Antigone

...Or, Two Rights Make A Wrong. Over the years I've seen many versions of Antigone, both films and TV and even read two translations of the timeless tale by Sophocles but I was mainly interested in seeing this one as I've never heard it spoken in Greek before. Can't understand a word; whether it makes it more authentic or not is debatable - and after digesting all the concepts in the play whether you need another idea to debate is also debatable – but it certainly adds another dimension.

Strong minded woman Antigone wants to bury her brother Polyneices returned from exile who kills but is killed in battle by her other brother Eteocles who is feted as Thebes' saviour and given a hero's burial. Wilful King Creon decrees death to anyone honourably burying the traitor Polyneices bringing calamity and endless moral dilemmas for all concerned. Antigone is excellently played by Irene Papas, fresh from The Guns of Navarone the year before. This is Sophocles whizzed through in eighty minutes, concentrating on this wilfulness, pride and refusal to listen either to their gods, counsel or commonsense. It's been a salutary lesson for all people but especially despots and politicians of all eras; some wilfully blind leaders lead nations to war and destruction with their gods on their side and in the aftermath justify themselves even if it means black must be white…and vv too of course. The ever modern tragedies are that the despots and politicians never heed the lessons in here though and indeed that ordinary people still desire shepherds to lead them. Without going into any of the moral and ethical points raised (plenty mentioned in other comments here) as a film it's a reasonable effort and well acted and engrossing enough although I'd always imagined Thebes to be a little grander somehow. If you're still unsure: memorable, lots to chew over but absolutely no laughs.

Moral claims do not give rise to philosophical grounds. Yet, In Antigone it is clear that moral actions prompt philosophical questions, and inherently make good drama.

This review acts as a strict focus on how moral and ethical points are made throughout the film, and how they act as catalysts to progress the story and keep the viewer involved. Be it known that I have not read the Sopheclean text of Antigone, and fully derive all of my comments and criticisms solely within the boundaries of the film.

The character flaws present in the film mostly derive from wayward and distorted adherences to moral ideologies. For example, Antigone's ethical and moral backbone throughout the film is guided by powerful intangibles like love and loneliness, which makes her rash and at times misguided. Creon's moral code is also in knots as he acts as a Euthyphro in the fact that he is conflicted and contradictory to many of his beliefs that shape him, i.e. his aforementioned moral code.

Values undoubtedly shaped the society of Ancient Greece. Loyalty was a cornerstone value in this society, yet loyalty drifts and fades as tides turn in Antigone. For example, as Creon is crowned King of Thebes he is shown immediate support as the new benevolent King, yet mourning for Oedipus, or any mention of him whatsoever is non existent. Is this a loyal Thebes? Though support of Creon was warranted by his grace, the remembrances of a fallen king laid flat.

As Creon sits on his thrown surrounded by his court he states, "The country's foe is always mine." Little did Creon know that he was the biggest threat to his country, and thus his own foe. Because of the nature of Greek Tragedies and the intuition of most people, the common viewer could understand this at first glimpse. It was clear that Creon's hubris and pride would be his downfall.

Antigone, acting as the protagonist in the film, is the embodiment of good. Yet, contradictions within her moral ideology leads to questioning what "good" actually is. Is her entire moral and ethical embodiment good? Is it her choices of which moral standpoints to act upon that are what is good? Or is it her actions that are good? Simply put, Antigone is a walking paradox. It is impossible to know what is good. Acting against Zeus due to her undying love and care for her brother, or burying her brother because it is just in the Gods' eyes to do so. Both are contradictory and both can be good.

It is clear that both the protagonist and antagonist have inner conflicts. Their inner ideologies contradict. What makes one a "protagonist" and another an "antagonist" lies in the fact that the shared ideologies between them also conflict. Inner contradictions within an individual which conflict with another individuals already clashing ideologies makes it impossible to know who is right and who is wrong. Both characters were acting upon the same ethical grounds. They acted to safeguard human law, religious law, and family values. Is it then that moral grounds are shaped by convenience and circumstance? Does one's moral backbone fit the skeleton of a different distortion of themselves? Is moral rectitude a variable of space and time? Is it the contradictions of moral standpoints that are convenient because they can be malleable to fit any form? These are the questions that I believe the film poses.

