Quando os Peixes Saíram da Água

I watched this movie on-line (couldn't find it any other way - search for the Greek title "Όταν τα Ψάρια Βγήκαν στη Στεριά") for the main reason that it was filmed at the village my mother came from, Galaxidi, which is not an island but nevertheless looks and feels like an island. In fact, my grandmother owned the only hotel at the time and it was used to host the leading actors, while she herself had to host the music composer at her home (Theodorakis), the place I am currently sitting to write this review while on vacation.

The film is certainly weird, I guess Kakogiannis tried to do something progressive on his own after the wild success he met with "Zorba the Greek". One has to take into account that 1967 was the beginning of a 7 year dictatorship period for Greece where the military was in control. At that time there was a push to promote tourism and align Greece to the modern times, even if that meant dressing people in funny costumes to follow the hippie trends, show tolerance to homosexuality and the whims of tourists. I think it was around that time that the Greek islands like Myconos, Rhodos & Corfu became tourist attractions.

The film did remind me a bit of Dr. Strangelove and the dancing style looked really familiar making me believe that it was Fotis Metaxopoulos doing the Choreography (he did it for the majority of Greek films of the time).

I mostly liked the 2 stranded pilots and the leading actress that came late in the film but it still looked gorgeous. I somehow expected a happy ending so the abrupt finish was a bit of a surprise.

I think the film is enjoyable and is worth seeing to get the hippie feeling of those times.

Michael Cacoyannis, the Greek director, working on his own material, gives us an intriguing look at a would be catastrophic end for all the people in a remote Greek island where nothing ever happens, but where just by a freak accident, it is suddenly possible.

We meet the Navigator and the Pilot, two Englishmen that have been wrecked after their aircraft, carrying two atom bombs, suffer an accident. This accident, and its dire consequences, bring to the island of Makos, in the Aegean Sea, a team of investigators led by Elias, who pretends they are interested in building a hotel in the arid place. The canny inhabitants of the island are confused as to why do they pick a place in the middle of nowhere instead of right on one of the lovely beaches.

Throughout the film we watch the two crew members running around the island in tattered briefs that, at times, seem not to hide any of the two men's charms. Word gets out that Makos is going to become fashionable and soon the jet set descends in the place, attired in weird futuristic costumes.

The island suddenly changes into a touristy place where the fun goes on forever, bu unaware of the danger from the possibility of the bombs exploding at any moment. There is an ironic twist when a peasant couple discovers one of the devices. Not knowing what it is, they are able to cut with acid into the strange box only to find out strange balls. The woman decides to keep two for her young son to play, but ultimately, the husband, upon discovering them, and thinking they are nothing, throws them into the water system.

The film seems sadly dated. Since there are so many characters, no one seems to dominate the proceedings. Tom Courtney and Colm Blakely are good as the Navigator and the Pilot. Sam Wanamaker is the head of the people trying to find the devices. Candice Bergen is seen as a model type who sets shop in the island.

Where can I get a copy of this film? It was shown in late '67 in London and after very bad reviews was closed after 2 weeks and never seen again. The British Film Institute, when I asked over 10 years ago, only had some storyboards but no copy.

Having read the comments about the confused nature and baffling plot of the film, I can only support these from the point of view of someone who was an extra in the film. Yes we had to wear cheaply made primary coloured cotton clothes (and in my case some wrap-round 'shades' that made sweat run into your eyes.) I was travelling in an old VW van with fellow students, and we were recruited in Athens, and paid 10 shillings a day each with a cold chicken meal thrown in. Filming seemed chaotic and often appeared to made up on the spot (a bunch of bikers were filmed at one point), and at night most takes were stopped when the arc lamps burnt out. The dead fish in the harbour mostly sank. The third assistant director had great fun trying to get us to act as a crowd. The local cops prowled about looking for some longhairs to beat up (not us though as we had wheels).

The wonderful Sam Wanamaker looked stately on set, Candice Bergen looked very nice from where I stood in the background on a night shoot, Tom Courtney looked lonely off set. Colin Blakeley became a favourite actor of mine when I spotted him as I walked down the harbour towards the house used as the wardrobe, lurking in costume rags. The Wardrobe Mistress - a formidable women - passed by and told him in forthright terms to clear off as we were on the set (the whole harbour). With a grunt he shambled off in the character of a tramp. Minutes later he was on camera scoffing food at a table! Priceless! Where can I get a copy of this film?

I disagree with many of the other comments here. This film is truly worth seeing, although it is hard to find. I caught it on the Fox Movie Channel. True, the editing is crude and the film has an uneven feel. But the amateurish feel only adds to the charm, and the viewer has many messages he can choose to take with him or not. The costuming seems to parody the then current London mod craze with hilarious results. Many of the costumes for both men and women have strategically placed "cut-outs" that make the attire seem both naughty and funny at the same time. See this film for the costumes if no other reason. I think you will find this little comedy of errors charming.

This unusual, way-out, black comedy about the destruction of humanity via nuclear weapons is like a surreal, gay dream. Filmed in 1967, it takes place in the near future of 1972. Courtenay and Blakley are flying a plane containing two nuclear bombs and an additional radioactive weapon that's contained in an impenetrable box. When the plane begins to crash, they offload the weapons, per their orders, and abandon the plane themselves. They wash ashore on a partially uninhabited Greek island in (inexplicably) just their underwear and have trouble coming up with a reasonable excuse they can give the villagers. Meanwhile, Wanamaker already believes them dead and amasses a team of soldiers to descend on the island and retrieve the lost weaponry. In order to keep suspicion down, they arrive in sportswear and present themselves as hotel builders. However, the sportswear is so hilariously fruity and since there are no women in their party, Courtenay and Blakley assume that they're a band of homosexuals! Adding to the confusion are a goatherd and his wife who have taken the boxed weapon to their hut and are trying every means they can think of to open it, believing it to have gold inside. Eventually, with all the interest on the part of the "hoteliers", swarms of tourists swoop down on the island and practically take it over. Then, when relics are discovered, archaeologists head there, too! It is here that Bergen makes her long-awaited appearance. She sets her sights on one of the disguised soldiers (Ogilvy) and complicates matters even more with her excavation equipment. The whole film is a comedy of errors as characters continuously misinterpret one another and nearly miss connecting with each other. The ending is abrupt, to say the least. but at last the title makes sense. Courtenay and Blakley make a truly odd duck pair and their Mutt 'n Jeff routine is only sporadically amusing, if at all. Fans of theirs owe it to themselves to see this, though, as they parade around for most of the film in the flimsiest of white briefs, especially Courtenay's almost thong-like undies! Wanamaker is forceful and displays quite a fit body of his own. His team of men wears the most bizarre and hallucinatory clothing imaginable. Nearly all of them are drop-dead gorgeous and their clothes are built to show off their assets as much as possible (trunks and clamdiggers with pieces cut out, impossibly snug crotches, shirts with mesh fronts, et al...) Bergen has a surprisingly brief role, but she does impress with her stunning looks. Never more tan or blonde, her clothes make the most of her youthful body as well and she gives the film a lift with her energy (even if her acting hadn't fully taken root yet.) Though the film is rather patchy and confusing at times (the cast wasn't even allowed to know the plot!), there is a story at work here and some thought given to the evils of greed, dominance, militarism, materialism, etc... It just isn't as coherent as one might like. The primary appeal is the chance to see Bergen at her loveliest, the frenetic dancing of the tourists, the wacky costumes of virtually everyone and the fleet of healthy men in various stages of undress.