Overview: 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.

Rich with physical comedy and sharp social commentary, this satirical crime drama from director Nikos Koundouros (Young Aphrodites) was a commercial disaster on release and is now considered to be a true classic of modern Greek cinema.

Blu-ray Verdict: This is the first Greek film of that Artistic nature, that years later would almost destroy the Greek cinema. But in the 50’s it was a great novelty for the local production. On a first level, it’s talking about the story of a little man who is tired of being this little man and decides that he would rather have the short but glorious life of a famous criminal.

His borrowed reputation soon gets him the tragic but exceptional end that he almost is wishing for. Still, this is not really a crime movie. It’s actually a political film, made in a time when this was not permitted by the authorities. The wounds from the wars that passed, the 2nd world war and the Greek civil war (a taboo topic at the time), are obvious to the viewer with eyes wide open though.

The poverty that dooms the life of the nation and the influence of the USA in Greece, not by their model of life but with their unethical, political involvements, is underlined with the only way that it was possible for the Greek cinema of the time! A beautiful, lyrical tragedy, with a message to read between the lines. [N.M.]

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
New introduction from Jonathan Franzen (2025)
New interview with critic Christina Newland (2025)
New interview with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou (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

Official Purchase Link

www.radiancefilms.co.uk