Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 20, 2026

Greek myth is often approached as a veritable monolith, but rather interestingly many Greek tales from the days of yore have pretty drastically different versions, depending on which source and/or storyteller is cited, and among those with major variances is the (in some versions) sad tale of Iphigenia. Perhaps even more interestingly with regard to this particular legend, there are two versions written by the same author Euripedes, although scholarship seems to indicate that his first version, Iphigenia at Aulis was in fact not finished by Euripedes, and so both it and the other ostensible Euripedes version, Iphigenia in Tauris, may be at least partially "suspect" in terms of the story (or stories) they actually offer. One way or the other, this riveting 1977 film tends to follow the somewhat more tragic trajectory of Iphigenia at Aulis, capping a trilogy Michael Cacoyannis had begun with Electra in 1962 and then followed up with The Trojan Women in 1971 (kind of amazingly, neither of those films appears to be available on Blu-ray as of the writing of this review).

The basic outlines of the story are probably at least generally known, and Cacoyannis' adaptation doesn't really vary from the broad structure of the legend very much. Instead, the film is really a marvel of "naturalism" in a perceived epic setting, and so comes across as decidedly more visceral than some of the almost embalmed historical productions with a Greek emphasis like, say, Robert Rossen's largely moribund Alexander the Great. Here, the camera mingles with the assembled multitudes, and there's less of a "glossy" approach toward things that keeps the sensibility surprisingly contemporary despite its setting.

Performances are generally ferocious, with an impressive Irene Papas commanding attention as Clytemnestra, and a moving Tatiana Papamoschou in the title role. Cacoyannis' adaptation introduces some really interesting moments in the dialogue, as in an early discussion about Odysseus, where's he described as a "demagogue". This version doesn't really shy away from the fate of Iphigenia, even if things are not explicitly shown. The freeze frame ending the film depicting an enraged Clytemnestra already plotting her revenge signals exactly what has happened at least as much as the sudden uprising of the wind.

Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Iphigenia is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Radiance's insert booklet only has the following pretty generic information on the transfer:

Iphigenia was delivered to Radiance as a high definition digital file by Park Circus. The film is presented in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio with original mono audio.

Whatever source was utilized for this transfer has some pretty obvious damage and age related wear and tear observable from the get go, with some surprisingly large blemishes showing up on occasion. There are also a number of moments with actual missing information in the frame, like the small white spot on Papas' ear in screenshot 2, or another somewhat smaller white spot on Kostas Kazakos' forehead in screenshot 3. It's frankly hard to tell sometimes if some of what is seen is Cacoyannis experimenting with hand held cameras, but recurrently on shots where it sure seems like the camera is locked off there can still be image instability. The palette is generally healthy looking, though there are some scenes that look browner than others. Detail levels fare best in close-ups. Grain is quite heavy throughout but encounters no real compression problems. There are frankly moments where this can hover down more toward what I'd call 3.0 territory, but in other better moments it may at least get a bit more toward 4.0, so I'm splitting the difference with the score.

Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Iphigenia features a decently robust LPCM Mono track. The film has some really interesting scoring by the great Mikis Theodorakis which has frankly been shoddily edited at times but which still lends the film some presence, as do the repeated uses of ambient environmental effects since the film basically takes place outside. It does seem that this may ironically have followed Italian precedent by being largely or maybe even totally post looped, as sync can at least occasionally be loose. That said, dialogue is delivered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Dimitris Papanikolaou (HD; 25:02) is a new interview with the Greek film expert, here discussing the film and its director.


• Cannes 1977 Press Conference (HD; 11:03) is culled from a 1978 French television broadcast and features Michael Cacoyannis and Irene Papas. This actually begins with a pretty lengthy clip from the film. In French with English subtitles.


• Michael Cacoyannis and Irene Papas (HD*; 6:12) are offered in this 1977 episode of the French television series Aujourd'hui Magazine. In French with English subtitles.

*720

Radiance also provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with an interesting essay by Vrasidas Karalis which maybe surprisingly calls the film a "flawed masterpiece". Radiance's usual assortment of packaging extras like a reversible sleeve and Obi strip are also included.

Iphigenia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It frankly surprised me to see that the first two films in Michael Cacoyannis' celebrated trilogy of Greek tragedy classics apparently aren't available anywhere on Blu-ray. After having seen the intermittently problematic condition of the element used for this transfer, I wonder if perhaps those two weren't especially well curated. It may well be that all three films require some costly restoration efforts to get them spry looking again. This is still entirely watchable, and the supplements are enjoyable. What's often fascinating about this adaptation is that despite the preconception of Greeks being "civilized" and bringing significant culture to the West, they're shown to be scheming and almost feral at times here. It may be of some interest to armchair sociologists or those with an interest in world religions to contrast and compare the child sacrifice element of this story with that of Abraham and Isaac, the latter of which offers a literal Deus ex Machina somewhat like Euripedes' supposed second formulation of the Iphigenia story. With caveats noted, Recommended.