When I first saw Zorba the Greek 4 years ago, I inwardly thanked my philosophy teacher for having us watch this masterpiece. Today, I am still greatful to him. This movie is definetely one of my all time favorite. The whole cast is great, the story is really close from the book (except for some details that an author can write in a book, but a director can't put easily in a film), images are wonderful, Crete is.perfect. If you have never seen this movie, I recommend it to you.

Michael Cacoyannis was an extremely promising filmmaker prior to making "Zorba the Greek". His films "The Girl in Black," "Stella," and especially "A Matter of Dignity" were remarkable for their intelligence and incisive portraits of modern Greek society. Even his most successful film prior to "Zorba" - his adaptation of Euripides' "Elektra" - was gripping, even if it considerably foreshortened the classical tragedy. The success of those films persuaded Hollywood to beckon Cacoyannis away from Greece, and "Zorba the Greek" was the result.

The film is a star vehicle for Anthony Quinn, which is not a bad thing if you're a Quinn fan. If you aren't, there is always the splendid Alan Bates in the role of a milquetoast writer and the stunning Irene Papas as the village widow. But then there is the altogether awful performance of Lila Kedrova as a French cocotte far past her prime. It's not hard to believe that she won an Oscar for the performance.

But the real problem with the film is Nikos Kazantzakis' terrible novel. Modern Greek literature has produced at least two world-class poets - Cavafy and Ritsos. There have also been several lesser poets, two of whom nevertheless won Nobel Prizes, George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis. But Kazantzakis was not a part of this effluence of demotic Greek talent. He was a self-tormenting Christian on the order of Kierkegaard whose mediocrity did not prevent him from writing an unreadable "sequel" to Homer's "Odyssey".

"Zorba" was aiming at a picaresque portrayal of Greek and Cretan "types", but fails to inspire much sympathy for them. In fact, the villagers in the story (which Cacoyannis follows closely) are portrayed as vicious and spiteful, committing such acts of heartless savagery that no explanation could possibly make sense of it. The film simply leaves the two incidents hanging, and blithely proceeds with the story as if nothing had happened. These gaffes leave the film full of holes. And even the ridiculous final failure at the film's conclusion cannot excuse the cute (and ultimately stupid) little dance in which Quinn and Bates engage, supposedly expressing some kind of acceptance of the absurdity of life. Can any honest viewer conceive of concluding this bitter and unedifying experience with a dance? A quick run back to the video store might be a happier resolution.

Anthony Quinn's performance is phenomenal. In a world filled with ignorance, lack of vision, hate, and the most shameful examples of human depravity, Zorba provides beautifully imperfect goodness. There is no pretense about who Zorba is. Despite his imperfections (and there are so many), he is genuine love, kindness and passion. The scene where Zorba remains by his dying wife's (Madame Hortense) side is pure and sweet and extremely moving. While the greedy masses, like vultures, swoop in to steal any possible item from this woman's home, Zorba provides profound comfort, while most others would have reacted differently. I can't believe it took me 40 years to see this movie. Gracias, Se?or Quinn!