resentment against their leaders. In this tense situation, the Greek chieftains, particularly Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus, are relieved when the prophet Calchas announces that he has learned of a sacrifice by which they can appease the gods. Agamemnon's relief turns to horror, however, when he learns that the required sacrificial victim is none other than his own daughter, Iphigenia. He keeps this secret from everyone except Menelaus, while at the same time he summons Iphigenia to Aulis. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Agamemnon seems unable to come to a decision, or rather, to be trying to put off a decision until the last possible moment. Agamemnon's mistake is that in trying to keep his options- neither of them good- he ends up backing himself into a corner, where he no longer has any choice. In part Euripides seems to be showing how power can be as imprisoning as powerlessness. Agamemnon, Menelaus suggests at some point, has spent his whole life in pursuit of power, and now his ambitions are rebounding on him. The horrible dilemma with which he is faced drives the story forward. The story's drive is supplied by the horrible nature of Agamemnon's dilemma, and probably as a result, momentum is exactly what is missing from the movie's beginning. The film looks good throughout, and the foreign language helps stave off the overt kitsch which most mythological films fall prey to, but these early scenes are nonetheless pretty tedious. The filmmakers plunge us into the story's strange, alien world without giving us much of an emotional stake in the Greeks' dilemma. These problems seem to stem mostly from the inherent difficulties of adaptation. I've never read Iphigenia at Aulis, but considering the tight restrictions in time and space of the Greek theater, I would assume that much of the script is of the filmmakers' own invention. The director tries to keep things cinematic, but really the film is at its best when it sticks to the text, and to dialogue-heavy exchanges between the characters. The movie only starts to really work when Iphigenia and her mother arrive at the Greek camp. Up until then the scenes, consisting as they do of exchanges between burly, armor-wearing, almost indistinguishable Greek warriors, tend to feel a little flat, so the introduction of the slight, delicate-looking Iphigenia brings a new note of dramatic contrast that grounds Agamemnon's dilemma in reality- it's an obvious but very effective device. As word spreads among the characters of the nature of the planned sacrifice, Agamemnon almost fades into the background of the story, and his dilemma takes on a life of its own. Once the army has learned of the gods' demand, Iphigenia is doomed. Considering that I already knew the outcome, Euripides's play and the filmmakers' adaptation does a remarkably good job of sustaining the tension and suspense to an almost unbearable degree. As Iphigenia comes closer to that inevitable ending, I finally understood what Aristotle meant by "pity and fear." It may not be pleasant, but it is a riveting experience that left me somewhat shaken, and certainly rather subdued, after it was all over.

Stunning realism

[booksofstars · 10/10 · 9 October 2006]

Although the recent re-telling of part of Homer's epic "Troy" with Brad Pitt was entertaining once, "Iphigenia" with the incandescent Irene Pappas is breathtaking. Unfolding in a natural setting with Greek actors speaking their own language lends such authenticity. A chance encounter with this film on one of DirecTV's many movie channels kept me interested in spite of my concentration problems. There is no glitter or "bling" in this movie, just a fabulously rich story impeccably told by actors so real one feels they are eavesdropping on a real family in turmoil. I think even Homer, if he really existed, would be proud of this telling.

JLH

IPHIGENIA (Michael Cacoyannis, 1977) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 5 August 2011]

I went into this without realizing it was a sort of prequel to the same director's THE Trojan WOMEN (1971), which I had just watched the previous day! Interestingly, while the latter details the aftermath of the famous (and much-filmed) war, this one deals with the little-known events that came immediately before the Greeks set sail to lay the city of Troy to waste forever! Despite the earlier effort's stellar cast, it is the inferior movie; actually, one actress appears in both, albeit in different (yet equally strong and emotional) parts: Irene Papas played Helen Of Troy in the first picture and Clytaemnestra, i.e. Helen's sister (and sister-in-law!), in the second. For the record, director and star had prior to these collaborated on ELECTRA (1962), yet another tragic chronicle related to The Trojan War: indeed, all originated as a trilogy of plays by Euripedes. Still, only THE Trojan WOMEN was shot in English, ELECTRA and IPHIGENIA being Greek productions through and through – with both finding themselves competing for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (the latter against the marvelous swan-song of my favorite auteur i.e. Luis Bunuel's THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE!).

