Phèdre

Finally got to see this one at Film Forum in New York City. My familiarity with the soundtrack music by Mikis Theodorakis had always made me curious about the film. If you can accept the kind of over-the-top acting style of Melina Mercouri and Anthony Perkins, there is much that impresses. The one truly great scene involves their first sexual encounter and it alone makes the film worth seeing. The absolutely stunning musical accompaniment combined with some amazing photography and editing results in a truly breathtaking sequence. The finale with Perkins raving out loud to himself in his car has to be seen to be believed.

This is one of those projects that nobody these days would try, and even though it doesn't entirely succeed, it makes one long for a time when artists took such risks.

The truth is that the film has nothing to do with the classic tragedy of Eurypides, but it is own of the most romantic and tragic films of the 60's. It has own of the most erotic love scenes I ever seen, and one of the best musical score that I ever heard. Melina is more beautiful than ever, Anthony Perkins is excellent as the fragile stepson who is seduced by his father's wife(M.Mercouri.)Valone is superb as the Greek Tycoon. Someone must release again the VHS and the DVD and the CD, because it is a good movie, and it did not deserve the bad criticisms that it received when it was first released.

I saw this movie as a double feature with Black Orpheus in San Francisco in 1963. Anthony Perkins and Melina Mercouri provide brilliant performances. Perkins is excellent as a young sensitive, melancholy, neurotic who has a fatal relationship with an older very wealthy married Mercouri. She buys him a grey Italian sports car and begins a love affair with him. The double whammy effect of Black Orpheus' tragic love story on top of the potently impossible love story in Phaedra had me reeling for days. Wish it was available on video.

I first saw Phaedra almost 40 years ago and still check the Radio Times most

weeks in the hope that it will resurface! I too find it hard to understand why the film seems to have disappeared so completely. Does the critical response at the time of its first release still sour selectors minds?

I would also love to see this movie again. I enjoyed it immensely in 1963 and several times more during the Sixties. The BBC showed a copy in 1970 and the last sighting was in 1980 at the National Film Theatre in London, during a Jules Dassin season. The performances of Melina, Tony Perkins and Raf Vallone are incredible and there is the wonderful music of Theodorakis – thankfully still available. Phaedra, where are you?