In case you don’t have enough of Greece during your stay, we have prepared a list of good Hollywood films with a Greek theme, perfect for a cold and rainy winter day back home.


Mama Mia 2008 Dir. Phyllida Lloyd. Feat:Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan If you are a fan of ABBA music and the Greek islands this is a perfect way to spend two entertaining and cheerful hours. The Aegean island of Skopelos is the setting of this feel-good film which is based on the original musical stage production. The performances are slightly over the top, the plot couldn’t be any simpler and Pierce Brosnan cannot sing, but all that don’t matter. You will be singing along and having great fun for the duration of the film. amazon.co.uk: £10.98

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2002 Dir. Joel Zwick.Feat:Nia Vardalos, John Corbett Toula, a 30 year old Greek, born in the US, is expected by her family to marry a Greek orthodox guy and live happily everafter. Instead she falls for Ian, a protestant American and the shocked family finds it hard to come to terms with their bad fortune. A hillarious comedy packed with exaggerated stereotypes about the traditional Greek family. It didn’t go down very well among some humourless Greeks but foreigners with a first hand experience of a Greek family absolutely loved it. amazon.co.uk: £ 4.98

Captain Corellis Mandolin 2001 Dir. John Madden. Feat:Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz The film that changed Cephalonia’s tourist fortunes. Based on Louis De Bernières’ wonderful novel and worldwide best seller, this is a war-time love story between Pelagia a country girl and captain Corelli, an officer of the Italian occupying force of the island. Although the simplified story doesn’t quite live up to the book, the beautiful scenery and sapphire waters of the island produce excellent photography making it a perfect teaser to start planning your next summer holiday.
amazon.co.uk: £ 5.68

Shirley Valentine 1989 Dir. Lewis Gilbert. Feat: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti Shirley, a bored Liverpool housewife wins a trip to sunny Mykonos where she finds romance and happiness in the company of a local restaurant owner. Away from her boring and unfulfilling life she gets the chance to rediscover herself and her true inner longings.  A classic British comedy with the cliché and overplayed ‘give up everything and follow your heart’ scenario, but in this case given with a good dose of Greek scenery and some truly enjoyable dialogues.
amazon.co.uk: £ 3.98

Mediterraneo 1992 Dir. Gabriele Salvatores. Feat: Diego Abatantuono A squad of Italian soldiers, not much interested in fighting, are sent to the island of Kastelorizo during WWII. Cut off from the war for years, they become part of the local community and begin enjoying their lives on the island. Vana Barba, a Greek actress and sex-symbol of the time, plays the village prostitute who accomodates the soldiers’ needs until she falls in love with one of them. A bitter-sweet Italian comedy with an  Academy Award for best foreign film. amazon.co.uk: £ 5.88

Summer Lovers 1982 Dir. Randal Kleiser. Feat: Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah This is a corny eighties film with a story that may not appeal to everyone. However, if you watch it in a cold and rainy winter day it is guaranteed to make you long for the summer. Santorini in its full swinging glory makes up a ‘postcard from Greece’ film that could be easily used by the Greek Tourism Organisation. A young Daryl Hannah has to put up with her boyfriend’s summer affair and eventually finds herself happily entangled in an erotic triangle. amazon.co.uk: £ 9.82

300 2006 Dir. Zack Snyder.Feat: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, which is in turn based on the real battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), this film is shot with a special teqnique of a digitaly-enhanced background that makes up a special visual experience. It is the story of Spartan King Leonidas who tries to stop, with his 300 men, the hordes of invading Persians. The dialogues are simple, the characters exagereated and the battle scenes bloody and violent. The film had a mixed reception,  a typical love or hate production. amazon.co.uk: £ 4.88

Troy 2004 Dir. Wolfgang Petersen.Feat: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom A blockbuster adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. The Greeks lead by Achilles siege Troy to bring back home Helen of Sparta who has run away with Paris, the prince of Troy. Definitely an entertaining and visually satisfying film, with a good cast and impressive graphics. History buffs have objections regarding the accuracy of the screenplay but don’t forget, this is a Hollywood production, if one wants the true and full story one must read the Iliad.
amazon.co.uk: £ 4.98

Zorba the Greek 1964 (b/w) Dir. Michael Cacoyannis.Feat: Anthony Quinn,Alan Bates A young English writer inherits a mine on the island of Crete and travels there taking with him Alex Zorba, a middle aged man as an aide to run the mine. A fantastic adaptation of the most translated Greek novel internationally. Antony Quinn perfectly personifies Kazantzakis’ hero Zorba who teaches the young writer a thing or two about how life should be lived and appreciated. Nominated for seven Academy Awards and winner of three. amazon.co.uk: £ 4.98

Never on Sunday 1960 (b/w) Dir. Jules Dassin.Feat: Melina Merkouri, Jules Dassin Melina Merkouri,plays Ilya a kindhearted prostitute,  that every man is after in the port of Piraeus. Homer, is an American who unsuccessfully tries to pull her out of her ‘immoral’ lifestyle. One of the classics of Greek cinema, a well played role by the ‘nation’s sweetheart’ that lost the Accademy Award for best woman actress to Elisabeth Taylor. The film’s score by Manos Hadjidakis however, won the Award for best music and the tune became a worldwide Greek hit eversince.
amazon.co.uk: £ 4.98

For Your Eyes Only 1981 Dir. John Glen.Feat:Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet Roger Moore’s fifth James Bond, and the twelfth in the series, is mainly set in Corfu and the beautiful Meteora region of central Greece. Meteora is a UNESCO listed site with impressive high rock pinnacles with Greek orthodox monasteries built on top. The film has a  typical cold war Bond plot complete with British spyships, devices that the enemy is after, KGB agents, fast cars, guns and sexy girls ready to oblige to 007’s urges.   amazon.co.uk: £ 3.98

The Guns Of Navarone 1961 Dir. J Lee Thomson. Feat:Gregory Peck, David Niven,Anthony Quinn An all-star classic epic, one of the best war movies ever made. A small team of commandos are sent to a fictitious Greek island to destroy enemy guns that block the passage to allied warships. Although the film won the Academy Award for special effects in 1961, its strong point is the characters and the realistic plot and naturally has little in common with the contemporary war films based on impressive effects and not much more.
amazon.co.uk: £ 3.98