Basically, the problem with THE Trojan WOMEN was that it had no real plot (and, therefore, did not exactly make for compulsive viewing despite the familiar and intriguing backdrop!) – it was just a succession of scenes in which various characters reflected back on their lives and how they were affected by the conflict that devastated an entire city: the fact that the latter was borne of lust (for a woman on one part and revenge on the other) gave way to much viciousness even between relatives and particularly amongst the ladies, once regal and proud but now reduced to wearing rags and wailing constantly! Conversely, I recall being impressed with ELECTRA, while IPHIGENIA is very much the essence of Greek tragedy – presenting as it does a narrative that involves deception tinged with irony, honor bound by duty, and bravery in the face of sacrifice.

Though, in this case, only Papas' name was known to me (I could not even read the other actors' and technicians' names because they were listed in the traditional Greek font!), all the principal characters were well-served, especially King Agaememnon – fraught with the dilemma of acceding to the will of the Gods (and his battle-hungry men, spurred on by an atypically ruthless Odysseus), which he is expected to placate by having his eldest daughter (the titular figure) killed, an act that would surely throw his domestic situation into turmoil! – and young Iphigenia herself, who grows from carefree girl to hopeful bride (with demi-god Achilles, though no mention of his extraordinary quality is made), goes through disbelief and desperation at what really awaits her, finally to emerge a valiant martyr.

The film – which starts off in a potentially off-putting manner, depicting both full-frontal male nudity and the slaughter of animals – displays a strong sense of place and time, an era marked by beliefs and laws that nowadays would, respectively, be deemed remarkably foolish and inordinately harsh. With respect to the latter, Iphigenia implores with the King to tell her why she must die for Helen's faults: if anything, it is the child that sprung from the latter's union with Menelaus, Agaememnon's brother, that should be forfeited. The ultimate twist, then, has the wind starting to blow (which is what the Greeks were praying for in the first place, so as to enable their fleet to finally sail for Troy) just as the heroine is rising the steps towards her sacrificial altar…but fate still decrees that the father does not reach his daughter in time to stop the needless shedding of innocent blood!

Magnificent

[ricbigi · 10/10 · 9 December 2011]

My only regret is that Michael Cacoyannis did not have a large enough budget to give his film the production values that one would expect from a story of such grandiose proportions. He does what he can with the resources available, and that is quite sufficient, but I would have loved to have seen life-size ships instead of small boats as the Greeks are waiting for their departure from Aulis. In the end, however, the artistic quality of his work is so high that nothing else matters. The Euripidean text is more than adequately translated into film. The actors are all superb. My joy at seeing their work is immense. Irene Papas has to be one of the greatest actors in the history of film. Her Clytemnestra makes one understand what lies in the future for Agamemnon. Eugène Ionesco loved this film. I can see why.

Mixed bag.

[pery-1 · 4/10 · 23 October 2013]

There is some great drama, especially in the later part, but this has far too much filler. Especially near the beginning, it is ponderous and boring, with too many long views of the cast of thousands, and long closeups of staring faces.

I fast forwarded over many sections which were nothing but people riding or walking or milling around, with no advancement of the story. The film would benefit with a good editing,

The acting was generally wooden and unconvincing and reminded me of a poor copy of a De Mille sword & sandal epic. Only Iphegenia herself, later in the film was a convincing, moving performance.

Amazing

[dismalland · 10 August 2000]

I saw this film two years ago in my history class, and have rented it five times since then. Irene Papas leads a strong cast in this adaptation of Euripides' play "Iphigenia at Aulis". The beautiful cinematography adds the perfect tone to Papas' frantic search for clarity in a moral dilemma. Papas displays her great talent as an actress, playing the noble queen, the betrayed wife, and terrified mother. A great film.

so I caused an ethical conundrum

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 25 September 2021]

Michael Cacoyannis's Academy Award-nominated adaptation of Euripides's play brings out ancient Greece in all its splendor. "Ifigeneia" ("Iphigenia" in English) isn't for those of us with short attention spans. It lets the complexity, profundity and intensity play out every step of the way. Like Cacoyannis's previous adaptations of ancient Greek plays - "Electra" and "The Trojan Women" - this requires a willingness to understand the characters and their motivations. Exactly what a movie should be.

Sacrifice

[Bellatrice · 10/10 · 19 April 2006]

I agree with all the accolades, I went through a box of tissues watching this film. It had a gritty authenticity and rang true in every way.

