Director: Nikos Koundouros
Screenplay: Iakovos Kabanellis
Starring: Dinos Iliopoulos, Margarita Papageorgiou, Giannis Argyris, Thanasis Vengos, Marika Lekaki, Theodoros Andriakopoulos
Country: Greece
Running Time: 103 min
Year: 1956
BBFC Certificate: 12
The Ogre of Athens (a.k.a. O Drakos or The Ogre) was Greek director Nikos Koundouros’ second film, following The Magic City. Whilst his debut was admired among critics, it was The Ogre of Athens that led the director to international acclaim, aided by it getting a special mention at the Venice Film Festival. However, the film performed poorly in Greece. Generally, this was the case throughout Koundouros’ career, not helped by his films often getting censored by the authorities.
Koundouros would go on to make more award-winners following this, such as Young Aphrodites (1963) and 1922 (1978). However, his name has faded somewhat over the years, at least outside of Greece.
Always looking to reignite interest in largely forgotten films, Radiance have set their sights on The Ogre of Athens, giving it the Blu-ray release it long deserved. Intrigued and having faith in Radiance’s selections, I got hold of a screener, and my thoughts follow.
To quote the press blurb, The Ogre of Athens tells the following story – “Despite his best efforts, shy and modest bank clerk Thomas (Dinos Iliopoulos) struggles to fit in with the pace of modern life. On New Year’s Eve, a comedy of errors ensues, and Thomas is mistaken for ‘The Ogre’, a notorious criminal mastermind who rules the streets of Athens. Suddenly, men respect him, and a woman is interested in him – it’s all he’s ever wanted. However, everything comes with a price, and Thomas is soon out of his depth when his unwitting white lie unravels.”
It’s an unusual and intoxicating film about mistaken identity and seizing power when the opportunity arises, as well as, on the surface, simply looking at a lonely man struggling to find purpose, identity and a voice in the world.
There is a political subtext to it all too. Greece, at the time, was only a few years out of civil war. During this period, people didn’t trust each other. This sense of paranoia plays a key part in the film. Both Koundouros and the writer, Iakovos Kabanellis, had previously been imprisoned for political reasons, and there’s a distinct flavour of witch-hunting at play in the film.
The central character is fascinating. You can sympathise with his initial plight and his crippling shyness. However, his deception later can be seen as manipulative, particularly in how he uses it to get closer to a young woman, even if he doesn’t initiate the ruse. Personally, I felt sorry for the man, but others, including Christina Newland, who discusses the film in an interview on the disc, are less sympathetic towards him.
One thing that surprised me about The Ogre of Athens was how much music and dancing there was in it, and how effectively both are used. Whilst you don’t have characters randomly breaking into song and the film has none of the camp of a traditional musical, it could be classed as loosely being part of the genre. Much of the film takes place in a seedy club, where a band accompany live performances and a number of strangely captivating group dances. Some comments within the extra features suggest these are traditional, but to a non-Greek audience, they’re a strange mix of sexy and unsettling.
Added to this, there are blackly comic, slightly surreal splashes throughout the film, which might suggest it could be seen as a precursor to the modern Greek ‘Weird Wave’. All the dancing might also be considered an influence on Yorgos Lanthimos’ insistence on inserting a strange dance into all of his films (though popular Greek cinema often contained dance scenes back in the 50s).
I thought Koundouros’ direction was fantastic. The noir-like film, often lit in high contrast, is filled with thoughtful compositions, subtle but beautifully executed camera moves and some long takes. I also loved how the director often filled frames with life, whilst contrasting these against the anxious and largely inactive Thomas.
Overall, it’s a remarkable film that’s hard to categorise but easy to fall under the spell of.
Film: 
The Ogre of Athens is out on 17th November on region-free Blu-Ray, released by Radiance Films. There’s a little wear in places, but largely it looks great, with clear details and well-balanced contrast. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks. There’s a light hiss on the soundtrack, but I prefer this to the tinny noise-reduced sound you sometimes get on older films that have been more aggressively restored.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES
– High-Definition digital transfer
– Uncompressed mono PCM audio
– New introduction from Jonathan Franzen (7 mins, 2025)
– New interview with critic Christina Newland (11 mins, 2025)
– New interview with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou on the ‘Golden Age’ of Greek cinema (26 mins, 2025)
– Newly improved English subtitle translation
– Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
– Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Andréas Giannopoulos and extract from Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom
– Limited edition of 2500 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Christina Newland talks about the film and its director in an 11-minute piece. She provides background information but also analyses the film and its themes, so it’s well worth a watch.
Dimitris Papanikolaou also talks about the film but sets it in a wider context of the ‘golden age’ of Greek cinema. Running at 25 minutes, it’s another valuable asset to the disc.
There’s also a short introduction by Jonathan Franzen, which you can choose to run before the film. He describes how The Ogre of Athens was one of three films that made a great impression on him in his younger years, when he first began to write. The film is referenced in his book, ‘Freedom’, playing a key part in its story.
I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet to comment on that, unfortunately.
Overall, it’s not as loaded with extras as some titles, but it contains a digestible collection of interviews to help you better appreciate this wonderful film. Highly recommended.
Disc/package: 
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