Iphigenia (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Michael CacoyannisRelease Date(s)
1977 (February 24, 2026)Studio(s)
Greek Film Center (Radiance Films)- Film/Program Grade: A-
- Video Grade: B-
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: C
Review
Iphigenia was the final chapter in Michael Cacoyannis’ trilogy of films derived from classical Greek tragedies, but just like the source material that inspired him, it wasn’t necessarily the end of the story. All three films were set in and around the events of the Trojan War as dramatized by Euripides, but the plays weren’t composed in chronological order, and Cacoyannis adapted them in the order they were written instead of how they played out dramatically. He started with Electra (c. 420 BC) in 1962, then followed it up with The Trojan Women (c. 415 BC) in 1971. Electra takes place after the war, when Electra and her brother Orestes plot their revenge for the death of their father Agamemnon at the hands of their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. The Trojan Women steps back to the earlier days of the war’s aftermath, when Helen has been recaptured and she awaits her fate along with Andromache, Cassandra, and Hecuba. For Iphigenia in 1977, Cacoyannis (and Euripides) returned to the events prior to the war.
Iphigenia is actually based on the second play that Euripides wrote centering around the character, Iphigenia at Aulis (c. 405 BC), but it actually takes place prior to the first one—which raises some interesting questions, but more on that in a moment. His first play Iphigenia in Tauris (c. 414 BC) details her life in exile at the Temple of Artemis in Taurica after having miraculously escaped being sacrificed by her father Agamemnon. Iphigenia at Aulis steps back to show what led her to that point, ending with her being sacrificed to Artemis—and that’s where things get murky. Iphigenia at Aulis was produced posthumously and it seems to have been padded out by an anonymous interpolator, including an ending where a messenger appears to announce that Artemis whisked Iphigenia away at the last moment and replaced her sacrifice with a deer. It’s generally agreed that Euripides didn’t write that ending, and yet his earlier Iphigenia in Tauris does continue after the results of that interpolated escape.
In any event, Cacoyannis followed the overall narrative and dramatis personae of Iphigenia at Aulis fairly closely while leaving his ending intentionally ambiguous in order to reflect the uncertainty over the ending of Euripides’ play. (The biggest change that he made was by eliminating the chorus of the Women of Chalcis, having the Greek soldiers echo their commentary as an “unofficial” chorus instead.) Helen, the wife of Menelaus (Costas Carras), has been swept away to Troy by Priam’s son Paris, so Menelaus’ brother Agamemnon (Kostas Kazakos) has raised the Greek army to sail to Troy in order to forcibly take her back. But the winds aren’t blowing, and when a sacred deer from the temple of Artemis is killed in a hunt, the priest Calchas (Dimitri Aronis) declares an oracle that Artemis demands the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia (Tatiana Papamoschou) in compensation, or the winds will never blow again. So, Agamemnon tricks his wife Clytemnestra (Irene Papas) into sending their daughter from their home in Argos to meet him in Aulis, all under the pretense that Iphigenia is going to be wed to Achilles (Panos Mihalopoulos)—the latter of whom has no idea about his role in this charade. When Clytemnestra decides to join Iphigenia for the journey, Agamemnon’s plot begins to unravel, but the winds of war still must blow. Will Agamemnon really end up sacrificing his daughter on the alter of his own ambitions?
The answer to that question may seem like a fait accompli considering that Iphigenia is based on classical Greek legends as relayed by Euripides, but the reality is that it was even more predestined given Cacoyannis’ reaction to more recent events in Grecian history. Greece had been in sociopolitical turmoil after the military coup in 1967 that led to the oppressive ruling junta known as the Regime of the Colonels, and its fall in 1974 had done little to ameliorate that turmoil. Cacoyannis said that he wanted to express the corruption of war with Iphigenia, and Euripides’ play demonstrated that there were always two victims in war: the innocent who are sacrificed for the sake of ambition, and the dreams of greatness that ambitious leaders lose sight of once they gain power. In the play, Menelaus delivers a sharp rebuke to his brother, and Cacoyannis reshaped Euripides’ original speech in order to drive that point home in the film:
“I don’t think I need to remind you how methodically and fiercely you fought to be elected by the Greeks as chief commander against Troy. You were approachable then, humble. Your door was wide open to anyone. You were distributing bribes and smiles even to your enemies. You won. The countless hands that you shook along the way, they put you up where you had the ambition to be. First among the first. And you changed immediately. Yes, Agamemnon. The pure, lovable people stopped being lovable to you. You shut your door, you had guards... Power is a weapon to help not ourselves, but the others, those who have given it to us. Otherwise, it is in unworthy hands... But this is how politics is. Few are those who reach the top and don’t stumble.”
