The film could be unbearable because over-pathetic (in the very greek sense of the word) if it hadn't the very special performances of melina Mercouri and Anthony Perkins. The latter gives one of his most convincing performances ever (very subtle & very strong at the time) and the woman, although she's not properly a great actress, gives a show of power and passion that is simply overwhelming. I felt, in many occasions, tented to laugh about the forced 'destiny'-tone of the whole, but every since I finished convinced and shivering with the couple. Pretty admirable little movie.

There are few films that one remembers like the nostalgia of a lost love. Phaedra has this effect on me. I saw it at a "foreign" film festival at Metropolitan State College in Denver Colorado when I was 20 years old in l965. Perkins will always bring to mind the "angst" ridden, melancholy young man, a role he truly "lives" in this brilliantly updated Greek tradegy. Melina M was never more alluring and exotic. When you combine the chemistry of these two unusual actors with the ancient fear of incest and deceit that Phaedra represents you get stunning performances from the two leads. I also was mesmerized by the haunting and seductive soundtrack from this film. The best description for it is "greek jazz",although that certainly doesn't describe it well. I bought the vinyl 33 in a used record shop in 1989 and copied it to tape. It travels with me in my car and is played quite frequently. Is there any hope of this film ever becoming available to vhs? Who knows. All I know is that the "fireplace" seduction scene has few equals in any other contemporary film for raw sensualism and erotic power.

Hold on to your seats---I am about to say something rather mean. Although Melina Mercouri often played sexy ladies in the 1960s, I always thought she was highly...well...not sexy (I am trying to be nice here). So, seeing her as a super-desirable vixen in a film like "Phaedra" has its work cut out for it, as I just found this aspect of the film very difficult to believe (Anthony Perkins was far more believable in his role of a heterosexual in this film). Apparently once again, the fine director, Jules Dassin, felt compelled to put his girlfriend (and later, wife) in such a leading role. I know it's all rather nasty...but I couldn't help but think this as this classical story was retold. However, despite all this, the film was, at times, very sexy--showing the director did have a lot of skill (Dassin made several amazingly good films during his great career).

Like various ancient versions of "Phaedra", the story is about a young man falling in love with his step-mother. In this film, this didn't quite work, as the pair seemed to very inexplicably fall for each other--and way too quickly. In some of the classical versions, the pair was cursed by the gods--and that is why they fell madly in love. I think this latter way of writing the story actually works a lot better and makes this mad love seem more convincing. The sour note was the ending--Anthony Perkins seemed to overact a bit at the very end. Otherwise, an interesting reinterpretation of the old story--and worth seeing.