The question I'm about to raise represents a current sensibility regarding the treatment of animals. I had a very difficult time with the beginning slaughter of sheep and goats, and the dying deer with its pulsing neck and pooling blood as its life drained away was hideous.

This is the age of "no animals were hurt in the production of this move." Iphigenia was made in the late 70's before the advent of computer simulation. Was it possible to fake these animal deaths? Or were these animals slaughtered for art?

Strong

[edgeofreality · 8/10 · 26 August 2020]

Very fine performances and intelligent direction, memorable photography and music, with only some wordy speeches near the end by the titular character not quite ringing true. But the last ambiguous shot make up for this, and the end restored the films power.

The cost of war.

[LW-08854 · 10/10 · 1 January 2024]

There are some films which you forget almost as soon as you've seen them and then others which seem to burn their way into your brain so that you can't get them off your mind after watching it.

Iphigenia 1977 is a Greek movie which takes a thoroughly grownup approach to it's filmmaking. We feel a sense of unstableness and tension right from the off as an army restlessly awaits the moment to depart from the beach and off to war. This army though seems more a rag tag bunch of hooligans at times, right away you are dropped into a setting that feels so real you could almost reach out and touch it. The film's location on in the arid and rugged country just adds to it's authentic look and the sun-drenched landscape is the perfect backdrop for this drama to unfold against. When the Greeks did comedy they really did comedy and when they did tragedy it was real tragedy. By cruel fate the gods it seems have ordained that in order for the winds to blow again and for the army to sail only the sacrifice of the King's daughter will do. What follows is two hours of agonising for the king and others as the tensions build and build and his army grows more and more impatient. In this one single story really is captured the whole futility of the Trojan War, a fight to recapture a woman now hated and despised anyway by her people in return for the sacrifice of so many so good. Helen is not present in this film but her absence looms large. This is no action film, not even for Achilles it's instead a superbly tense and tragic story played out in words and looks not swords. It puts the 2004 film to shame really with it's American Achilles, CGI boats and Hollywood ending. The acting in Iphigenia is some of the best you'll see. Everything looks so real, the costumes are simply done, mostly in white cloth or wool, it perfectly fits the bronze age setting. This is the kind of film which haunts you once you've seen it.

Superb

[janmartincic-67157 · 8/10 · 2 July 2023]

Where to begin.

The acting of the main three roles is extraordinary. Kostas Kazakos as Agamemnon gives us a terrifying look into the mind of the leader at the head of the achaean host. A man who becomes broken and distorted when he hears the bloody demand of the goddess Artemis, whom he insulted. And as powerfull as he is he is shown here to be as much influenced by the army as the army is by him. "The thousand-headed monster that I govern" as he says in one scene. He knows that if the army finds out the knowledge that he holds, he will not be able to stop them from rebelling or sacrifising his daughter themselves. In the first half of the film he is plagued by indecision. Even fear and his eyes gradually change in the course of the film to a kind of drunkness as he accepts the nature of the barbaric thing he must do. He is a brutal man. A man of great anger and authority. But he is also shown as broken and weak. Clinging to control which is slipping from his hands. We see in him a father and a leader of men. And those two aspects of him intermingle on his face in a kind of perverted dance that marks him as one who is most dangerous. It is a thing to behold.

Irene Papas, who plays Clytemnestra (Agamemnon's wife) is just as marvelous. With her movement and voice she conveys her regal status well but as she realizes the fate of her daughter she becomes a ghost of herself. She transitions from a queen to a broken mother - screaming and crying. Delivering heart wrenching dialoge which somehow convinces you that this is not acting but true grief and anger. And at the end she becoms a quiet fury. A woman possesed with unspeakable sadness and desire for vengance. Her ravings are as potent as any ever seen on the big screen.

Then there is Tatiana Papamoschou who plays Iphigenia. Her youth, beauty and innocence mixed with her unusual widom makes her murder so much more barbaric. So much more unforgivable. And her dialogue with her father and mother is gut wrenching. As she transitions from happiness to doubt. From fear to anger and finally to trembling acceptance. "Enough with the tears. Start singing to wake up the winds."

I also adore the silence in this film. Many scenes are made even more potent by the lack of music. Amplifying the feeling of waiting, of longing for something. Of a place where there is no wind and no birds. There is kind of tiredness in the air. It feels as if the barren landscape is already dead and a death of a young girl is as fitting to it as the waves are to the sea.

