The Moon Spinners (1963)
The film is based on a novel by Mary Stewart, who wrote the book whilst staying in Elounda in Eastern Crete. The novel was serialized in the British
press and received great acclaim. Walt Disney was responsible for making the film and, according to Mary Stewart’s wishes, it was filmed in Elounda.
During filming Walt Disney stayed at the Minos Beach Hotel in Agios Nikolaos. In the hotel there are guestbooks going back to the 60s; in one you
will find the signature of Walt Disney and a few pages further on a small inscription signed by the star of the film, Hayley Mills. In the opening
credits of the film there are three windmills; the remains of these still stand today.
A local, whose father ran the local newspaper, Driros, in Neapoli, has informed me that Mr. Disney was in fact spotted in Neapoli drinking coffee and
that his father was lucky enough to be granted an interview.
The 11th Day; 1941 (2005)
A film by two brothers, Christos Epperson (producer-director) and his brother, Michael Epperson (writer-producer) about their family, who fought
with the Cretan resistance in Chania. In 1944, their aunt Eleftheria Xirouhakis was captured, tortured, and executed, and her brothers Kyriako,
Manoli, and Dimitri were sent to the Dachau concentration camp.
The film grew to include eye witness accounts from survivors of the Battle of Crete; other Cretan resistance veterans, British soldiers, Special
Operations Executive operatives, and included interviews with SOE operative Patrick Leigh Fermor, George Doundoulakis and the Cretan Resistance
hero George Tzitzika.
In 2006 the film was released on DVD in both Greek and English. It includes a gallery of over 500 images. The producers made available their
research material on the official film website. There are over 2,000 rare and some never before seen photos. It is regarded as one of the largest
online archives of World War II photographs and documents.
Spinalonga (2007)
This short film of 20 minutes, was made by Costas Athousakis, who was born in Chania. It is about 45 year old Manolis, who lives and works across
from the former leper colony of Spinalonga island. It tells of the trauma of being separated, as a leper, from his mother and sent to Spinalonga,
where he stayed until his release when it closed.
Days of ’36 (1972)
In the 1972 Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema, this film received awards for Best Director and Best Picture. The following year, it received a prize
from the International Federation of Film Critics at the Berlin International Film Festival. It is May 1936 and Greece again is split by political strife.
When a trade union leader is killed, a petty criminal, Sofianos, who is also a police informer and leftist agitator, is accused of his murder and
arrested……
Cool (2007)
This film takes place in the summer, and over 24 hours, tells the intertwining stories of some young people, who have all inherited various problems
from their parents, and their subsequent “coming of age”. It was filmed at Heraklion airport, the beaches of Saronikos and in the Psiloritis
mountains.
The Last Note (2017)
This film, by Pantelis Voulgaris, was shot on the island of Crete; the main location of the film was the Municipality of Chania and the Izzeddin
Fortress in Souda Bay, near the village of Kalami. The Ottoman fortress itself is best known for being a prison for political prisoners in the 20th
century and the film is based on the execution of 200 Greek prisoners in reprisal for the assassination of a German general in 1944 by Greek
partisans. It combines fact and fiction and was well received by hundreds of Cretans.
He Who Must Die (1957)
This film was based on a story by Nikos Kazantzakis called The Greek Passion. Greece is under Turkish rule and people are starving. Every seven
years the villagers of Lykovryssi, near Athens, stage a Passion Play. The locals who will play Jesus, Mary and the Apostles are chosen a year earlier
and they prepare their parts. The Turks have raided a neighbouring village and those who have survived are starving. The village priest leads them
to Lykovryssi hoping to find food and shelter. However, there is a show of hostility from the villagers towards them. Manolis, who is to play Jesus,
and Katerina, a widow of dubious morals, who will play Mary Magdalene, together with the poor people of Lykovryssi, decide to help the homeless
villagers. Obviously this leads to tension and will ultimately end in armed conflict.
Little Greek Godfather (2007)
This comedy film is based on the first chapter of the autobiography, (Ten Myths and a History) of Nikos Papandreou, the son of the Greek political
leader Andreas Papandreou. The book has been translated into English and German. The location of the film is the Papandreou’s actual house in
Galini Kastri. It is set in 1963, when an 11 year old boy called Alex is sent to Crete to stand in for his father, a politician, as godfather at the
christening of a local parliamentary candidate’s baby. Having been raised in California, Alex not only doesn’t speak Greek, but he also has to
contend with the Cretan dialect and the Cretan culture. His mission is to alleviate the tension between two feuding villages and win votes for his
father’s political party. No mean task; luckily he befriends a local boy, who helps him in his mission.
The Inbetweeners (2011)
This is a British comedy film which was made as an ending to the TV series of the same name. After their final year in school, a group of teenagers
decide to go on holiday to Malia on Crete. A YouTube video shows the lads walking down the Malia Strip, walking past popular clubs; 'Corkers', the
strip club 'GoGo Lap Dancing Club' and 'Candy Club'.
The Island of Silence (1958)
A docu-drama film based on the former leper colony of Spinalonga.
Icarus (2022)
An animated film, telling the story of the Minotaur of Crete and King Minos. Obviously not filmed on Crete but a good way of getting the kids to
learn a little about Greek Mythology!!!
Other films include:
Zorba the Greek (1964) Filmed in the Chania area. Anthony Quinn’s famous dance was filmed on Stavros Beach in Chania.
Summer Lovers (1982) A romantic comedy with Daryl Hannah, Peter Gallagher and Valerie Quennessen. Filmed mostly in Santorini but Crete was
also among the locations.
