MT
Míkis Theodorakis
Composer, Actor, Additional Credits
Born July 29, 1925Died September 2, 2021 (96 years)
Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης,29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works.
He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973).
He was a three time BAFTA nominee, winning for Z. For the score in the movie Serpico (1973), he earned Grammy nominations. Furthermore, for the unforgettable score to Zorba the Greek (1964), with its ‘Zorba’s Dance’, he was Golden Globe nominated.
He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", which has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work.Up until his death, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
Politically, he was associated with the left because of his long-standing ties to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). He was an MP for the KKE from 1981 to 1990. Despite this however, he ran as an independent candidate within the centre-right New Democracy party in 1989, in order for the country to emerge from the political crisis that had been created due to the numerous scandals of the government of Andreas Papandreou. He helped establish a large coalition between conservatives, socialists and leftists. In 1990 he was elected to the parliament (as in 1964 and 1981), became a government minister under Konstantinos Mitsotakis, and fought against drugs and terrorism and for culture, education and better relations between Greece and Turkey. He continued to speak out in favour of leftist causes, Greek–Turkish–Cypriot relations, and against the War in Iraq. He was a key voice against the 1967–1974 Greek junta, which imprisoned him and banned his songs.
He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973).
He was a three time BAFTA nominee, winning for Z. For the score in the movie Serpico (1973), he earned Grammy nominations. Furthermore, for the unforgettable score to Zorba the Greek (1964), with its ‘Zorba’s Dance’, he was Golden Globe nominated.
He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", which has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work.Up until his death, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
Politically, he was associated with the left because of his long-standing ties to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). He was an MP for the KKE from 1981 to 1990. Despite this however, he ran as an independent candidate within the centre-right New Democracy party in 1989, in order for the country to emerge from the political crisis that had been created due to the numerous scandals of the government of Andreas Papandreou. He helped establish a large coalition between conservatives, socialists and leftists. In 1990 he was elected to the parliament (as in 1964 and 1981), became a government minister under Konstantinos Mitsotakis, and fought against drugs and terrorism and for culture, education and better relations between Greece and Turkey. He continued to speak out in favour of leftist causes, Greek–Turkish–Cypriot relations, and against the War in Iraq. He was a key voice against the 1967–1974 Greek junta, which imprisoned him and banned his songs.
Filmography
| 2019 | Lethal Nationalism: Genocide of the Greeks 1913-1923 · as Composer |
| 2017 | |
| 2013 | Recycling Medea: Not an Opera Ballet Film · as Composer |
| 2005 | The Last Bey of the Balkans (TV Series) · as Composer |
| 2001 | |
| 2000 | Beware of Greeks... Bearing Guns · as Original Music Composer |
| 2000 | Tenussian Vacuvasco · as Composer |
| 1997 | Barluschke · as Composer |
| 1989 | The Fog · as Composer |
| 1983 | Athens, Return to the Acropolis · as Original Music Composer |
| 1980 | The Man with the Carnation · as Composer |
| 1979 | Kostas · as Composer |
| 1979 | |
| 1977 | Iphigenia · as Original Music Composer |
| 1976 | Thanasis in the Land of Slapping · as Composer |
| 1975 | Letters from Marusia · as Original Music Composer |
| 1974 | The Story of Jacob and Joseph · as Composer |
| 1974 | |
| 1973 | Serpico · as Original Music Composer |
| 1973 | |
| 1972 | State of Siege · as Original Music Composer |
| 1971 | The Trojan Women · as Original Music Composer |
| 1971 | |
| 1971 | |
| 1970 | To theatro tis Defteras (TV Series) · as Composer |
| 1969 | Z · as Original Music Composer |
| 1968 | Walls · as Original Music Composer |
| 1967 | The Day the Fish Came Out · as Original Music Composer |
| 1967 | The Greeks · as Composer |
| 1966 | A Bullet Through the Heart · as Original Music Composer |
| 1966 | |
| 1965 | The Roundup · as Composer |
| 1964 | Zorba the Greek · as Original Music Composer |
| 1962 | Five Miles to Midnight · as Original Music Composer |
| 1962 | Electra · as Original Music Composer |
| 1962 | Betrayed Love · as Composer |
| 1962 | Phaedra · as Original Music Composer |
| 1962 | Les amants de Teruel · as Original Music Composer |
| 1961 | |
| 1960 | Faces in the Dark · as Composer |
| 1959 | |
| 1957 | Night Ambush · as Original Music Composer |
| 1953 | The Barefoot Battalion · as Composer |