Gerassimos Skiadaressis Movies
- 1987
This thriller tells the true story of the world's first airline hijacking, which took place during the Greek Civil War and World War II. It seems that some boys who were living in Thessaloniki at the time had witnessed relatives and friends being murdered or arrested and after a while decided the best thing to do was to get out. At the time, the usual ways to escape (trains, boats, etc.) were closed to them, being in the hands of the police. Thus, they boarded an airplane and insisted that the pilot land in another country which, reluctantly, he did. The receiving country was rather hostile too, but when it became clear that the boys only wanted to get away from Thessaloniki in order to fight on the other side of the civil war, they were quickly shipped off to join the battle. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerassimos Skiadaressis
- 1989
During the last half of the twentieth century, Greece has periodically had changes of government which resulted in sometimes heavy-handed rule by military juntas. One such period was between 1967-1974. This drama explores the lives of people who were deeply affected by that time. The types brought to the screen will be familiar to most Greeks, and will be less familiar to most others. This film won several top acting prizes in Greek film festivals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonis Antoniou, Antonis Vlissidis, (more)
- 1993
This highly acclaimed drama from Greek writer/director Sotiris Goritsas, inspired by the Sotiris Dimitriou short story, represented Greece as an official selection for the 1994 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight. It concerns two young Greek men seeking refuge in Albania. Thomas (Vassilis Eleftheriadis) and Achilleas (Ierassimos Skiadaeressis) make an illegal late-night run at the Greek border, joined by young Nikos (Antonis Manolas), a child whose mother had been killed by Albanian guards. Returning to Athens, they find that the land they had missed and dreamed of so often has changed, refusing to accept the returning refugees or even see them as Greek -- the locals refer to the trio as "Albanians" throughout the film. Demoralized and disillusioned, Thomas is accidentally killed while working at a building site to make ends meet, and Achilleas and Nikos decide to return to their Albanian village rather than stay in an Athens, which clearly has no place for them anymore. Mania Papadimitriou co-stars with Dimitris Mavropoulos and Eleni Filippa. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerassimos Skiadaressis
- 1996
Set upon the island of Cyprus, a pair of good friends who run a prominent nightclub/prostitution ring find their good life about to come unraveled when they receive a damning film that reveals them having disturbingly kinky sex. These acts happened years ago when both friends were migrant workers in the Persian Gulf. The man who sent them the tape is a greedy American who participated in the shenanigans and now wants a piece of their lucrative club. His demands have tragic repercussions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Two Greek rubes get into trouble while trying to enact a harebrained get-rich scheme. Irresponsible Stavros is married to the pragmatic and more mature Eleni. She is pregnant and he has not reconciled himself to this fact. His good buddy Fotis is still single and loves chasing women. Neither man is terribly intelligent, but both are sure they have come up with a brilliant way to easily make their fortunes. The plan is thus: they will take a large amount of Greek drachmas, convert them into American dollars and convert them to Bulgarian currency. They will then head for Switzerland and convert the Bulgarian lev to U.S. dollars and thereby make a big profit. The plan involves travel and a good sum of money to begin. They get the needed stake from Eleni who temporarily appropriates 7 million drachma from her vacationing boss's account and reluctantly gives it to Stavros, who immediately sets off in a beat up jalopy with Fotis. They only have a week to get the money exchanged. Right from the start, things begin going wrong when they get a lousy exchange rate on the drachmas. Things don't get better in Bulgaria. Complicating matters is the constant bickering between the two friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Louis de Bernières' best-selling novel of love during wartime is brought to the screen in this story that blends comedy, action, and romance. In 1940, war rages throughout Europe, but the fighting has yet to arrive on the Greek island of Cephallonia, where life continues to follow its own slow, deliberate path until word arrives that Italian troops have invaded neighboring Albania. A wave of anti-Axis patriotism sweeps the island, and Mandras (Christian Bale), a local fisherman, is one of a handful of men who volunteer for the army, leaving behind his aging mother (Irene Papas) and the woman he loves, Pelagia (Penélope Cruz), the daughter of the island's physician, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt). The timing of Mandras and his compatriots proves less than fortuitous, as Italian troops invade Greece in their absence, but the remaining leaders of the island issue an ultimatum -- the people of Cephallonia will surrender, but only to a ranking German officer. Since none of the available German officers can speak a word of Greek, an Italian soldier fluent in the language, Capt. Antonio Corelli (Nicholas Cage), is sent in to serve as translator. Corelli stays on with the Greek occupation forces, and he soon finds himself falling in love with beautiful Pelagia, who believes that Mandras was killed in the fighting in Albania. But as romance slowly blooms between the Italian soldier and the Greek girl, Mandras and a handful of surviving soldiers have joined a guerilla resistance faction, and they join up with Allied forces in a bid to retake Greece; soon, Pelagia must choose between the two men she loves, as the Greeks battle both the Italian occupation troops and German soldiers who have been sent in to replace them. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was directed by John Madden; the project originally began shooting with Roger Michell, but Michell was forced to resign from the film after he suffered a heart attack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, (more)
