Nico Papatakis on AllMovie

Born to Greek parents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, filmmaker Nico Papatakis was raised in Paris and grew up to own a successful nightclub on the Left Bank. In 1963, he made his directorial debut with the true story of two servants who went berserk and killed their employers, in Les Abysses. Though outwardly an exploitation film, the story was actually a sly metaphor for the conflicts found in the war between France and Algeria and with the ongoing struggles within France's social and political infrastructure; as a result, it generated violent controversy during its initial release. When Les Abysses debuted at that year's Cannes, audiences nearly rioted; though the movie was technically exceptional, its showing effectively ended Papatakis' career in French cinema and he has only made three feature films.