An International Sensation of a film, still a classic after more than 60 years!
Last month movie affection-ado ‘Depressed Bergman’ on X (formerly Twitter) noted that December 2025 marked 61 years since the debut of the now classic film, “Zorba The Greek,” premiered.
“The movie ‘Zorba the Greek’ had such a profound effect on audiences then in 1964 and even now,” said Katerina Mavroudi-Steck, Director of the annual San Francisco Greek Film Festival.
Fellow SFGFF staff members Maria Nicolacakis and Kleon Skourtis agreed. “The film is full of deeper meanings and messages,” added Mavroudi-Steck.
The surprise smash-hit film made actor Anthony Quinn an immediate international sensation; so much so, it became a signature role. “‘Zorba the Greek’ is often remembered for its exuberance — the dancing, the music, and Anthony Quinn’s larger-than-life presence,” said Kleon Skourtis.
Yet as he points out… “beneath that surface joy, the film is deeply philosophical and even tragic,” said Skourtis.
Based on Niklos Kazantzakis‘ novel, the film as Skourtis surmises, is about two opposing ways of being in the world.
The story begins as Zorba meets a young British gentleman named Basil (portrayed by Alan Bates) taking a boat from Athens to the island of Crete. Rainy and stormy, the Mediterranean at that moment is anything but sunny and warm; a hint of the unpredictable that is to come.
As Basil explains, his “father was Greek, but I was born/(raised) in England.” Very much an educated and cultured English man, Basil is at the prime of his life seeking something that he anticipates will help him out of not only his writer’s block, but a conventional rut he is not aware he is in.
Zorba, a man at mid-life, recognizes this rut Basil is in and tries to convey this fact to the 25-to 30-something academic fellow.
Immediately without hesitation Zorba tells Basil he would like to accompany him to Crete and to work for him, addressing Basil from then on as “boss.”
Basil is willing to take Zorba on because Basil’s other intention is to restore an old lignite mine that his father left to him. Zorba has experience in working in a mine as well as many other experiences. These experiences are what make Zorba the unique character he is.
The two arrive at the little village on Crete to an enthusiastic welcome by the villagers and “the foreigner” Madam Hortense.
Madam Hortense is a French woman (portrayed Lila Kadrova) who settled into the village after World War II.
She operates the only hotel available to the few and seldom visitors who come to the impoverished village.
The scenes with the eccentric French women are charming and peculiarly sweet. Madam Hortense explains that the villagers are “ungrateful” of the efforts she made with the British Navy to save their village from “the boom-boom” of the war.
Filmed in black and white and with a modest budget, part of the film’s magnetism is in its simplicity. “The beach in this film is located in Chania, Crete. It’s called ‘Stavro Beach,’” noted Maria Nicolacakis.
Nicolacakis serves as the annual film festival’s co-director.
“The Akrotiri peninsula with its mountains, play a part in the film. Yet they also serve as a backdrop which provides a rustic canvas,” said Nicolacakis. “Especially for the passion of Zorba as well as the other characters like that of Madam Hortense.”
Amid a lilting dialogue of a storied career as a cabaret entertainer, Madam Hortense’s precarious circumstances in that setting give witness to the unease that is always present living in the village.
This then opens to the next scene which is that of the young widow of the village. “A beautiful wild widow” as Zorba describes her.
She tries to retrieve her goat that the men of the village have hidden from her, in an effort to tease her.
Portrayed by Irene Pappas, the young widow has few words in the entire movie. But her presence is palpable.
Portrayed by Giorgos Fountas, Mavrandoni, the leader of the men of the village antagonizes her because his son is infatuated with the young widow.
Yet the young widow isn’t interested in any of the men of the village. This, as Zorba explains, aggravates and frustrates the men of the village especially, Mavrandoni.
To complicate and aggravate things further, the young widow takes a liking to Basil. While Zorba encourages him to approach the young widow, Basil is reserved, reluctant.
Inexperienced in romance Basil is cautious and hesitant. Whereas, Zorba is eager and seemingly fearless in just about everything he does. He tells Basil he analyzes too much.
