Greece10 Essential Greek FilmsStop 2 of 10

The Ogre of Athens

Ο Δράκος

1956

On New Year's Eve, a meek bank clerk is mistaken for a feared crime boss who rules the Athens underworld, and he warily plays along with the misunderstanding — a small lie that begins to spiral. A darkly comic classic of Greek cinema.

Why it’s here

Nikos Koundouros’s expressionist noir transformed a mistaken-identity crime story into one of the defining visions of postwar Athens and a foundational work of modern Greek cinema.