O Drákos (Greek: Ο Δράκος; English: The Ogre of Athens or The fiend of Athens), or simply The Dragon, is a 1956 Greek existential and satirical dramacrime film, directed by Nikos Koundouros. It tells the story of Thomas, a mousey and dull bank clerk whose physical appearance leads him to be confused with a fierce and notorious criminal. The film highlights as a theme the alienated modern individual[1] and the alienation from the fear imposed by a central government in a social level as well, and encompasses artistically neorealist, expressionist and ancient Greek tragedy features. The film also satirizes the film noir genre.[2] The plot was based on a script by Iakovos Kambanellis, one of Greece's most prominent playwrights, and the music score was written by Manos Hadjidakis with the collaboration of Vasilis Tsitsanis.[3] Although the film was a commercial disaster on its release, it is considered to be one of the most significant works of Modern Greek cinema.
A weak and timid bank employee, Thomas, prepares to spend the New Year's Eve alone when he is horrified to realize that he resembles a famous wanted criminal whom the newspapers call "The Dragon". Due to the misunderstanding, the police chase him and he takes refuge in a cabaret. Amid the ambiguous charm of the night, an underworld gang, treat him as the real Dragon and a dancer, the so-called Carmen, takes a liking on him and protects him. There Thomas meets Roula , the "baby" as they call her, a young girl, orphaned after the bombing of Piraeus, who was picked up by Carmen and taken to the cabaret. The boss, the "Fat Man" as they call him,who is in love with the "baby", scolds her out of jealousy and won't let her leave his control. She herself is innocent, with a pure, almost childlike soul and wishes to leave the cabaret and the underworld, in which she is forced to live. Thomas and Roula are immediately attracted to each other, as they are both pure and lonely souls.
Thomas identifies with his new role, that of "Dragon", the leader of the gang. Their goal is to steal and sell one of the pillars of the temple of Olympian Zeus to an interested American buyer. Thomas has moral qualms that prevent him from participating in the theft of antiquities. Ultimately he is convinced and follows the role he was given. Thomas and the "baby" spend New Year's Day together. They roam the streets of Athens happy and carefree, far from the sinful atmosphere of the cabaret. That same night Thomas is arrested by the police, who believe they have captured the real "Dragon". Identification is done at the police station. He is not the "Dragon" but an ordinary man who bears a resemblance to the villain. He is released.
Meanwhile, the cabaret people learn of their leader's arrest. The Fat Man, the owner of the cabaret, decides: The business will be done even under these circumstances. The "Dragon" cannot be captured. "He will eat the iron bars away and escape". And then Thomas appears. They welcome him with celebration. The gang prepares for the mission by drinking and dancing an imposing, heavy zeibekiko dance. Everyone talks about their needs, the ones that will be satisfied if the business succeeds. The outlaws' dance, wishes and prayers take the form of a ritual. Everyone is pinning their hopes on the "Dragon". However his true identity is revealed just before dawn and he is tragically murdered by the gang.
The movie is mentioned (and plays an important role) in Jonathan Franzen's novel Freedom, with the title The Fiend of Athens.[6][7]
ReferencesEdit
^Γανιάρης, Νικόλας (2017-05-20). "Ο "Δράκος" του Κούνδουρου: μία σύγχρονη ταινία". theartofcrime.gr (in Greek). from the original on 2022-01-01.
^"The Ogre of Athens (1956)". tainiothiki.gr (in Greek and English). Greek Film Archive Film Museum. from the original on 2022-01-01.
^ ab"Πρόγραμμα προβολών εβδομάδας 17 έως 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 2020". tainiothiki.gr (in Greek and English). Greek Film Archive Film Museum. from the original on 2022-01-01.
^Frangoulis, Giannis (2006-11-20). . cinemainfo.gr. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2009-01-14. Translated by Konstantinos Vassilaros
^. filmfestival.gr. 2006-11-26. Archived from the original on 2017-04-20.
^Jonathan Franzen (2010-08-31). Freedom (A Novel). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 576 pages. pp. 8–96. ISBN978-037-415-846-0.
