The Ogre of Athens

Thanks to WW2 and a lengthy civil war, Greek cinema was always lagging behind other European countries. But as waves of Italian neorealism, film noir and screwball comedies passed through, filmmakers picked up the baton and began incorporating popular genres into their own productions. Beginning in the ‘50s, this golden age spawned hits from the major studio, Finos Film, but also gave birth of independents whose influence wasn’t felt until decades later. That, in a nutshell, exemplifies The Ogre of Athens (1956) a socio-political, film-noir, musical comedy that truly fits the description all of the above.

Thomas, a meek and lonely bank clerk, is mistaken for a notorious criminal after a photo in the newspaper matches his description. On the run from police, he stumbles into sketchy club full of showgirls and gangsters, the latter of whom also mistake him for the Ogre and force him to participate in their latest heist. Fearful but flattered, Thomas begins to embrace his role as a famous bad guy whose skill with the ladies and tough-guy reputation adds a dash of excitement to his previously dull existence.

Thumbing its nose at the hypocrisy of the general population, the film was a flop upon release in its home country. But director Nikos Koundouros’ caricature of a paranoid Greek society willing to sell anyone – or anything – to the highest bidder plays better with some history behind it. Thomas’ identity crisis makes for a spot-on metaphor for the political uncertainty of the era. And the heist he’s coerced into joining involves selling off columns from the Temple of Zeus – literally bits and pieces of Greece itself!

There’s no denying the film’s ambitions; one could describe it as daring, reckless or maybe a little bit of both. The uneven tone bounces between the slapstick of Harold Lloyd and the sinister set-up of Casablanca, embracing the film noir visual aesthetic with bursts of musical absurdity. In a sense, the audience becomes just another stranger in a strange land, where the customs are unfamiliar and the rules change from one scene to the next. Villain or victim, The Ogre of Athens concludes we all pay for it in the end.

A 2,500-copy limited-edition world Blu-ray premiere, Radiance adds on several extras including an intro by author Jonathan Franzen, 11-minute interview with critic Christina Newland who sheds light on the film’s political motivations, another with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou on the country’s golden age of cinema, liner notes and reversible artwork.