Zorba the Greek (, Alexis Zorbas) is a 1964 comedy-drama film written, produced, edited, and directed by Greek Cypriot filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis. It stars Anthony Quinn as Zorba, an earthy and boisterous Cretan peasant, and Alan Bates as the buttoned-up young intellectual he befriends. The cast also includes Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas, and Sotiris Moustakas. The musical score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis. The film is based on the 1946 novel The Life And Times Of Alexis Zorba by Nikos Kazantzakis. Produced in Greece for under $1 million, Zorba was a considerable critical and commercial success, grossing over nine times its production budget at the U.S. box office alone. At the 37th Academy Awards, the film won awards for Best Supporting Actress (Kedrova), Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Other nominations included Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Anthony Quinn, whose performance has been cited as one of the most iconic in film history, and which spawned the folkdance known as the sirtaki. The film and its source novel were later adapted into a Tony-winning stage musical, which Cacoyannis, Quinn, and Kedrova all participated in. Cast Anthony Quinn as Alexis Zorba (), a fictionalized version of the mine worker George Zorbas ( 1867–1942) Alan Bates as Basil Irene Papas as the Widow Lila Kedrova as Madame Hortense Sotiris Moustakas as Mimithos Anna Kyriakou as Soul Eleni Anousaki as Lola George Voyadjis as Pavlo Takis Emmanuel as Manolakas George Foundas as Mavrandoni Pia Lindström (deleted scenes) as Peasant girl Plot Basil is a Greek-British writer raised in the UK who bears the hallmarks of an uptight, middle-class Englishman. He is waiting at the Athens port of Piraeus on mainland Greece to catch a boat to Crete when he meets a gruff, yet enthusiastic Greek-Macedonian peasant and musician named Zorba. Basil explains to Zorba that he is traveling to a rural Cretan village where his father owns some land, with the intention of reopening a Lignite mine and perhaps curing his writer's block. Zorba relates his experience with mining and persuades Basil to take him along. When they arrive at Crete, they take a car to the village where they are greeted enthusiastically by the town's impoverished peasant community. They stay with an old French former courtesan named Madame Hortense in her self-styled "Hotel Ritz". The audacious Zorba tries to persuade Basil into making a move on Madame Hortense, but