^Bradshaw, Peter (2011-10-12). "Franzen's Freedom revives legend of The Dragon". The Guardian. from the original on 2021-01-26.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Ogre of Athens news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message O Drakos Greek O Drakos English The Ogre of Athens or The fiend of Athens or simply The Dragon is a 1956 Greek existential and satirical drama crime film directed by Nikos Koundouros It tells the story of Thomas a mousey and dull bank clerk whose physical appearance leads him to be confused with a fierce and notorious criminal The film highlights as a theme the alienated modern individual 1 and the alienation from the fear imposed by a central government in a social level as well and encompasses artistically neorealist expressionist and ancient Greek tragedy features The film also satirizes the film noir genre 2 The plot was based on a script by Iakovos Kambanellis one of Greece s most prominent playwrights and the music score was written by Manos Hadjidakis with the collaboration of Vasilis Tsitsanis 3 Although the film was a commercial disaster on its release it is considered to be one of the most significant works of Modern Greek cinema O DrakosThe Ogre of AthensDirected byNikos KoundourosWritten byIakovos KambanellisProduced byAthens Film CompanyStarringDinos IliopoulosMargarita PapageorgiouGiannis ArgyrisCinematographyCostas TheodoridesEdited byGiorgos TsaoulisMusic byManos HadjidakisRelease date5 March 1956 1956 03 05 Running time103 minutesCountryGreeceLanguageGreekIt won the award for best movie 1955 1959 in the first Thessaloniki Film Festival It also took part in the 17th Venice International Film Festival 3 At the 2006 International Thessaloniki Film Festival the film was announced as among the 10 all time best Greek films by the PHUCC Pan Hellenic Union of Cinema Critics 4 5 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External linksPlot EditA weak and timid bank employee Thomas prepares to spend the New Year s Eve alone when he is horrified to realize that he resembles a famous wanted criminal whom the newspapers call The Dragon Due to the misunderstanding the police chase him and he takes refuge in a cabaret Amid the ambiguous charm of the night an underworld gang treat him as the real Dragon and a dancer the so called Carmen takes a liking on him and protects him There Thomas meets Roula the baby as they call her a young girl orphaned after the bombing of Piraeus who was picked up by Carmen and taken to the cabaret The boss the Fat Man as they call him who is in love with the baby scolds her out of jealousy and won t let her leave his control She herself is innocent with a pure almost childlike soul and wishes to leave the cabaret and the underworld in which she is forced to live Thomas and Roula are immediately attracted to each other as they are both pure and lonely souls Thomas identifies with his new role that of Dragon the leader of the gang Their goal is to steal and sell one of the pillars of the temple of Olympian Zeus to an interested American buyer Thomas has moral qualms that prevent him from participating in the theft of antiquities Ultimately he is convinced and follows the role he was given Thomas and the baby spend New Year s Day together They roam the streets of Athens happy and carefree far from the sinful atmosphere of the cabaret That same night Thomas is arrested by the police who believe they have captured the real Dragon Identification is done at the police station He is not the Dragon but an ordinary man who bears a resemblance to the villain He is released Meanwhile the cabaret people learn of their leader s arrest The Fat Man the owner of the cabaret decides The business will be done even under these circumstances The Dragon cannot be captured He will eat the iron bars away and escape And then Thomas appears They welcome him with celebration The gang prepares for the mission by drinking and dancing an imposing heavy zeibekiko dance Everyone talks about their needs the ones that will be satisfied if the business succeeds The outlaws dance wishes and prayers take the form of a ritual Everyone is pinning their hopes on the Dragon However his true identity is revealed just before dawn and he is tragically murdered by the gang Cast EditDinos Iliopoulos as Thomas Margarita Papageorgiou as Babe Giannis Argyris as Fatman Thanasis Veggos as Spathis Maria Lekaki as Carmen Theodoros Andrikopoulos Andreas Douzos Anestis Vlahos Frixos Nassou ZanninoTrivia EditThe movie is mentioned and plays an important role in Jonathan Franzen s novel Freedom with the title The Fiend of Athens 6 7 References Edit Ganiarhs Nikolas 2017 05 20 O Drakos toy Koyndoyroy mia sygxronh tainia theartofcrime gr in Greek Archived from the original on 2022 01 01 The Ogre of Athens 1956 tainiothiki gr in Greek and English Greek Film Archive Film Museum Archived from the original on 2022 01 01 a b Programma probolwn ebdomadas 17 ews 23 Septembrioy 2020 tainiothiki gr in Greek and English Greek Film Archive Film Museum Archived from the original on 2022 01 01 Frangoulis Giannis 2006 11 20 47th Thessalonica Film Festival For casting over the world of cinema cinemainfo gr Archived from the original on 2019 04 19 Retrieved 2009 01 14 Translated by Konstantinos Vassilaros The ten best best film of the Greek Film Critics Association filmfestival gr 2006 11 26 Archived from the original on 2017 04 20 Jonathan Franzen 2010 08 31 Freedom A Novel New York Farrar Straus and Giroux 576 pages pp 8 96 ISBN 978 037 415 846 0 Bradshaw Peter 2011 10 12 Franzen s Freedom revives legend of The Dragon The Guardian Archived from the original on 2021 01 26 External links EditThe Ogre of Athens at IMDb O Drakos Official movie portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Ogre of Athens amp oldid 1175025917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