God Loves Caviar (2012) The highest grossing film in Greece in 2013.
Crazy Blood (1963)
El Greco (2007) Locations include Heraklion.
The Two Faces of January (2014) Shot in Knossos and Chania Harbour, including the Kucuk Hasan Mosque.
Films shot on Crete
The Moon Spinners (1963)
The film is based on a novel by Mary Stewart, who wrote the
book whilst staying in Elounda in Eastern Crete. The novel was
serialized in the British press and received great acclaim. Walt
Disney was responsible for making the film and, according to
Mary Stewart’s wishes, it was filmed in Elounda. During filming
Walt Disney stayed at the Minos Beach Hotel in Agios Nikolaos.
In the hotel there are guestbooks going back to the 60s; in one
you will find the signature of Walt Disney and a few pages further
on a small inscription signed by the star of the film, Hayley Mills.
In the opening credits of the film there are three windmills; the
remains of these still stand today.
A local, whose father ran the local newspaper, Driros, in Neapoli,,
has informed me that Mr. Disney was in fact spotted in Neapoli
drinking coffee and that his father was lucky enough to be
granted an interview.
The 11th Day; 1941 (2005)
A film by two brothers, Christos Epperson (producer-director)
and his brother, Michael Epperson (writer-producer) about their
family, who fought with the Cretan resistance in Chania. In 1944,
their aunt Eleftheria Xirouhakis was captured, tortured, and
executed, and her brothers Kyriako, Manoli, and Dimitri were
sent to the Dachau concentration camp.
The film grew to include eye witness accounts from survivors of
the Battle of Crete; other Cretan resistance veterans, British
soldiers, Special Operations Executive operatives, and included
interviews with SOE operative Patrick Leigh Fermor, George
Doundoulakis and the Cretan Resistance hero George Tzitzika.
In 2006 the film was released on DVD in both Greek and English.
It includes a gallery of over 500 images. The producers made
available their research material on the official film website.
There are over 2,000 rare and some never before seen photos. It
is regarded as one of the largest online archives of World War II
photographs and documents.
Spinalonga (2007)
This short film of 20 minutes, was made by Costas Athousakis,
who was born in Chania. It is about 45 year old Manolis, who
lives and works across from the former leper colony of
Spinalonga island. It tells of the trauma of being separated, as a
leper, from his mother and sent to Spinalonga, where he stayed
until his release when it closed.
Days of ’36 (1972)
In the 1972 Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema, this film
received awards for Best Director and Best Picture. The
following year, it received a prize from the International
Federation of Film Critics at the Berlin International Film Festival.
It is May 1936 and Greece again is split by political strife. When a
trade union leader is killed, a petty criminal, Sofianos, who is also
a police informer and leftist agitator, is accused of his murder
and arrested……
Cool (2007)
This film takes place in the summer, and over 24 hours, tells the
intertwining stories of some young people, who have all
inherited various problems from their parents, and their
subsequent “coming of age”. It was filmed at Heraklion airport,
the beaches of Saronikos and in the Psiloritis mountains.
The Last Note (2017)
This film, by Pantelis Voulgaris, was shot on the island of Crete;
the main location of the film was the Municipality of Chania and
the Izzeddin Fortress in Souda Bay, near the village of Kalami.
The Ottoman fortress itself is best known for being a prison for
political prisoners in the 20th century and the film is based on
the execution of 200 Greek prisoners in reprisal for the
assassination of a German general in 1944 by Greek partisans. It
combines fact and fiction and was well received by hundreds of
Cretans.
He Who Must Die (1957)
This film was based on a story by Nikos Kazantzakis called The
Greek Passion. Greece is under Turkish rule and people are
starving. Every seven years the villagers of Lykovryssi, near
Athens, stage a Passion Play. The locals who will play Jesus, Mary
and the Apostles are chosen a year earlier and they prepare their
parts. The Turks have raided a neighbouring village and those
who have survived are starving. The village priest leads them to
Lykovryssi hoping to find food and shelter. However, there is a
show of hostility from the villagers towards them. Manolis, who
is to play Jesus, and Katerina, a widow of dubious morals, who
will play Mary Magdalene, together with the poor people of
Lykovryssi, decide to help the homeless villagers. Obviously this
leads to tension and will ultimately end in armed conflict.
Little Greek Godfather (2007)
This comedy film is based on the first chapter of the
autobiography, (Ten Myths and a History) of Nikos Papandreou,
the son of the Greek political leader Andreas Papandreou. The
book has been translated into English and German. The location
of the film is the Papandreou’s actual house in Galini Kastri. It is
set in 1963, when an 11 year old boy called Alex is sent to Crete
to stand in for his father, a politician, as godfather at the
christening of a local parliamentary candidate’s baby. Having
been raised in California, Alex not only doesn’t speak Greek, but
he also has to contend with the Cretan dialect and the Cretan
culture. His mission is to alleviate the tension between two
feuding villages and win votes for his father’s political party. No
mean task; luckily he befriends a local boy, who helps him in his
mission.
The Inbetweeners (2011)
This is a British comedy film which was made as an ending to the
TV series of the same name. After their final year in school, a
group of teenagers decide to go on holiday to Malia on Crete.
A YouTube video shows the lads walking down the Malia Strip,
walking past popular clubs; 'Corkers', the strip club 'GoGo Lap
Dancing Club' and 'Candy Club'.
Films shot on Crete
