A long and patiently-made picture with a two-fold aim. It tells both of the rites and customs of a small Cretan village, and of a young Englishman (Alan Bates) who comes to the village to reopen the disused mine that belonged to his late father. His major domo is Zorba, a real character, played with careful relish by Anthony Quinn, who has his own madcap schemes for re-working the mine. Full of long, lingering pans from the artistic camera of Walter Lassally, who took one of the film's three Academy Awards, Zorba is, at its best, both human and amusing. It also has its horrifying moments, such as a throat-slitting, and the looting of a dead woman's house by old crones who look like so many black cockroaches. The performances are topped by that of Lila Kedrova (another Academy Award winner) with her brilliant, almost gruesome portrait of the fading countess.
