Never on Sunday

1960 [GREEK]

Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance

3
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 67% · 9 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 82% · 2.5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.3/10 10 6499 6.5K

prostitute greece pygmalion piraeus

Director

Jules Dassin Photo
Jules Dassin

Top cast

Melina Mercouri Photo
Melina Mercouri as Ilya
Titos Vandis Photo
Titos Vandis as Giorgos
Jules Dassin Photo
Jules Dassin as Homer Thrace
Despo Diamantidou Photo
Despo Diamantidou as Despo
720p.WEB
851.95 MB
1188*720
Greek 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 32 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jotix100 8 / 10

Ilya, darling!

"Never on Sunday", that charming Jules Dassin film, was shown unexpectedly on cable recently. The inspired story of a happy prostitute working the waterfront of Piraeus, was a smash hit everywhere when it first came out. Mr. Dassin's love poem to Greece, a land he loved, added another layer to his distinguished career. Not being known for light comedies, this movie strikes the right tone from the start. The director himself decided to play the pivotal role of Homer Thrace, a Brooklyn scholar familiar with Greek culture, but naive in matters of the heart and sex.Ilya, a happy-go-lucky prostitute, is loved by the men working in the port. She has no hangups, something, that in contrast, Homer is full of. After all, he came from a society where sex was for the most part a taboo for the society he came from during the time period where the action takes place. After all, America was not a sexually liberated country. Ilya, on the other hand, was free to share her services openly, as she saw fit without any problem. In a way, the relationship that develops between Homer and Ilya, is a modified version of Pygmalion and Galatea, something that Homer was happy to undertake, even though he knew better not to try.Melina Mercouri dominates the film. She obviously enjoyed getting inside her character as it clearly shows on the screen. She gave a bigger than life reading in what was her best role in the movies. Ms. Mercouri's effortless performance wins the viewer right away because one realizes she is, like Fellini's Cabiria, a genuine soul that gives love without expecting anything in return.Jules Dassin has been criticized by some contributors to IMDb by his take on Homer, but actually, he also gives an appealing account of his scholar. Not being an actor, he understood what he wanted to accomplish with this Brooklyn man that has spent most of his life around books, but not around real life, something he finds living among the earthy people around the Greek port where he spends his vacation. In fact, he kept reminding this viewer of this type of individual that is more at home among books than with real people.The black and white cinematography of Jacques Natteau, enhances the film and the background in which it was filmed. Manos Hatzidakis' delightful music score plays well in the story and it's never out of touch with what the director conceived. Ultimately, the film was another triumph for Jules Dassin, an American original whose body of work speak for itself.
Reviewed by suedoise-761-21972 8 / 10

A fable about freedom

Reviewed by Holdjerhorses 8 / 10

Mercouri = Magic

No one else in the history of cinema became a star in America playing a sexpot at the age of 40. Melina Mercouri did. "Never on Sunday" is why.Aided immeasurably by Manos Hadjidakis' unforgettable score (you're probably already humming the theme) and Jules Dassin's story, Mercouri's incredible presence stole the show -- and hearts worldwide.Dassin is perfect in what would be the "nebbish" role, were he Jewish. The Greeks have, perhaps, 27 words for "nebbish" as they do for "love." Dassin brilliantly inhabits one of them.Rarely has the energy and life force of a particular time and place been so economically and delightfully captured on film.There's a reason "Never on Sunday" is a legend and part of every serious film lover's collection. Once you've seen it, you'll know.
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