Search - A Girl in Black on DVD

Absolutly magical and emotional

05/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Girl in Black "reveals Elli Lambetti as an actress of truly tragic stature." The story of a young Athenian writer on holiday who falls in love with a girl of impoverished gentility and is unable to respond to her. A disaster provoked by spiteful peasants shocks him into a new awareness of his own involvement in life. The film has a simplicity and a vibrancy that make it stand out from even the best of foreign films."

A Masterpiece...

alamsami | 06/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This low-budget little film received international acclaim due to it's excellent acting and haunting & simple photography. The film is set on the island of Hydra and tells a tragic love story.
There's never been anyone like Ellie Lambeti since, this is a true Gem."

Michael cacoyannis: A girl in Black

Inez Holmes | Ferney-Voltaire, France | 08/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this film two Athenians, an architect and a novelist, on holiday in a Greek island, are confronted with an archaic society merciless in the double standards it applies to men and women it sees as sexual offenders, in this case a love-starved widow and her bragging seducer. The novelist's wooing of the widow's daughter (the Girl in Black) stirs up trouble with the girl's rejected suitor, and their rivalry leads to a situation of almost unbearable suspense and a tragedy that neither could have foreseen. The harsh world of the island, beautifuly and appropriately filmed in stark black and white under the relentless glare of the Mediterranean sun, forms the backdrop to a tale of extreme cruelty mitigated only by the empathy that is one of Cacoyannis's most appealing characteristics. His direction is largely responsible for the success this magnificent film enjoyed in its day, as is the photography of Walter Lassally, who performed prodigies of skill with the one camera that was apparently allotted to him for this low-cost film made entirely on location. The director is well served by a trio of sensitive actors, Dimitri Horn, George Foundas and, last but not least, the poignantly beautiful Ellie Lambetti, who plays the title role.

Despite the archaism of the society it depicts, "A Girl in Black" has lost none of its interest today and it is hard to explain why this masterpiece is not better known."

Somber and simple

Rizzo | Denver, CO | 08/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Writer director, Cacoyannis has done numerous films and probably the most popular is the 50's movie, Zorba the Greek which starred Anthony Quinn.

This black and white 1956 Greek film tells the story of a family two adult children, Marina, a beautiful young woman, her brother Mitso, now unemployed, and the mother, who became a widow at 32. The father was a merchant with wealth and now, the family's home is in disrepair and they are hounded by shame, hate and death, and more recently toward the mother, who is looked upon as a [...], simply because she needs love and affection too.

When two men arrive from Athens for relaxation and the family rents the upstairs to the men, and the writer, also known as a playboy, falls for Marina. The young men in the community, mostly strapping handsome men, view Marina as a stuck-up who doesn't talk to anyone. We learn from the past that Christo was in love with Mariana before, but he used her plain-looking sister to get to Marina and that sister drowned by the hurt. Christo and his buddies taunt her and her family and for laughs, they play a trick on the man from Athens who is in love with her. The cruel trick goes awry with devastating results.

With color, the views in Greece would be gorgeous. Don't expect a really memorable film, it is somber and simple. No other special features come with the DVD. ...Rizzo
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