''Phaedra'' ( el, Φαίδρα) is a 1962 American-Greek

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin (December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, whe ...

as a vehicle for his partner (and future wife) Melina Mercouri, after her worldwide hit ''

Never on Sunday ''Never on Sunday'' ( el, Ποτέ την Κυριακή, ) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin. The film tells the story of Ilya, a Greek prostitute (Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an Am ...

''. The film was the fourth collaboration between Dassin and Mercouri, who took the title role. Greek writer Margarita Liberaki adapted

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

' '' Hippolytus'' into a melodrama concerning the rich society of ship owners and their families, but still containing some of the tragic elements of the ancient drama. The film is set in Paris, London, and the Greek island of Hydra.

Plot

Phaedra, second wife of shipping tycoon Thanos (

Raf Vallone The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...

), falls in love with her husband's son from his first marriage, Alexis (

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

). The love is doomed from the very beginning but they are unable to control their feelings.

Production

''Phaedra'' was filmed in Greece, France, and Great Britain. The production company Jorilie Productions is only credited by the American copyright source and the films status as a French co-production is unconfirmed. The movie was released in 1962. It was a hit in Europe but a

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fr ...

failure in the USA. Although Mercouri and Perkins became friends during the filming, the magazines, and especially ''Esquire'' magazine, attacked the film, because of Perkins's vulnerability. ''Phaedra'' was one of several films that teamed Perkins with notable older female stars.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

. In the soundtrack, Melina Mercouri sang two songs. The first one was written by

Nikos Gatsos Nikos Gatsos ( el, Νίκος Γκάτσος; 8 December 1911 – 12 May 1992) was a Greek poet, translator and lyricist. Biography Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the Peloponnese, where he finished primary sch ...

, a major Greek poet, and was sung by Mercouri and Perkins after their love scene in Paris. The other one was heard in the film as the main love theme. Both of the songs are popular in Greece and they have been performed by hundreds of singers and actors. The toccata from

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's Toccata and Fugue for organ in F major, BWV 540 was used prominently in the film.

DVD

''Phaedra'' was released to DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on June 6, 2011, as a Region 1 fullscreen DVD-on-demand disc via MGM's Limited Edition Collection available through Amazon.

References

External links

* 1962 films 1962 drama films American drama films American multilingual films Greek drama films Greek multilingual films English-language Greek films Films directed by Jules Dassin Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis Films based on works by Euripides Modern adaptations of works by Euripides Works based on Hippolytus (play) Films shot in Hydra Films shot in France Films set in Greece Phaedra 1960s American films {{1960s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Production

Soundtrack

DVD

See also

References

External links