Abstract
M.A.
The goal of this research is to list, explore and explain the similarities and differences between the Electra of Euripides and the film of Michael Cacoyannis. Some critics regard the film as completely unfaithful to the original; others view it as a faithful cinematic rendition of the original; while others still regard it as a reworking of, and an improvement on, Euripides’ version of the Electra myth.
The myth as treated by Euripides is about the revenge of the two children of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. After Agamemnon had returned victorious from the Trojan War, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. His daughter, Electra, finally takes the initiative when she and her brother, Orestes, avenge their father’s murder by killing their mother and her lover.
The method devised to address the research problem is firstly to compare the text of the original tragedy with the screenplay of Cacoyannis. Thereafter, the dramatic structure (plot, time frame, characterization, setting, mood, narrative perspective and theme) of the tragedy and the film are compared. Next, the media of film and theatre are explored and compared. For the stage production of Euripides’ Electra, the aspects of the set, masks, choral movement, mirror scenes, objects and tokens, off-stage violence, actions and gestures, the deus ex machina, and tableaux are examined. Regarding the film, the features of set design, costume design, cinematography, music, acting and directing are surveyed. Finally, the respective socio-historical contexts of the original play and the film, as well as relevant biographical material from both Euripides and Cacoyannis, are investigated.
It is concluded that Cacoyannis remained true to the spirit of the original drama of Euripides as well as to the genre of tragedy. However, the way in which he adapted Euripides demonstrates his secularism, his dedication to contemporary issues, like the plight of women, an unequal society, oppressive and authoritarian regimes, and the futility of revenge. In this way he forcefully demonstrated the timeless power and universality of an ancient myth even in the twentieth century.