Streaming Antigone Online
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Streaming Antigone Online.
Movie Title: Antigone Antigone is available for streaming or downloading. |
This 1961 version of Sophocle’s tragic drama “Antigone” will not work as an introduction to Greek tragedy. The play is performed in Greek (with subtitles), so I would never recommend it as the first exposure any one has to the performance of an mature play; there is a 1972 version with Genevieve Bujold that would better benefit. However, this particular version does offer Irene Pappas, long considered one of the greatest of Greek actresses, in one of the greatest roles in the nation’s history (the only thing better would be to contemplate her beget “Medea”–or maybe Clytemnestra in the “Orestia”) . Of course, when “Antigone” was first performed women were not allowed to be actresses; in fact, the only women allowed in the theater of Dionysus in Athens were prostitutes. Pappas is a shade too aged for the role, but there is a sense in which performing these plays is more akin to opera than old theater. Besides, she plays up Antigone’s stubborn wander in a plan that gives entirely unique shadings to mighty of the play.
Following the ending of “Oedipus the King,” Oedipus was exiled from Thebes, blind and a beggar. We also learn from “Oedipus at Colonus” that his sons, Eteocles and Polyneices engaged in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. The two brothers extinguish each other and Creon (Manos Katrakis), brother of Jocasta, becomes king. He orders that Eteocles, who nobly defended his city, shall receive an advantageous burial, but that Polyneices, for leading the Argive invaders, shall be left unburied. This leads Antigone (Pappas), sister to both of the slain brothers, to have to decide between obeying the rule of the plot, the dictates of familial binds, and the will of the gods.
It is too easy to study the issues of this play, first performed in the 5th century B.C., as being reflected in a host of more contemporary concerns, where the conscience of the individual conflicts with the dictates of the region. The conflict in “Antigone” is not so positive cut: Creon has the honest to punish a traitor and to question trusty citizens to obey. Ismene (Maro Kodou), Antigone’s sister, chooses to obey, but Antigone takes a different path. The fact that the “burial” of her brother consists of the token gesture of throwing dirt upon his face, only serves to underscore the ambiguity of the residence Sophocles is developing. Even though the playwright strips Creon of his son, Haemon (Nikos Kazis) and wife, Eurydice (Ilia Livykou) by the waste of the drama, it is not a fatal verdict rendered against the king’s judgment, but rather the playing out of the tragedy to its grim conclusion.
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The more you know about the conventions of the Greek theater, the more you will delight in this filmed performances. The cast manages to contain the formalities of the venerable drama while infusing the performances with more unusual, naturalistic techniques of acting. Pappas is at the center of the performance unbiased as her character is at the heart of the play. I have seen her in a few roles where she has performed in English, but they only hinted at the legendary passions she displays in this film. This is the one for which you will remember Irene Pappas as an actress.
Irene Pappas is terrific as Antigone, and Manos Katrakis very impressive as Creon (with occasional moments of overacting) . Despite the presence of hundreds of extras, the costumes and settings perceive a bit cheesy by today’s standards. But with a fable this stout, and acting to match, it seems nit-picky to complain.
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Unfortunately, the DVD was made from a dirty print. No restoration appears to have been attempted, and the video compression quality is very dreadful. Even so, this disc is a must-see for lovers of classic Greek drama and fans of Irene Pappas.
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