There are many shots of great crowd of soldiers which are conveyed really good. Their bodies marked with sweat but tired - longing for the wind which will send them to war. You see the crowd of soldiers in this film as its own entity. A moving mass which has a voice of its own. You can almost imagine them in battle against the trojans. Like a mass of bulls - full of energy, unlike their state in this film. Tired and bored, slowly becoming unruly and dangerous to those who command them.

Camera movement is utilised quite good as well. Lingering when there is tension or stagnation and other times movin - sometimes steady as the figure she covers or unruly and sharp as the action beetwen charaters happens.

One thing that I didn't like is the clothing. We know from archeological evidence (frescoes, pottery) that greeks in the late bronze age wore tunics, belts, cloaks etc. Nobiliy preferred linen, but the lower classes wore cloths made from wool or goat hair. In this film the clothing is all over the place and the helmets and armor look funny. But still I like this film very much.

Go. Watch it. Now.

[xedartsum · 9/10 · 23 January 2023]

I love historical epics and mythology-based movies. Do not expect the action filled, romanticized hollywoodesque experience from this one, and it's all the better for it, though I do enjoy some sword fighting with monsters and naked chicks on stone altars.

It doesn't feel the need to over fantasize the setting and events, though it is based on a myth, and despite being a work directly connected to war, warriors and kings, the struggles are almost entirely "interior". In sum, it might be seen as a battle between individual thinking and tribalism, or "the common good". It's the dramatic writing that carries it and probably because it is a very faithful adaptation of the drama written by Euripides.

The characters carry the plot and not the other way around, and they are more dense, realistic and prone to empathy than most modern protagonists we see, even as they stand on opposing sides, which is a shame to say: these characters were written over 2000 years ago, conceptualized even earlier, and we refuse to build upon it, instead going for the tabula rasa protagonists and the one sided side characters. (Ok, maybe not so much with Odysseus in this particular depiction, though his arc in the mythos goes much further both in past and future. Here he's just plain unlikable, but then again, he did nothing good in the Iphigenia arc that I know of).

It's a very moving experience overall and I believe most people who give it a chance won't be indifferent in the end. It really sticks with you.

On a final note, you don't need to be familiar with the Greek Mythos to watch it at all - it might even be a good starting point - with the exception of a particular scene in the beginning. So, know this: Artemis, the goddes of hunting, doesn't like when you hunt her deer's. That being said...

What a great movie, an instant favorite. Go watch it. Now.

Dated, Uninteresting

[dwankan · 2/10 · 11 May 2022]

This film plays like an early 60s B movie, with poorly executed cinematography, inconsistent pacing, and mediocre acting. The reviews I've read mostly rave about how great the acting is and how beautiful the production, so maybe I expected too much, but even if I'd expected a bad movie, I would have been disappointed. This is not a good film.

Beautiful homage for basic human values

[Vincentiu · 8 January 2007]

Subtle masterpiece and precise recreation of Euripides tragedy.

Delicate art and science of light's exploration. And a great casting.

Same atmosphere of old Greek period, same taste of secret, duty and sacrifice. And the splendid music.

But the power of film consist in Tatiana Papamoschou's androgen's. A delicate acting and form of cult . Noble homage for basic human values. And Irene Papas- part of his character.

Principal merit of film is gentle protection of skill. The tension of silence, the deep force of gestures.

So, "Iphigenia" is more of a beautiful movie. It is a gorgeous "memento mori".

A powerful and thought-provoking drama

[mirabal · 21 March 1999]

I was taken to see this movie by my sister when I was only 7 years old. It's amazing how, at that early age, I was able to sympathize with the plot, the mood, the tragedy...Just now, through IMDb, I was able to find out what was the movie that had so greatly affected my childhood.

masterpiece

[Kirpianuscus · 6 April 2017]

it is a masterpiece. sure, it is a subjective word and it is not easy to define it. it is a masterpiece because it has the science to give the emotion and spirit and tension of the play Iphigenia in Aulis. it is a masterpiece for the impressive performance of Irene Pappas. it is a great film for its unique, touching and admirable for the right manner to give life to a classic text. and for transform it in a personal story, beautiful and provocative and wise pledge for the discover of the roots of the right answer. a masterpiece. that is it.