Rating: 
Summary: On my list of best foreign comedies ever made
Review: "Never on Sunday" was a big hit when it was released in 1960. This, of course, was way before the era of the giant multiplex and the huge emphasis on opening weekend grosses. It was also a time when the median age of moviegoers was higher. Foreign films were popular, and subtitles were almost trendy. The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actress [Melina Mecouri, who won the award at Cannes], Best Director [Jules Dassin], Best Screenplay [also Dassin] and Best Costume Design [Theoni V. Aldredge]. Its sole win was for Best Song [Manos Hadjidakis]. I mention all this because the movie has fallen into obscurity, and I wanted the reader to know that it was considered more than a mere trifle of a comedy in its day. As far as I am concerned, it remains almost as fresh and sparkling as ever. Considered to be risqué and even shocking forty years ago, this tale of an exuberant, full of life Greek prostitute and the stuffy, high-minded American who tries to change her may be tame by today's standards, but it also has a timeless quality to it. After all, the war between the free-spirited and the conservative still rages on. Melina Mecouri was one of the most beautiful, earthy and mesmerizing actresses ever to grace the screen. Jules Dassin, a very good director, was her husband. It's obvious that he wrote the movie for her. They later successfully collaborated on the delightful comedy "Topkapi" [available on DVD and VHS] and not so successfully on a modern version of the Greek tragedy "Phaedra" [not available in either format.] By the way, "Never on Sunday" predates by four years the famous "Zorba the Greek" [available only on VHS], starring Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates. Both movies are highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Melina my love
Review: Hard to believe (but maybe not after perusing this site) that I am only the second person to comment on this movie. Melina Mercouri was one of the most vibrant actresses of her era. a Greek treasure along the lines of Helen. She was the essnce of Greek spirit. I don't know if her politics has hindered her legacy in America: if that's the case it's not fair. This is a marvellous paean to life, to exuberance, to transcendent spirit. By all means, buy it or rent it or at the least make yourself acqauinted with it in whatever manner you can. I'm amazed it's not shown on American television. But then again, The Trojan Women isn't shown here either , nor is Medea, both of them powerful films dealing with powerful ladies.
Rating:
Summary: Still love it
Review: I bought this CD several years ago and still listen to it with great pleasure. It has a way of bringing sunshine into the house when all is grey and cold out. The children of the Pirea was always my favorite. I love each of the 4 different versions on this CD, especially the one accompanied by Melina Mercoury's warm voice. Many other great bouzouki tunes.
Rating:
Summary: Never on Sunday
Review: I haven't seen this movie in years but what I remember is the music not the story line.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing fancy, but joyously honest
Review: Melina Mercouri, now a Minister in the Greek government, I believe, made a tremendous splash when this movie hit the screens, and it still retains its charm. Mercouri played a very honest, happy, and selective Greek prostitute, and Jules Dassin is the well-meaning but naive American tourist who was captivated by her, and wanted to reform her by showing her "the error of her ways," as the old saying goes. The problem was that Ilya (Mercouri) was happy, basically, with her life, and had no interest in change. Who ends up reforming who? You can probably guess, as there is nothing complex about this film. There is one little twist, which gives the film its title, but I'll not give that away. The film's main song, with the same title, perfectly reflects the film's mood and themes, with its very Greek and very joyous sound, replete with bazoukis.
I agree with several other reviewers, that this is a film where colorization would enhance it, not hurt it. The same is true for the Gary Grant-Ann Sheridan comedy, "I Was a Male War Bride". Overall, "Never on Sunday" is a moderately light and endearing celebration of life.
Rating:
Summary: An oldie but goodie
Review: Never on a Sunday uses the wonderful, bigger-than-life talents of Melina Mercouri to show us the secrets of good living in her native Greece. She an independent prostitute who beds only those she is drawn to, not just those who have the money. Director Jules Dassin plays Homer, the American who is determined to make a moral and honorable woman of her. Um, as you might guess, he's fighting a losing battle from the get-go; it's like a battle between joy and responsibility - which would the average sun-kissed Greek prostitute choose? Mercouri is marvelous as she evades his best intentions while at the same time showing him the finer things in life. And then there's the memorable bouzouki theme song, which is happiness itself.
Watch it with a lover and share a bowl of pasta putanesca.
Rating: 
Summary: Charming Pygmalion type musical
Review: Never on Sunday is what Pretty Woman should have been. It doesn't try to change the hooker, more like laughs in the place of the Henry Higgins want to be. I liked the different twist for a change.
It's hard to believe this movie was once believed shocking. I remember when I was ten I sneaked this in,(and got in trouble too),only to wonder afterwards what the big deal was. This movie as such introduced me to the works of Jules Dassin, his earlier noir works and to the vibrant Melina Mercouri who sadly didn't have much of a film career. Unfortunately, most of the stuff about her on the net is about her political work. Also I liked the score.
Rating:
Summary: Charming Pygmalion type musical
Review: Never on Sunday is what Pretty Woman should have been. It doesn't try to change the hooker, more like laughs in the place of the Henry Higgins want to be. I liked the different twist for a change.
It's hard to believe this movie was once believed shocking. I remember when I was ten I sneaked this in,(and got in trouble too),only to wonder afterwards what the big deal was. This movie as such introduced me to the works of Jules Dassin, his earlier noir works and to the vibrant Melina Mercouri who sadly didn't have much of a film career. Unfortunately, most of the stuff about her on the net is about her political work. Also I liked the score.
Rating:
Summary: Long Live Ilya
Review: NEVER ON SUNDAY was the movie for which both Melina Mercouri and Jules Dassin became best remembered.Dassin was the director-screenwriter and also took the part of the bookish American tourist named Homer who tried to reform a very liberated prostitute named Ilya played by Melina Mercouri. The movie was set in a Greek port city and the talented cast was almost entirely Greek. Dassin on the other hand was an American expatriot who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Melina Mercouri was the winner of the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival for her performance as Ilya. She also repeated the role in the successful Broadway musical ILYA DARLING. Mercouri and Dassin were married in 1966. They collaborated on a total of nine films during their long careers, including the outstanding TOPKAPI in 1964.
Rating: 
Summary: The music has "aged". Still likeable in some circles.
Review: Released in 1960, "Never on Sunday" received international acclaim and introduced the Western European and American world to an aspect of Greece that not even Greeks knew (prostitution in the harbor (island in the movie) of Piraeus). The movie has aged badly and so has its music. The music is early 60s Manos Hadjidakis (one of the two "national" Greek composers of the post-war era) using a heavy dose of bouzouki, street-organ, guitars and piano. The main song of the movie "Never on Sunday" ("Ta paidia tou Pirea" in Greek) became a hit in the early 60s. Melina Mercouri's voice is an acquired taste. Some will love her, most will wonder why she sung. Overall a good example of what music satisfied us in 1961! It will bring back memories to ... Greek-Americans. It is a must for any collector of movie music who would like to have everything! N. A. Peppas
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