Zorba the Greek
October 2004 Reviewed by: Eric Hetherington Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Zorba the Greek, based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, tells the story of Basil, a young Englishman, and his Greek employee, Zorba. Basil is traveling to some property on Crete that has been left to him by his father in hopes of revitalizing it and curing his bout with writer's block. On the way to his property he encounters Zorba, a larger-than-life character who agrees to work with Basil to get the mine on the property up and working. In the end, Zorba does much more by showing Basil the value of life. At one point Zorba proclaims, "Life is trouble. Only death is not."

The film is not so much concerned with the narrative about the mine, but rather in showing the lives of Basil and Zorba and how they each respond to what life has to offer. The film can be viewed as an existential exploration of how we should relate to the world and the value that other people can have in our lives.

Quinn's performance is beyond reproach. He embraces the character in such a way that the actor disappears and all that is left is Zorba. Quinn would return to the role years later in a musical production; we are able to learn more about Quinn in the A & E Biography episode that is included on this disc. At times, Quinn himself seems larger than life -- both as a multi-talented artist (actor, painter, and sculptor) and in his private life. Other extras include short newsreel clips from the filming and premiere of the film and trailers, both for this film and others in the Studio Classics series. The director of the film also provides a nice commentary track.

The most interesting extra is an alternate beginning in which Zorba provides a voiceover about God as we see God sitting among the clouds with Heaven and Hell on either side of him. God is played by Quinn, as Zorba says that he pictures God as a larger version of himself. This beginning would have significantly changed the opening tone of the film, and so it is instructive to have it here. Those interested in the construction of movies could learn a lot by thinking about just how this opening would have changed the film.

The video and audio quality of this disc is adequate, but I found myself hoping for a crisper video transfer and a less-shrill soundtrack. In some scenes the grays appear almost washed out, which results in the scene appearing slightly out of focus. This didn't happen often during the film, but it was annoying in a couple of early scenes. Night scenes were also not as well presented and at one point it looked as if the projector bulb was dying. The soundtrack is full of traditional Greek instruments that, admittedly, can sound shrill, but the problem seemed to be in the recording, not the instruments.

These occasional blemishes did not detract from my enjoyment and they may be due to the condition of the film, but they were noticeable.

But all in all, Zorba the Greek's Academy Award for cinematography is well deserved as it succeeds in making the island of Crete one of the main characters of the film. The film is both thoughtful and beautiful -- a combination which is rare and makes for an excellent, must-see film.

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