Antigone

Rating:
Summary: Wow!!
Review: Irene Pappas was the greatest!! I loved this Antigone. I imagine that everyone who would order this knows the story, so no need to go into it. The passion and range of Ms. Pappas is incredible. This is an extremely high quality presentation. Every lover of Greek theater should have this!

Rating:
Summary: Needs viewing thrice
Review: It is true the more knowledge of the play by Sophocles and of Greek plays in general the more you can appreciate this rendition. However the interesting thing about this presentation is you can start from ground zero and come away with everything the tragedy is about. Even though the story is well know I will not go through it incase this is your first time.

There is an introduction to bring you up to date from Oedipus through his descendents and history to today where you meet Antigone and her sister Ismene. Their decisions partially ordained and those of the new king Creon decide the outcome. You may find yourself quoting this play as you would Shakespeare's plays.

The reason for watching it multiple times is the first time around you may be busy reading the subtitles of which some flash and are gone. The second time around you may keep an eye on the acting. The third you will get used to the Greek and even if you do not speak it you will find much filled in that was not sub titled. By now you will be hooked and have to watch it periodically.

Rating:
Summary: Irene Pappas performs Sophocles's "Antigone" in Greek
Review: This 1961 version of Sophocle's tragic drama "Antigone" will not work as an introduction to Greek tragedy. The play is performed in Greek (with subtitles), so I would never recommend it as the first exposure any one has to the performance of an ancient play; there is a 1972 version with Genevieve Bujold that would better serve. However, this particular version does offer Irene Pappas, long considered one of the greatest of Greek actresses, in one of the greatest roles in the nation's history (the only thing better would be to see her perform "Medea"--or maybe Clytemnestra in the "Orestia"). Of course, when "Antigone" was first performed women were not allowed to be actresses; in fact, the only women allowed in the theater of Dionysus in Athens were prostitutes. Pappas is a shade too old for the role, but there is a sense in which performing these plays is more akin to opera than conventional theater. Besides, she plays up Antigone's stubborn streak in a way that gives entirely new shadings to much of the play.

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.