The Travelling Players (1975)

Greece, 1939-1952: Fascist, Nazi, and Communist conflict, as seen through the eyes of a family of travelling provincial players.

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writer:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Stars:

Eva Kotamanidou, Vangelis Kazan, Aliki Georgouli

13 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eva Kotamanidou	...	Electra
Vangelis Kazan	...	Aegisthus
Aliki Georgouli	...	Clytemnestra
Kiriakos Katrivanos	...	Pylades
Stratos Pahis	...	Agamemnon
Nina Papazaphiropoulou	...	Old Woman
Giannis Fyrios	...	Accordionist
Alekos Boubis	...	Old Man
Maria Vassiliou	...	Chrysothemis
Grigoris Evangelatos	...	Poet
Petros Zarkadis	...	Orestes
Kosta Stiliaris	...	Chites Leader
Nena Menti	...	Communist Singing Girl
Giorgos Mazis
Costas Messaris

Storyline

A group of traveling players peregrinates through Greece attempting to perform the popular erotic drama Golfo The Shepherdess. In a first level the film focuses on the historical events between 1939 and 1952 as they are experienced by the traveling players and as they affect the villages which they visit: The last year of Metaxas' fascist dictatorship, the war against the Italians, the Nazi occupation, the liberation, the civil war between left and right wingers, the British and American interventionism in the Greek politics. In a second level the characters live their own drama of jealousy and betrayal, with its roots in the ancient myth of the House of Atreus. Agamemnon, a Greek refugee from Minor Asia, goes to war against the Italians in 1940, joins the resistance against the Germans, and is executed by them after being betrayed by Clytemnestra and Aegisthos. Aegisthos, Clytemnestra's lover, is an informer and collaborator working with the German occupiers. Orestes, son of ...

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | 1950s | 1940s | 1930s | brechtian | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Music | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The whole film is accomplished in around 80 shots.

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Quotes

Elektra's Father: [before he is executed by the Germans] I came cross the sea, from Ionia. Where did you come from?

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Connections

Featured in Fascism Inc. (2014)

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Soundtracks

Mona Lisa
Written by Ray Evans & Jay Livingston
Performed by Nat 'King' Cole

User Reviews

for cinéastes who find Tarkovsky too action-packed

Sixteen years of civil war and social unrest follow a small band of itinerant actors, who offstage are a reluctant audience to the much larger drama of current events. Director Theodoros Angelopoulos is virtually unknown in this country, and it might be a simple question of stamina: this four-hour long Greek tragedy is certainly impressive, but it's also a motion picture deprived of its requisite motion. Angelopoulos favors long takes with extended tracking shots, and seems to be stubbornly opposed to any idea of creative editing. The technique sometimes works, for example when a scene shifts years forward in time within a single, sustained shot, or when the director places what little action there is behind a static camera, focused instead on a neutral image, perhaps a brick wall or a beach at low tide (imagine the masterpiece he could have made by leaving the lens cap on as well). The effect can be hypnotic, but anyone who thinks filmgoing was meant to be an invigorating experience will likely find it a monument to tedium.

Details

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek English German

Release Date:

13 October 1975 (Greece)

Also Known As:

The Travelling Players

Filming Locations:

Ioannina, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Papalios Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

230 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1