Old Greek Movies

The first thing one has to know about Greek movies is that they  have a long and rich story.

In the beginning the typical Greek movie has is special kind of introduction, named in french: ''Film en fustanelle '' his is considered to be a typical part in the genre of the Greek movie. It conveys the concept of "Greekness" out, coming from the society and traditional customs (subgenus of bucolic idyll) or the ancestral struggle for freedom and justice (sub-gender of rural social drama) . For most of these films, the plot takes place during the second half of the nineteenth century or early twentieth century, in a peaceful period, in a past 'reinvented'.The movies back then were also ethnographic (a branch of anthropology dealing with the scientific description of individual cultures.).

The main characters are young people facing the overwhelming weight of tradition. Here, gender splits into two sub-genres : Bucolic idyll (young men fighting for their love and ancestral customs seem to prevent any happy ending) or rural social drama (the romantic idyll is the excuse / the description of the ills of the rural community).Examples of those movies are: Εσμέ, η Τουρκοπούλα (Esmé, i Tourkopoula), Λύγκος ο λεβέντης (Lygos o leventis) and Οι σφαίρες δεν γυρίζουν πίσω (I sféres then yirízoun píso).

In another register, Greek movies have their own “Charlie Chaplin”. One of the most popular movies of this category is  “Ο έρως της Κοντσέττας σώζει τον Μιχαήλ” (O éros tis Kontséttas sózi ton Michaíl).

Unfortunately, many of these films have disappeared because of the Second World War, and those who survived it are hard to find. If you want to see or learn more about the cinema from these times, we suggest you to go to the Museum of Greek Cinema.

We have 80 guests and no members online

Loading ...