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Greek cinema of the fifties and sixties enjoyed -and still does- an unprecedented acceptance by the people. Despite its extensive exploitation by television, it still constitutes an inexhaustible source of popular entertainment. There are many reasons for this acceptance. Some people attribute it to the actors, and especially to the charismatic comedians, who gave depth, volume and measure to the human types and characters featured in Modern Greek ethography. Part of the credit also goes to the screenplays of these films; authentic and inspired references to Post-War Greek reality, written mostly by playwrights. After all, the theater, with its recognizable codes, was the main source from which Greek cinema drew.
However, certain directors that belonged to this cinema tried to give it another dimension; to go beyond the theatricality and the elementary cinematic narrative, and make films which would correspond to the codes of cinema, rather than being static imprints and mere transfers of theatrical plays to the screen.
One of those that gave Greek film this dimension of self-sufficiency was Dinos Dimopoulos. Working in the most well-equipped (but also the most typified) company in the local film industry, Finos Films, he made 498 films, working with the greatest stars of the time, from Aliki Vouyouklaki, Tzeni Karezi and Sofia Vembo, to Alekos Alexandrakis and Mimis Fotopoulos, venturing into almost all film genres: slapstick comedy, comedy, melodrama, "social denunciation", even bucolic dramas - from Joe the Terrible to Lola, from Astero to Madalena, from the Ladies of the Courtyard to Journey, all the way to his most recent comeback, the tender-hearted Little Dolphins of the Amvrakikos Bay.
Dimopoulos succeeded, through the conformity and expediency imposed upon him by commercial cinema, in making films that displayed rare elegance of style; were attentively made; were masterful yet at the same time simple; and always bore his personal touch. It is possible that the cinema of Dinos Dimopoulos defines the main difference between the nobility of cinematic popularity and the barbarity of populism. In other words, Dimopoulos never forced out laughter, smiles, tears or emotion with cheap tricks. He had a sense of film acting and taught it to his actors; he was aware of the importance of photography and sets. His films are consummate in every way; they have rhythm, and they are true products of the art of cinema, in every sense of the word.
As time goes by, these virtues give Dinos Dimopoulos a special place in the history of Greek Cinema. The time when he worked the hardest was a very difficult period: everything was done in the name of facileness and expediency; uniformity and recipes were the unbroken rule. There were certain people who, as much as was humanly possible, succeeded in bypassing these norms. And for this, they should be remembered and honored.
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John Boorman:
