The ogre of Athens

Thomas is a middle-aged lowly civil servant, is preparing to spend New Year's Eve alone, when he discovers his uncanny resemblance to the "Ogre of Athens", a notorious outlaw wanted by the police. Trying to hide, Thomas enters a night-club where a band of small-time outlaws are preparing their biggest "job". Misled by the belief that Thomas is the Ogre, they ask him to be their leader. Seeing this as his one chance to escape mediocrity and be "someone", Thomas goes along with their game. However, the whole affair will come to a tragic end, when the truth is revealed.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.


Direction: Nikos Koundouros.
Co-direction: Nikos Koundouros.
Script: Iakovos Kambanellis.
Cinematography: Costas Theodoridis
Editing: Nikos Koundouros
Sound: Mikθs Damalas
Music: Manos Hadjidakis.
Actors: Dinos Iliopoulos, Margarita Papageorgiou, Yiannis Argiris, Thanassis Vengos.
Production: Athens Movie Company
Costumes: Denni Vachlioti
Sets: Tassos Zografos, P. Papadopoulos
Format: 35mm
Color: B&W
Production Year: 1956
Duration: 105'

Nikos Koundouros

Nikos Koundouros (1926–2017) was born in Agios Nikolaos, Crete and studied Painting and Sculpting at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Due to his political views, he was persecuted and forced in exile, not only after the end of World War II, but also during the colonels’ regime. He made his first feature film, Magic City, in 1953. In 1956, The Ogre of Athens established him as a true representative of the new age of cinema. Since then, his films have received international acclaim and earned him a place in the vanguard of Greek cinema.

Filmography

1954 The Magical City
1956 The Ogre of Athens
1958 The Outlaws
1960 The River
1963 Young Aphrodites
1967 Vortex or The Face of Medusa
1974 The Songs of Fire (doc)
1978 "1922"
1985 Bordello
1992 Byron, Ballad for a Deamon
1998 The Photographers
2013 One Ship for Palestine