Zorba the Greek

Zorba the Greek (, Alexis Zorbas) is a 1964 drama film written, produced, edited, and directed by Greek Cypriot filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis. It stars Anthony Quinn as Zorba, an earthy and boisterous Cretan peasant, and Alan Bates as the buttoned-up young intellectual he befriends. The cast also includes Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas, and Sotiris Moustakas. The musical score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis. The film is based on the 1946 novel The Life And Times Of Alexis Zorba by Nikos Kazantzakis. Though the film has elements of comedy, and Kazatzakis's anti-hero Zorba has been generally understood as a 'life-affirming' personality (faithfully reproduced in Cacoyannis's screenplay) it features a gruesome femicide, and Zorba's cynical, egotistical and manipulative personality and his determined optimism are explicity shown to be a response to, and in defiance of, the cruelties and vicissitudes of life. Produced in Greece for under $1 million, Zorba was a considerable critical and commercial success, grossing over nine times its production budget at the U.S. box office alone. At the 37th Academy Awards, the film won awards for Best Supporting Actress (Kedrova), Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Other nominations included Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Anthony Quinn, whose performance has been cited as one of the most iconic in film history, and which spawned the folk dance known as the sirtaki. The film and its source novel were later adapted into a Tony-winning stage musical, in which Cacoyannis, Quinn, and Kedrova all participated. Cast Anthony Quinn as Alexis Zorba, a fictionalized version of the mine worker George Zorbas ( 1867–1942) Alan Bates as Basil Irene Papas as the Widow Lila Kedrova as Madame Hortense Sotiris Moustakas as Mimithos Anna Kyriakou as Soul Eleni Anousaki as Lola George Voyadjis as Pavlo Takis Emmanuel as Manolakas George Foundas as Mavrandoni Pia Lindström (deleted scenes) as Peasant girl Plot Basil is a staid, somewhat buttoned-up, middle-class Greek-British writer raised in the United Kingdom. While at the Athens port of Piraeus waiting to catch a ferry to Crete he meets a middle-aged peasant and musician named Zorba who carries only a zither in a case, in contrast to Basil's large quantity of luggage, including cases of books.