Never on Sunday

UPC: 027616887474

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Not For Children]

Summary: In this globally acclaimed comedy drama, eccentric, tough, and carefree Ilya (Melina Mercouri) is one of those characters who makes her mark on film history, and who made an internationally known star out of Mercouri. Ilya is a prostitute in the port of Piraeus with a definite sense of social and economic justice. The aptly named Homer (director Jules Dassin, later to marry his star) arrives in Greece, meets the irrepressible Ilya, and decides she needs more of the traditional Greek culture and less of those flamboyant emotions that are not really Greek, you see. So while he tries to play Henry Higgins, Ilya is willing to give up her usual self for two weeks. The question is, what will happen once the two weeks are over, assuming she can get through them? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Best British Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film – null Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Black and White Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccOriginal theatrical trailer

Never on Sunday

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/01/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 93 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. A Dare/Main Title [4:52]
2. "It's What Men Drink" [4:29]
3. Fighter and Truth Seeker [6:00]
4. Music for the Flagging Sailor [3:46]
5. Illia's Career Choice [8:03]
6. Sunday's Open House [6:19]
7. Medea & the Happy Whore [6:52]
8. Logic in Greek Tragedy [5:56]
9. "You Hated...Your Mother!" [6:37]
10. A Deal to Save Illia [6:03]
11. Closed for Studies [8:41]
12. Never on Sunday [5:50]
13. Working for the Enemy [7:29]
14. The Women's Revolt [3:31]
15. Philosopher, Man, Failure [7:06]
16. End Credits [1:01]

Michael Costello

Forced out of Hollywood by the blacklist, noted noir director Jules Dassin (Brute Force [1949], Rififi [1954]) took a detour from his customary genre to make this entertaining comedy on a shoe-string budget. To his surprise, it became an international hit. The story, a twist on the legend of Pygmalion, concerns an academic type (Dassin) who journeys to Greece in hopes of understanding why it's lost the kind of cultural weight it had in the days of Plato and Aristotle. As his part in the battle against cultural illiteracy, he decides to tutor down-to-earth prostitute Melina Mercouri in her country's heritage. Despite the familiarity of its high-concept premise, this hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold comedy gets a great deal of mileage from the contrast between the owlishly earnest Dassin and his real-life spouse, the spirited, live-for-today courtesan. The film is Mercouri's show all the way, however, and in giving the best comic performance of her career, she demonstrates that the Greek people already know as much philosophy as they need to know. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Nikos Tsachiridis  Actor 
Dimitris Papamichael  Actor 
Dimos Starenios  Actor 
Alexis Salomos  Actor 
Jules Dassin  Director 
Jules Dassin  Producer 
Jules Dassin  Screenwriter 
Manos Hadjidakis  Composer (Music Score) 
Melina Mercouri  Actor 
Jules Dassin  Actor 
Georges Foundas  Actor 
Titos Vandis  Actor 
Mitsos Liguisos  Actor 
Despo Diamantidou  Actor 

Country: Greece