Unfortunately, given the nature of politics, even the worthiest of hands will ultimately stumble and become unworthy, as Agamemnon demonstrates in Iphigenia. Regardless of whether or not Artemis saves Iphigenia at the last minute, he was still willing to sacrifice his daughter in the name of war, proving that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And that’s what brings Iphigenia full circle with the rest of the Cacoyannis trilogy. Iphigenia ends not with the closeup of Agamemnon’s face as he witnesses the unseen fate of his daughter, but rather with an extended closeup of Clytemnestra, her face hardening with hatred and determination. It’s a reminder that Agamemnon will end up paying the price for his ambition, setting another cycle in motion. The corruption of war will continue, the innocent will still be sacrificed, and dreams of greatness will always wither and die along with the innocent.
Cinematographer Giorgos Arvanitis shot Iphigenia on 35mm film with spherical lenses, framed at 1.66:1 for its theatrical release. There’s no information available about this master other than this somewhat cryptic description from Radiance Films: “Iphigenia was delivered to Radiance as a High Definition digital file by Park Circus.” But the source was obviously a later-generation element like an internegative or even a print, as large changeover marks are visible throughout the film. Whatever the element may have been, it wasn’t in the best of shape, as there’s some instability and wavering, and it’s filled with speckling, small scratches, and other blemishes that haven’t been cleaned up here. The grain is moderate but detail levels remain adequate, and the color balance seems like it’s accurate (although I don’t have any reference material in order to say that definitively). Iphigenia could certainly use a fresh scan from better elements, but this may have been the best that’s currently available.
Audio is offered in Greek 1.0 mono LPCM, with removable English subtitles. The source was likely the optical tracks on whatever elements were used, but it’s still relatively clean and clear, with minimal noise, crackling, or distortion. The score by the great Mikis Theodorakis isn’t served well by the limited frequency response of the source (especially given the lack of a low end), yet it still supports the tragic story on display in Iphigenia.
The Radiance Films Limited Edition Blu-ray release of Iphigenia includes a reversible insert with new artwork by Time Tomorrow on one side and the original theatrical artwork on the other. (As with most Radiance releases, the obi strip on the side is removable if you wish to display the artwork minus the disc details.) It also includes a 20-page booklet that features an essay by Vrasidas Karalis. The following extras are included:
- Dimitris Papanikolaou (HD – 25:02)
- Cannes 1977 Press Conference (Upscaled SD – 11:03)
- Michael Cacoyannis and Irene Papas (Upscaled SD – 6:12)
The sole new extra here is an interview with Dimitris Papanikolaou, professor of Modern Greek and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Oxford. He discusses where Iphigenia fits into Michael Cacoyannis’ trilogy of Greek tragedies, essentially telling the saga in reverse. He explains how the political and cultural events in Greece during the Seventies affected the way that Cacoyannis told this particular story, adding even more layers to it than Euripides intended. It’s part of the way that the director combined the old with the modern. Papanikolaou also notes the differences between the play and the film, as well as some of its visual motifs, calling Iphigenia “visually spellbinding and weird.”
The other two extras are archival features that were shot during the original release of Iphigenia. The Cannes 1977 Press Conference actually aired on French television in 1978, mixing extended clips from the film with responses from Cacoyannis, Irene Papas, and Tatiana Papamoschou (the rest of the cast is present as well, but they don’t speak in this clip). Michael Cacoyannis and Irene Papas was also filmed for French television, in this case for the Aujourd’hui magazine program. After a brief introduction from the unidentified hosts and another clip from the film, Cacoyannis and Papas break down the themes of Iphigenia and the character of Clytemnestra. Cacoyannis stresses how Euripides was still applicable to current events in Greece, and that there was no need for interpretations of Iphigenia since he made his intentions clear.
It’s worth pointing out that while two of the extras are archival, they haven’t been included on any previous releases of Iphigenia. The Olive Films Blu-ray was bare-bones, as were all of the earlier DVDs. So, while it’s not exactly an extensive collection of extras, it’s the first time that any have been offered, and they’re all a welcome addition here. Iphigenia was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1978, but nearly five decades later, it’s not exactly well-known in the west. But it’s a great film that deserves to be seen, and these extras provide some necessary context in order to better appreciate it, so this Radiance Films Blu-ray is highly recommended.
-Stephen Bjork
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