Medea *** (1969, Maria Callas, Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff, Giuseppe Gentile) – Classic Movie Review 9912

The beloved opera diva Maria Callas (dubbed, unfortunately, even in the original Italian version) stars in a non-singing role as Euripedes’s sorceress high priestess Medea, King of Colchis’s daughter, who returns to Corinth with her husband Jason (Giuseppe Gentile) and, after having two children, avenges herself on him when he tires of her.

Director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1969 Italian film Medea emphasises the operatic nature of this tale, presumably the point of casting the iconic Maria Callas, and he uses her great, tragic face to huge effect.

Thematically and visually, it is one of Pasolini’s finest films, thanks to Pasolini’s screenplay, Ennio Guarnieri’s cinematography and Dante Ferretti’s production designs, though dramatically he can’t put it in his first rank.

Also in the cast are Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff, Margarethe Clémenti, Annamarie Chio, Paul Jabara, Gerard Weiss, Sergio Tramonti, Luigi Barbini, and Graziella Chiarcossi.

Around 30 years later, Dante Ferretti was providing the beautiful production designs for Meet Joe Black. He won Oscars for The Aviator (2004), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Hugo (2011). He was a protégé of Federico Fellini, and made five films with him.

It follows Oedipus Rex (1967), Theorem (1968) and Pigsty (1969).

Maria Callas (1923–1977).

It is Maria Callas’s first dramatic movie and her only feature length film.

Richard Burton claimed that Callas very much wanted him to play Jason, but, while he was sympathetic, he declined the role, thinking it ‘thankless’.

Medea is directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, runs 110 minutes, is made by San Marco (Roma), Les Films Number One (Paris) and Janus Film und Fernsehen (Frankfurt), is released by Euro International Film (1969) (Italy), New Line Cinema (1971) (US) (subtitled) and Eagle Films (1974) (UK), is written by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is shot in Eastmancolor by Ennio Guarnieri, is produced by Franco Rossellini and Marina Cicogna, is scored by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Che Ringrazia and Elsa Morante, and is designed by Dante Ferretti.

It is released by BFI Video in 2011 in the UK on DVD.

It is shot between May 1969 and August 1969 in Italy, Turkey and Syria. The scenes at Medea’s house in Corinth were filmed at Aleppo in Syria. The studio work was at Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome.

Pasolini centenary 05/03/2022.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9912

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