Film posters used to be fun, they used to be art– delicately painted by some of the top artists of the time. Before the age of digital art and even photography, Hollywood film posters were true works of art, depicting scenes from films, intended to attract the movie-goers with dramatic colors and eye-catching imagery. It’s a forgotten art with the advent of photography and new forms of digital art. Posters, made for some our favorite Greek inspired films of all time make great decor for home or office. We’ve created a special category in our Pappas Post book store. Click here to see the collection we’ve selected for easy purchase in various shapes and sizes.
Below are ten of our favorite posters for Greek inspired films from Hollywood.
#8 – Alexander the Great (1956) a 1956 American sword-and-sandal epic film about the life of Macedonian general and king Alexander the Great, starring Richard Burton as Alexander along with a large ensemble cast. Demosthenes is propagating for war to resist Philip II’s takeover of other Greek city-states. While Philip II is leading a campaign to take over Olynthus, he is informed that his spouse Olympias has borne him a son who, she claims, is “a god born of a god.” Philip is angry because he suspects that Olympias has committed adultery and that she was not impregnated by a god; however, General Parmenio advises the king to let Alexander grow up and succeed him. Alexander embarks on his mission to conquer the whole of Asia. Get a print here. *An original vintage copy of the poster is also available from this antique shop– a museum quality piece!
#7 – Jason and the Argonauts (1963) A Columbia Pictures fantasy Greek Mythology feature film starring Todd Armstrong as the mythical Greek hero in a story about his quest for the Golden Fleece.Columbia released the movie on Blu-ray Disc in 2010. The disc’s special features include two new audio commentaries, one by Peter Jackson and Randall William Cook, the other by Harryhausen in conversation with his biographer Tony Dalton. Directed by Don Chaffey in collaboration with stop motion animation expert Ray Harryhausen, the film is noted for its stop-motion creatures, and particularly the iconic fight with the skeletons. The film is considered a cinema classic for its revolutionary (at that time) motion graphics. Get a re-print of the poster here. A rare collector’s edition original poster is available by this antique seller here.
#6 – Minotaur The Wild Beast Of Crete (1960) A historical drama film loosely based on the Greek legend of Theseus, the Athenian hero who is said to have slain a minotaur on Minoan Crete around 1500 or 1450 BC. The film was directed by Silvio Amadio and starred Bob Mathias. The island of Crete lives in fear of the Minotaur, a dreadful beast trapped inside a labyrinth under the royal palace. The monster is venerated as a god, and to appease it, the Cretans regularly sacrifice a maiden to it. One day, Minos’ wife Pasiphaë is dying of natural causes. On her deathbed, she reveals that her daughter, the royal princess Phaedra, was not their only child: A twin sister, Ariadne, lives in secrecy on the Greek mainland in a humble village. She was brought there to save her from being sacrificed to the Minotaur, but now the queen’s last wish is to see her daughters united again. While Minos consents to his wife’s last request, Phaedra, who is a powerhungry and evil schemer, does not want to share the throne and sends out her loyal retainer, Chirone, to kill Ariadne. Chirone raids the village with a group of hired brigands, killing Ariadne’s foster parents, but Ariadne is saved by Theseus, son of King Aegeus of Athens, and his Cretan friend Demetrio, who happen to pass by and drive away the brigands. Upon seeing her, Demetrio immediately notices Ariadne’s striking resemblance to Princess Phaedra, but Ariadne knows nothing of her true heritage. Get a reprint of the poster here.
#5 – The 300 Spartans (1962) – A film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae made with the cooperation of the Greek government, and shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. It starred Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing a romantic element in the film. In the film, a force of Greek warriors led by 300 Spartans fights against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths. When it was released in 1962, critics saw the movie as a commentary on the Cold War, referring to the independent Greek states as the only stronghold of freedom remaining in the then known world, holding out against the Persian “slave empire”. Get a reprint of the poster here.
#4 – Hercules (1958) An epic fantasy feature film originally released in Italy and based upon the Hercules myths and the Quest for the Golden Fleece. The film stars Steve Reeves as the hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess Iole. The film spawned a sequel, Hercules Unchained, that also starred Reeves and Koscina. The Hercules films made Reeves an international film star and effectively paved the way for the dozens of sword and sandal flicks featuring oiled bodybuilders as mythological heroes and gladiators battling monsters, despots, and evil queens that were released during the 1960s, many shot or co-produced between Hollywood studios and European production companies. American producer Joseph E. Levine acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film, and, due in part to his wide release (the film opened in 175 theaters in the New York City area alone) a long with an intensive promotional campaign, Hercules became a major box-office hit. Get a reprint of the poster here.
#3 The Guns of Navarone (1963) A British-American action/adventure war film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by producer Carl Foreman was based on Alistair MacLean’s 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone, which was inspired by the Battle of Leros during the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II. The film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Stanley Baker and Anthony Quayle. The book and the film share the same basic plot: the efforts of an Allied commando team to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress that threatens Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea, and prevents 2,000 isolated British troops from being rescued. Disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit boat, they sail across the Aegean Sea. They are intercepted by a German E-boat and boarded. They attack and kill all the Germans and sink the E-boat. Get a poster reprint here.
#2 Never on Sunday (1960) A 1960 Greek black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya (Melina Mercouri), a self-employed, free-spirited prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer (Jules Dassin), an American tourist from Middletown, Connecticut — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. Homer feels Ilya’s lifestyle typifies the degradation of Greek culture and attempts to steer her onto the path of morality. It is a variation of the Ancient Greek Pygmalion story. The signature song and the bouzouki theme of the movie became hits of the 1960s and brought the composer, Manos Hadjidakis, an Academy Award. The film also got Oscar nominations for Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Director and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay as Written Directly for the Screen (Dassin) Oscars. Get a print here.
#1 – Zorba the Greek (1964) A British-Greek drama film directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and starring Anthony Quinn as the title character. It is based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The supporting cast includes Alan Bates, Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas and Sotiris Moustakas. The film was a commercial smash. Produced on a budget of only $783,000, it grossed $9 million at the U.S. box office and an estimated $25 million worldwide at the time. It was nominated for seven Oscars and won three— including Best Supporting Actress for Kedrova, Best Art Direction for Vassilis Fotopoulos and Best Cinematography for Walter Lassally. Zorba the Greek was adapted into a 1968 Broadway musical named Zorba. The play starred Herschel Bernardi: then, the show was revived in 1983, with Anthony Quinn and Lila Kedrova reprising their film roles. Get a reprint of the poster here.
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