Needless to say, the efforts to restore the lignite mine and bring it back into operation fail. But the dynamics between the young Basil and the middle-aged Zorba is at the heart of the story.
Expressing comedic moments, unusual tenderness and heart-wrenching drama, its clear to understand why the film was an unexpected success-hit.
The crescendo of the film is the disturbing demise of both the “foreigner” Madam Hortense and the young widow.
Skourtis explains, “the cruelty of the villagers in ‘Zorba the Greek’ is absolutely not random or merely a dramatic device.”
“It is deeply connected, said Skourtis, both to Greek historical experience and to a timeless human pattern.”
Providing some historical context, Skourtis noted. “Kazantzakis wrote his novel shortly after World War II and the Greek Civil War.” The Greek Civil War took place almost immediately after World War II between 1946 to 1949.
“At that time, said Skourtis, Greece was extremely poor, socially traumatized, filled with loss, fear, and violence.” “It was deeply conservative and was a country/region of closed communities.”
When reflecting upon the tense and disturbing scene when the young widow is killed, Skourtis said. “In a patriarchal society, this is already ‘guilt’ and the goat scene is highly symbolic.”
“The men of the village hide the young widow’s goat,” he said.
“They take it so to take away her livelihood.” “They watch her silently, said Skourtis, a collective voyeurism.” “The men laugh and take pleasure in her humiliation,” he added.
The young widow’s refusal to give in to them or to follow the conventional conditions the entire village believes she must adhere to makes her dangerous in their eyes. She is dangerous even though she does nothing bad or harmful to anyone.
Skourtis explains further. “The young widow is very clearly a scapegoat.” Elaborating a bit more, he said. “She is not punished for what she does, but for what she is: young, beautiful, alone, not owned by a man.”
Ruminating deeply on the script and it’s cinematic impact, Skourtis said in pondering…“Why kill one of their own?”
“This is one of the darkest truths of the film: “Societies often hate free people more than outsiders,” he said.
“The young widow reminds them of: the life they lost, the desires they suppressed and the courage they never had,” he said.
“So she must disappear.” The scene is even more chilling because the young widow is killed during a church service. Only Basil, Zorba and the village beggar, whom the young widow fed mourns her; everyone else is indifferent, callous.
Skourtis points out… “Kazantzakis’ deeper message is not simply condemning the villagers. He reveals something brutal: When people cannot bear their own lives, they destroy anyone who reminds them that another life is possible.”
Even with the death of Madam Hortense and the killing of the young widow, Zorba mourns, but is still determined to live. He urges Basil to do the same.
Right from the beginning of the movie, Zorba expresses a zest for life and a passion that defies logic. His attraction to and love for Basil seems off-kilter. Yet as Mavroudi-Steck says.
“Zorba centers around the meaning of freedom, the passion for life and the acceptance of how perishable we are.”
She also points out. “It confronts rationality with instinct, teaching that real happiness is ‘here and now’ in the ability to dance even when everything around you falls to ruins.”
This is why the film ends with Zorba and Basil dancing. Is Basil the unexpected embodiment of Dimitri the first-born son? Perhaps!
Zorba lost his first born son Dimitri when the little son was 3 years old. That’s when Zorba was married with wife and house “and the whole catastrophe,” as Zorba tells Basil on the boat when they first meet.
So full of grief, to keep from bursting with sorrow, he danced. People at the funeral thought Zorba was mad.
Yet Zorba then realized that at that moment his zeal for life is a madness.
One needs a bit of that zealous madness he tells Basil cut the rope of fear in order to be truly free and dance, no matter what happens in life.
“The legendary dance at the end, Mavroudi-Steck says of the film, symbolizes human endurance and the ability to continue regardless of adversities.”
Recommending audiences to watch one of Greek cinema’s enduring iconic films, Mavroudi-Steck said. “The movie leaves you with a feeling of freedom. It’s freedom from social musts, prejudices, and fear of death.”
To learn more about the San Francisco Greek Film Festival, visit the website. And to watch “Zorba The Greek,” it’s available on streaming platforms such as Apple and Fandango as well as Amazon Prime.
