"Dead State" - Α film shot in Mystras
The shooting of the film "Dead State" began in Mystras (also known as "Myzithras") in 1949, and it was released in cinemas on December 3rd, 1951. By that period’s standards, the shooting of a motion picture was a significant and unprecedented event for the inhabitants of Mystras - one of the best exponents of Byzantine culture.
The dramatic film (lasting 76 minutes) was produced by Finos Film, scripted and directed by Frixos Iliadis, photography by Aristidis Karydis-Fuchs and the music written by the late Manos Hadjidakis. In fact, it was also his first collaboration with Finos Film. The leading actors were Irini Papas, Nikos Tzoias, Eleni Zafiriou, Giorgos Fountas and many others. Irini Pappas became established with this film, while Giorgos Fountas appeared in the cinema for the first time. The movie "Dead State," with its special artistic features both in direction and in photography, managed to represent our country at the Cannes Film Festival, attracting particularly positive reviews.
The film’s prominent “protagonist” was the footage from the Byzantine Castle City and the new Mystras with its characteristic traditional houses. As Yiannis Soldatos has written: "In the dramatic adventure "Dead State" (1951) by Frixos Iliadis, the presence of the walls of Mystras is impressive, through the great photography of Aristidis Karydis-Fuchs." (Yiannis Soldatos, "A Century of Greek Cinema", p. 108, Volume I, 2000).
Finally, the film stands out not only for its artistic value but also because it is a historical document that "captures" Byzantine and the new Mystras, as it was 70 years ago. As, in fact, Nestoras Matsas wrote in a review of the film (in the "ETHNIKOS KIRYX" newspaper): "The evocative atmosphere of Mystras in which the film develops is a key element of the success of the movie..."