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Zorba the Greek
Written, produced, and directed by Michael Cacoyannis, Zorba the Greek (1964) is a drama adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis's 1946 novel. Anthony Quinn stars as Alexis Zorba, an irrepressible, larger-than-life Greek peasant who befriends a staid English writer named Basil (Alan Bates) and draws him into a series of increasingly chaotic misadventures on the island of Crete, including a doomed love affair, a failed mining venture, and a spectacular cable-railway collapse.
Shot in black and white on location on Crete, the film became an unexpected international sensation, grossing over nine times its modest $783,000 budget at the US box office alone. It won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Lila Kedrova), Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. The film's climactic beach dance — set to Mikis Theodorakis's instantly recognizable score — popularized the folk dance known as the sirtaki. Anthony Quinn had a broken foot during filming; the sirtaki was created especially for the film to accommodate his limited mobility.
Location(s)
Zorba the Greek was filmed entirely on location on the Greek island of Crete, principally in and around the northern coastal city of Chania and its surrounding villages and beaches.
Chania, Crete
The city of Chania, on the northern coast of Crete, provided the film's urban backdrop, including its harbor, streets, and market areas. Cacoyannis used the city to establish the film's dusty, sunbaked atmosphere and its complex social world. Map Location
Kokkino Chorio, Apokoronas Region, Crete
The Cretan village central to the film's story — where Zorba and Basil lodge, attempt their mining venture, and become entangled with the lives of the locals — is the real village of Kokkino Chorio in the Apokoronas region south of Chania. Map Location
Stavros Beach, Akrotiri Peninsula, Crete
The legendary final scene, in which Zorba teaches Basil to dance the sirtaki on the beach as their dreams lie in ruins around them, was filmed on the beach at Stavros, on the Akrotiri Peninsula approximately 15 kilometers east of Chania. The beach remains a pilgrimage site for fans of the film. Map Location
Director
Michael Cacoyannis
Cast
Anthony Quinn
Alan Bates
Irene Papas
Lila Kedrova
IMDB
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