{"id":33094,"date":"2026-02-26T03:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33094"},"modified":"2026-02-26T03:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T11:03:59","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-iphigenia-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33094","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: IPHIGENIA (1977)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u2018Limited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now\navailable for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I haven\u2019t read up on Greek myths in many years, and while\nI\u2019m aware of several figures and stories, Iphigenia<\/em> isn\u2019t one that I\u2019m\nimmediately familiar with. It\u2019s a memorable story about a king who offends a\ngoddess. As punishment for crimes committed against the temple of the deity, he\nis told that he must sacrifice his oldest daughter. Obviously, that\u2019s about the\nworst punishment one could possibly imagine, leading to plenty of drama. The\nstory has been relayed many times over the years, both with happy and downbeat\nendings, which also means that viewers don\u2019t always know how things are going\nto wrap up when they see a new adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking cinematic versions is Iphigenia<\/em>\n(1977), a Greek feature that embraced all the tragic aspects of the story. It\nwas nominated for both a Palm d\u2019Or and an Academy Award for Best Foreign\nLanguage Film and it is clear to see why. This is an impressive production with\nbeautiful photography and a large scale with numerous extras. Yet it is still\nfocused on the personal drama emphasizing the characters and the situation over\nany sort of action and spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radiance Films has just released a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray\nof the movie that delivers a very sharp presentation of the film, along with\nsome supplemental material that will give viewers important background\ninformation about the title and this unique telling of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For those who haven\u2019t seen it, the story begins just before\nthe start of the Trojan War. Greek Mycenaean King Menelaus is about to send his\narmies across the Mediterranean Sea to Troy in order to collect his wife,\nHelen, who has left him for the king ruling that land. Unfortunately, the\nentire army, led by Agamemnon (Kostas Kazakos), is grounded on the coast when\nthe east wind dies out. The army is ready to fight, anxious and getting\nincreasingly annoyed of waiting in the stifling heat for conditions to improve.\nIn fact, they\u2019re ready to turn on their leader. In order to calm them down,\nAgamemnon allows his soldiers to raid a farm, and in the process, they end up\nkilling a sacred deer of the god Artemis. Word comes from Agamemnon\u2019s estranged\nbrother and fellow leader Menelaus (Costas Carras) that Artemis\u2019s\nspokesperson\/oracle (Dimitris Aronis) says the god is angered by this act of\nviolence. As punishment, the king must sacrifice his eldest daughter, and only\nthen will the winds begin blowing eastward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, Agamemnon is horrified by the demands. After\ntrying to talk his way around it and arguing with Menelaus for some time (in\nthe process pointing out his brother\u2019s selfish reasons for wanting the\nsacrifice to go ahead), he ultimately relents. His army is about to turn on\nhim, guaranteeing failure for the mission and the end of his own life. So,\nAgamemnon concocts an elaborate scheme, sending false word home that his\nteenage daughter Iphigenia (Tatiana Papamoschou) is to be married to Achilles\n(Panos Mihalopoulos), the greatest of all Greek warriors, and that she should\nbe sent alone to him to take part in the quick nuptials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her mother, Clytemnestra (Irene Papas) ignores the\nstipulations, traveling with her daughter to prepare for the wedding. The\nfigure\u2019s arrival forces Agamemnon into a web of lies that is soon undone when\nClytemnestra starts asking questions. This includes finding Achilles, who is\ncompletely unaware of this wedding. He\u2019s so furious at being used by the king\nthat he states his willingness to stand and protect Iphigenia from any kind of\nharm. As the army gets word of the sacrifice and threatens to brutally slaughter\nthe girl themselves, things turn ugly, leading to tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a very interesting update of the story. While fantastical, it does try to add some realism to the storytelling. We see the army suffering early on in the sweltering heat without much consideration from their superiors. They lack the proper supplies, passing the time trying to avoid overheating and sweating profusely. Additionally, the movie doesn\u2019t really show the gods as being real entities, with the demands coming exclusively from human oracles. During the climax, the film subtly suggests that these deities may not be all- powerful or perhaps real at all, as the weather begins to change well before the sacrifice occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drama between the characters is well-handled, with young\nPapamoschou making a strong impression. The princess does eventually learn that\nthe plan is to sacrifice her. After getting over the initial horror of what\nmight occur, she ponders the potential outcomes, and what might happen to her\nfamily if she doesn\u2019t go through with the ceremony. It all leads to a powerful\nclimax that, while dark, certainly keeps viewers engaged in the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s an excellent film and, once again, Radiance Films has\ntaken great care with the \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray release. This is a\nhigh-definition digital transfer, and it looks very good. Admittedly, the\nopening optical titles have speckles and dirt present, and the closing credits\ndo look a bit worse for wear, but the feature itself is quite sharp and crisp\nwith minimal grain and almost no speckles. The cinematography is impressive,\nwith shots that occurred during magic hour. Images on the beach with the large\narmy and warships are also striking (mostly because hundreds of real extras are\nbeing used, as opposed to computer effects).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Included on the disc is an interview with a Greek film\nexpert on the movie and its director, Michael Cacoyannis. This was part of a\nwell-regarded trilogy of classic Greek myth stories that the moviemaker helmed\n(along with Electra <\/em>in 1962 and The Trojan Women<\/em> in 1971).\nCuriously enough, each story in the series takes place earlier than the one\nbefore it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film historian notes some of the changes made from the\noriginal legend (particularly with the beginning and end of the picture) and\nmakes a case for the strong female characters in the story. Praise is also\nheaped on the director for making the environment look incredibly hot and\nuncomfortable, with the characters covered in sweat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also an interview from Cannes with director Michael\nCacoyannis and actress Irene Papas in which the filmmaker details why the story\nstill resonates today (which would have been in the 1970s) as well as its\nthemes. Footage from a press conference is also included, where Cacoyannis\ndiscusses his casting decisions and working with the actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A book with writing on the movie is also included. And, like\nall other titles from the distributor, it all comes packaged in with a\nremovable OBI strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve read about or seen any pictures\nbased around Greek myths, but these stories can still make an impact on modern\naudiences. The decision to add a few unique updates to the storytelling and the\nfilm;s themes really make it stand out as an impactful title, even many years\nafter its initial release. If that wasn\u2019t enough, the disc\u2019s supplements are\nalso helpful in adding even more layers to the movie. Iphigenia <\/em>is\nanother great Blu-ray from Radiance Films and gets a big recommendation from\nthis reviewer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u2018Limited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now available for purchase. I haven\u2019t read up on Greek myths in many years, and while I\u2019m aware of several figures and stories, Iphigenia isn\u2019t one that I\u2019m immediately familiar with. It\u2019s a memorable story about a king who offends a goddess. As punishment for crimes committed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[108,2921,2933,8611,8614,9921,9922,9923,16584],"class_list":["post-33094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-108","tag-blasts-form-the-past-blu-ray-reviews","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-greek","tag-greek-myth","tag-iphigenia","tag-iphigenia-blu-ray-review","tag-iphigenia-review","tag-radiance-films"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}