Michael Cacoyannis

The director was instrumental in the success of Greek superstar Melina Mercouri, guiding her through the multi-award-winning Stella (1955). Caccoyannis' first significant international success was Electra (1961), a fluid adaptation of the venerable Euripides play. His biggest hit was Zorba the Greek (1964), which fully demonstrated the influence that the Italian neorealist movement had had in the director's work. Unfortunately, Caccoyannis' next film, The Day the Fish Came Out (1967), was an expensive disaster, though he more than compensated for this set-back with his critically acclaimed The Trojan Women (1971) (he'd previously directed the well-received Broadway stage version of this ancient drama in 1963). After a long absence from the screen, Michael Caccoyannis directed the 1986 film Sweet Country, which received negative criticism at the time, but looks better with each passing year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide