Zorba the Greek (film)

Zorba the Greek
Original film poster
Directed by	Michael Cacoyannis
Screenplay by	Michael Cacoyannis
Based on	Zorba the Greek 1946 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis
Produced by	Michael Cacoyannis
Starring	Anthony Quinn Alan Bates Irene Papas Lila Kedrova Sotiris Moustakas Anna Kyriakou
Cinematography	Walter Lassally
Edited by	Michael Cacoyannis
Music by	Mikis Theodorakis
Distributed by	20th Century Fox International Classics[1]
Release dates	14 December 1964 (1964-12-14) (Greece) 17 December 1964 (1964-12-17) (New York City)[1]
Running time	142 minutes[3]
Countries	United States[2] United Kingdom Greece
Languages	English Greek
Budget	$783,000[4][5]
Box office	$23.5 million

Zorba the Greek (Greek: Αλέξης Ζορμπάς, Alexis Zorbas) is a 1964 comedy-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 Basil, 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.

It centers on Zorba and Basil's misadventures in trying to build a lignite mine through an impoverished Cretan village, as their polar different personalities lead them into affairs and schemes that have disastrous results, culminating in the village's evacuation by its populace. Much of the film's interactions focus on the lead characters' views and attitudes, culminating in the final scene where they dance joyfully before parting ways.

Though the film has elements of comedy, and Kazantzakis'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 combined with his determined optimism is explicitly 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,^[6][7] 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.