''The Dawn of Victory'' ( el, Η χαραυγή της νίκης) is a 1971 Greek

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by Dimis Dadiras, written by Giorgos Lazaridis and starring Lakis Komninos,

Betty Arvaniti Betty Arvaniti ( el, Ελισσάβετ (Μπέττυ, Μπέτυ) Αρβανίτη; born 4 August 1939) is a Greek actress. She appeared in 40 films and television shows between 1965 and 2002. Selected filmography * '' Istoria mias zois'' (196 ...

and Miranta Kounelaki.

Plot

In 1943, Allied forces stationed in the Middle East commission a team of commandos led by Nikitas ( Nikos Dadinopoulos) to destroy the largest German military airport in

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. Nikitas is a Cretan himself and the son of a drunkard Nazi collaborator (

Dimos Starenios Dimos (Greek: Δήμος) may refer to the following people: ;Given name * Dimos Baxevanidis (born 1988), Greek football player *Dimos Dikoudis Dimosthenis "Dimos" Dikoudis (alternate spellings include: Demosthenis, Demos, Ntikoudis) ( el, Δημ� ...

). He is in love with Martha ( Miranta Kounelaki), a local villager. The commandos seek the assistance of the resistance, led by Lefteris ( Lakis Komninos), who is also in love with Martha. While initially willing to cooperate, Lefteris changes his mind and refuses to help the team in their operation, believing it to be a

suicide mission A suicide mission is a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks such as kamikaze and suicide bombings, whose perpetrators actively commit s ...

. Without the help of the resistance, the commando's mission is a failure. Meanwhile, after the resistance blows up a bridge, the Germans arrest Martha and Lefteris' father in an attempt to force Lefteris to turn himself in. Lefteris refuses to surrender, but instead leads his fighters in an attack on the German headquarters, rescuing the captives.

Cast

* Lakis Komninos ..... ''Lefteris Sifakas'' *

..... ''Chrysa'' * Miranda Kounelaki ..... ''Martha Kalogeri'' * Nikos Dadinopoulos ..... ''Nikitas Petrakis'' * Gikas Biniaris ..... ''Minas Sifakas'' *

Ilya Livykou Ilya Livykou or Ilia Livykou ( el, Ίλυα Λιβυκού; 1919 in Heraklio – 6 September 2002 in Athens, Greece) was a Greek actress, a partner with Vassilis Logothetidis. Her real name was Amalia Hatzaki or Hadjaki (Αμαλία Χατζά ...

..... ''Chrysanthi Petraki'' *

Giorgos Velentzas Giorgos Velentzas ( el, Γιώργος Βελέντζας; 4 December 1927 – 20 July 2015) was a Greek actor. Biography He studied at the Dramatic School at the Athens Odeum. He starred in the movie '' Ochyro 27'' in 1948 and made his firs ...

..... ''Colonel Petridis'' *Dimos Starenios ..... ''Frantzeskos Petrakis''

Production

The film was shot and released during the

Greek military junta of 1967–74 The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

and as such was subject to the strict censorship common at the time. Filming took place in and around

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...

, in September and October 1970, including in the archeological site of the Fortezza castle, in the old city and the walls of its prefectural building. The remainder of the film was filmed in

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

Release

The movie was screened at the

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...

in 1971 (see 1971 Thessaloniki Film Festival), where it was met with fierce disapproval from the audience. The producer threatened to stop the screening if the heckling didn't stop, without success. Miranda Kounelaki nonetheless won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film at the festival.

Awards

*Best Supporting Actress Award ( Miranda Kounelaki) at the 1971 Thessaloniki Film Festival

Cultural References

The film is mainly remembered in Greece for a single line by

' character, while he is urging the gathered villagers to cooperate with the surrounding German troops, asking for information about the resistance. The full quote is: After none of the villagers say anything and the priest steps forward and gives a rousing patriotic speech, the German troops fire on the crowd, massacring the gathered Cretans.

External links

*
I Haravgi tis Nikis
at cine.gr 1971 films 1970s war drama films 1970s Greek-language films Greek war drama films 1971 drama films {{war-drama-film-stub