The Greek Film Archive, true to its mission in screening restored cinematic jewels of world cinema, will present a tribute to the American filmmaker George Stevens. The screening programme, will include seven feature films by the director and two documentaries by his son, George Stevens Jr. — George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey (1984), on the director’s career in Hollywood’s Golden Age era, and George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin (1994), that is based on rare colour footage, filmed by the director himself, during the World War ΙΙ.
According to Ehsan Khoshbakht, if George Stevens hadn't shot those horrific scenes at the Nazi concentration camps, the philosopher Theodor Adorno would never have reached his infamous aphoristic verdict, “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric”. Khoshbakht also attributes this footage in inspiring Goddard to say “If George Stevens hadn’t used the first 16mm colour film in Dachau, Elizabeth Taylor would never have found a place in the sun”.
Stevens took his first steps, as cameraman on the sound stage of Laurel & Hardy, and soon after, proved to be one of the great directors of the American comedy. Some of his earlier hallmark films—such as The talk of the town (1942), Woman of the year (1942) and The more the merrier (1943)—reveal that beyond his directorial sensibilities and skills, Stevens would already from his com-
edies, touch upon humanistic and political themes—albeit tainted with a romantic idealism of the time.
His involvement in the World War ΙΙ as a filmmaker, allowed his him to reinvent and ripen his artistic vision, towards a deeper humanistic concern. From his second more mature period, the following films will be screened: A place in the sun (1951)—a fierce attack on the American dream; Something to live for (1952), neglected by scholars—on the labyrinthian nature of human relations; Shane (1953), a landmark in the genre of westerns—on vigilantism in the wild west; as well as of course, the great epic film, Giant (1956)—where Stevens, tackles issues of racism head on, whilst offering a panoramic view, on the changes undergone in the American landscape and its peoples.
Film selection: Ehsan Khoshbakht, Jacob Skenderidis
Programming: Jacob Skenderidis Introduction: Ioulia Mermigka
Preview photo: Images courtesy of Park Circus/Universal
