The Countess of Corfu

The Countess of Corfu (Greek: Η Κόμησσα Της Κέρκυρας, romanized: I Komissa tis Kerkyras) is a 1972 film starring Rena Vlahopoulou, Alekos Alexandrakis and Nonika Galinea.[1] The movie was filmed in Corfu, the birthplace of Rena Vlahopoulou.[1][2]

The Countess of Corfu
I Komissa tis Kerkyras
Film poster
Directed byAlekos Sakellarios
Written byAlekos Sakellarios
Produced byFinos Film
StarringRena Vlahopoulou
Music byGiorgos Katsaros
Production
company
Finos Film
Release date
  • 7 February 1972 (1972-02-07)[1]
Running time
84 minutes[1]
CountryGreece
LanguageGreek

Plot

Rena Vlahopoulou plays signora Antzolina, an old-time Corfiote aristocratic lady who has fallen on hard times and is working as a piano teacher while reminiscing of her old romance with her lost fiancé.[1] She lives in her palatial mansion in Corfu which becomes the object of desire of Sotiris Karelis, an entrepreneur, who wants to convert it into a hotel. Karelis romances the old aristocrat thinking that at a suitable price she will eventually agree to sell her mansion to him.[3] When she resists, he tells her a story that he is friends with her lost fiancé.[4]

An Italian musical group arrives in Corfu and she accommodates them in her mansion. Her hospitality extends to also helping the Italian musicians by replacing their lead singer Alinda Ritsi who has left the group. However Alinda changes her mind and arrives in Corfu intent on joining the group once more. Comedy ensues when the identities of the two singers get all mixed up and when the lost fiancé of Antzolina turns out to be the escort of the Italian singer.[1][4]

The movie was filmed during the Papadopoulos dictatorship years and this is reflected in the film by the characters being closely followed by policemen who watch them. In the end love and fun prevail and Sotiris falls for Antzolina.[3]

Music

The theme song of the film makes mention of many Corfu landmarks such as Benitses, the Spianada, Palaiokastritsa and Pontikonisi.[5] Angelos Sakellarios wrote the lyrics of the theme song but he obtained advice from the Corfiotes in the film like Giorgos Katsaros and the star Rena Vlahopoulou who guided him regarding the places that were to be included in the song.[3] The song became a classic of "tourist folk".[3]

Locale

The film showcased the cantounia of the old city of Corfu, the Achilleion, luxury hotels and famous beaches of the island like Palaiokastritsa which became the background of elaborate dance routines by the veteran Greek dance group of the 70s led by Fotis Metaxopoulos and his partner Nadia Fontana.[1][3]

Box office

The movie was the ninth most popular Greek film of 1972 with 310,583 tickets.[6][7]

Cast

Release

The film premiered in Greece on 7 February 1972.[1]

References
  1. "Η Κόμησσα Της Κέρκυρας (1972)". Finos Film.
  2. Tytti Soila (2009). Stellar Encounters: Stardom in Popular European Cinema. John Libbey. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-86196-679-0. The extraordinary ordinariness of Rena Vlahopoulou Born on the island of Corfu (Kerkyra) in the 1920s, Rena ...
  3. Λήδα Γαλανού. "Τα νησιά του ελληνικού σινεμά #9 – Η Κέρκυρα στο "Η Κόμισσα της Κέρκυρας" του Αλέκου Σακελλάριου". Flix.gr.
  4. "Η ΚΟΜΙΣΣΑ ΤΗΣ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑΣ". Alpha tv.gr.
  5. Jim Potts (6 September 2013). The Ionian Islands and Epirus. Andrews UK Limited. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-908493-46-0.
  6. Σταθης Βαλουκος (1984). Φιλμογραφια ελληνικου κινηματογραφου (1914–1984). Εταιρεια Ελληνων Σκηνοθετων. p. 329.
  7. Ελενη Φεσσα-Εμμανουηλ; Πανεπιστημιο Αθηνων. Τμημα Θεατρικων Σπουδων (2004). Χορος & θεατρο: απο τη νταγκαν στις νεες Χορευτικες ομαδες. Εκδοσεις Εφεσος. p. 292. ISBN 9789608326095. Από τις κινηματογραφικές του επιτυχίες ξεχωρίζει τις ταινίες στις οποίες συνεργάστηκε με τη Ρένα Βλαχοπούλου – Η θεία μου η χίπισαα (1970), Η κόμισσα της Κέρκυρας(1972) σε σκηνοθεσία Αλέκου Σακελλάριου – και τις συνεργασίες του με την
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