The film does a fantastic job at examining exactly what grants a legitimate moral claim or action, which most people are curious about. Reason is man's most precious gift, and by the will of nature, the tone of his reasoning is determined by his moral code.

Easy to define it as inspired adaptation of Sophocles play. The superb Antigone proposed by Irene Papas, Creod isolated in his convinctions and fears and presumed vulnerabilitz, well performed by Manos Katrakis , Maro Kodou as Ismene or Ilia Lyvikou as Euridyce are the good reasons to see it as exceptional adaptation.

But the basic reason remains the option of Giorgos Tzavellas to suggest a direct interogation to audience.

Gestures in name of justice.

Laws and attitudes.

Radical answers against injustice.

And falls.

Indeed, all known from the Old Greek or Philosophy classes , from lectures of early ages , from other adaptations.

But the strong virtue of Irene Papas to be one with her character , maybe the language itself , maybe the set are details giving to this Antigoni a profound special status . And this makes it real different.

Antigone, written by Sophocles, is a characteristic Greek tragedy where the city's king, Creon, is faced with a moral dilemma that eventually hastens his fall from grace. Set in antiquity, the movie's plot is designed to question presupposed ideas of justice and wisdom as they were seen through the ancient Greek perspective.

In the movie, the protagonist, Antigone, is faced with a moral dilemma after her king, Creon, orders that her brother should be left unburied (a terrible punishment in ancient Greek culture since it would prevent his passage through the river Styx). Eventually, Despite the king's decree, Antigone decided that her brother's death with-out burial was unjust and challenged Creon's authority to prevent his burial by performing the ritual herself. After the discovery of her crime, Creon sentences Antigone to death – an act that created a great deal of unpopularity in the kingdom and incited lines of questioning very similar to contemporary Socratic arguments.

Creon's decision to sentence Antigone to death and her brother to a hellish afterlife were seen as unjust and despotic by the people of Thebes and caused his wisdom/authority to be questioned. Since ancient Greeks believed that the Sovereign set the morality of their city state, the act of questioning alone represents Socratic argument. Sophocles sets up questioning, in a manner very similar to Socratic arguments made through Euthyphro and Apology, by using Creon's own son and oracle to test Creon's judgment in an attempt to show that just being a king does not make someone wise or knowledgeable of justice.

The morality of Antigone eventually surfaces after Creon's fall from grace. At the end of the movie, Creon finally sees the error of his ways but Sophocles uses his downfall to express how even king's judgment can be governed through hubris instead of actual wisdom.

Most people who watch this film will be doing it in order to see an example of a classic Greek tragedy. They will be satisfied. It is dignified, stately, and absolutely dripping with fate, destiny, and tragedy.

But what if you are more like an average movie-goer? Does it hold up under more normal criteria? I think it does to some extent, but not particularly well. The plot is started at the very beginning of the opening scene as Antigone expresses her determination to bury her dead brother, and everything else follows inevitably - the entire story is plot-driven. It's a rather simple plot, but it does carry you along. I'm not sure there's a lot more that's really compelling about the film. It's pretty stagey, with actors and extras forming nice patterns, as if lining up with chalk lines on the floor. Although there are a number of small processions and such, this is not a costume epic with a cast of thousands and crane shots filling the screen with colourful eye candy. It's filmed in black and white. Is the acting good? Sure, but bear in mind that the range of emotions is quite limited, and characters pretty much talk in set speeches. They do imbue their dignified speeches with the correct emotions and make them sound sincere.

But, to be honest, I don't think you would recommend this film to anyone unless they had a pre-existing interest in classical Greek drama.