Under normal circumstances, I don’t immediately talk about a bonus feature on a movie, but things are different here. Novelist Jonathan Franzen does the introduction for The Ogre of Athens. He’s a legend for not being thrilled that Oprah Winfrey picked his novel The Corrections for her book club. He didn’t want her sticker on his book. Why would anyone want to be the next Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz? He’s my hero even though I still haven’t gotten around to reading The Corrections. The novel is within five feet of my nightstand now. Why is Franzen talking about a Greek film? Turns out the movie plays a major role in his book Freedom. A couple sees The Ogre of Athens on a date and the film becomes part of how they see each other. I’m going to guess the attention Franzen brought to this obscure film is why we are getting the World Premiere of the movie on Blu-ray.
Details of the Ogre are starting to leak out via special edition newspapers around Athens. People are nervous about this criminal even as New Year’s Eve festivities are starting up on the streets. Thomas (Dinos Iliopoulos) is a mousy clerk who is barely making it. He can’t afford a new winter coat because he fears what his landlord will do to the rent in the new year. On a night of parties, he tells his colleagues that he will stay at home like he always does. He’s dull and nervous. On his way home, the latest newspapers have a photo of what is supposed to be the Ogre. The balding Thomas resembles the pic. They both wear the same glasses. Instead of a quiet night in his apartment, Thomas finds himself being pursued by cops and reward seekers. He finds a bit of calm in a cabaret after being lured in by a dancer named Carmen. Inside this mobster club, the Ogre is treated right. He is having a great New Year’s Eve even under such circumstances. The place accepts him and even protects him when cops enter the joint. A couple crooks are eager for him to join their big heist of Greek antiquities. He also finds Carmen and a younger performer at the club flirting with him. Can the boring Thomas allow himself to be sucked into the exciting and illegal life of the Ogre?
The Ogre of Athens is a great dark comedy. It doesn’t hurt that star Dinos Iliopoulos has the same feels as Wally Cox (Mr. Peepers & voice of Underdog) on the screen. He has this great “what have I stumbled into” nervousness to his face without trying to look too out of place. All these people have their idea of The Ogre although none of them think he’s really this mild. While this is a comedy, there’s a darkness always about to cover everything. A lot of that energy is generated by Giannis Argyris as the gangster in charge of the nightclub. He can be funny without losing his dangerous edge. He’s got the same potency as Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. You don’t want to hate him, but you know he will kill if given a chance. The Greek title for the film is O Drákos or The Dragon. But somehow The Ogre seems more fitting for the criminal Thomas is mistaken for. The third act makes it easy to see why the film made such an impression on Franzen. This is next level filmmaking.
If you read Franzen’s Freedom and are curious about The Ogre of Athens, you better grab the Blu-ray fast since there’s only 2,500 copies of this limited edition release. Franzen sold over a million copies of Freedom.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfer brings out the details of like in Athens in 1955 (the movie came out in 1956). The Audio is Greek LPCM 1.0 mono. Things sound fine inside the cabaret during the floorshow. The movie is subtitled in English.
Introduction by Jonathan Franzen (7:18) has the author talk about how he first saw the movie in a select art house. He thought it was going to be a bad foreign movie, but was impressed. Even though he only saw it once, he remembered it for his book 30 years later. It was film nobody talked about at the time. It feels right that Franzen gets to open the film since he elevated the profile in America.
Christina Newland (11:05) gives a critical analysis of the movie along with background about production. Director Nikos Koundouros had earlier in his life spent prison time for his political beliefs. While he was hailed as a director internationally, various Greek governments had issues with him. She relates the film to the Greek civil war that had just ended.
Dimitris Papanikolaou (25:46) has him put The Ogre of Athens in context with the golden age of Greek cinema. Director Nikos Koundouros shows his countries scars after they dealt with a German occupation during World War II and the civil war. The destruction is always visible on the exterior shots. He points out how other films made this part of their texture. Among the films mentioned are Never On A Sunday and Zorba The Greek. Actor Dinos Iliopoulos did other comic roles in Greece.
Illustrated Booklet includes an essay by Andreas Giannopoulos and an excerpt from Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
Radiance Films present The Ogre of Athens. Directed by Nikos Koundouros. Screenplay by Iakovos Kambanellis. Starring Dinos Iliopoulos, Margarita Papageorgiou, Giannis Argyris, Thanasis Veggos, Maria Lekaki & Theodoros Andrikopoulos. Running Time: 104 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 18, 2025.
