The Best Greek Films
This is a list of my favorite films from my homeland. It includes some of the finest and most acclaimed films in the history of Greek cinema along with a few personal favorites; also featuring the best works of Theo Angelopoulos, arguably the most famous of Greek directors and one of the most masterful auteurs of world cinema.
If you think that some movie is missing, it's not necessarily because I don't like it. Chances are that I've not seen it; I have an experience of more than 500 films with Greece as country of origin, but there's still more to explore. The list is constantly changing and expanding.
I would hope that you find this list of The Best Greek Films helpful whether you're a compatriot or a viewer of the international audience.
If you think that some movie is missing, it's not necessarily because I don't like it. Chances are that I've not seen it; I have an experience of more than 500 films with Greece as country of origin, but there's still more to explore. The list is constantly changing and expanding.
I would hope that you find this list of The Best Greek Films helpful whether you're a compatriot or a viewer of the international audience.
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- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsVangelis KazanEva KotamanidouGiorgos DanisOn New Year's Eve, a group of hunters finds the frozen body of a dead WWII partisan fighter. They spend the night debating what to do with it.
- DirectorNikos PanayotopoulosStarsOlga KarlatosGeorge DialegmenosDimitris PoulikakosA father moves with his three sons and their beautiful, hard working servant in a big, old house in the countryside, where a weird drowsiness seems to occupy the four men. Will it be possible for one of them to break free?
- DirectorConstantine GiannarisStarsStathis PapadopoulosCostas KotsianidisPanagiotis ChartomatsidisA group of Pontian Greek immigrant teenage dreamers dwelling marginalised in the notorious and lustreless wild suburbia, witness the city's repulsive face and an unrelenting world defined by prostitution, drugs, and inevitably, loss.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsManos KatrakisMary HronopoulouDionysis PapagiannopoulosAn old communist returns to Greece after 32 years in the Soviet Union. However, things aren't the way he had hoped for.
- DirectorGiorgos TzavellasStarsVasilis LogothetidisIlia LivykouMimis FotopoulosPivoting around a shiny counterfeit gold sovereign freshly milled from the clandestine workshop of an otherwise honest goldsmith, four brief vignettes of human imperfection; seduction; fate; desire, and devotion inextricably interweave.
- DirectorPantelis VoulgarisStarsAndreas KonstantinouAndré HennickeMelia KreilingThe execution of 200 Greek resistance fighters and Communists by the German occupiers on May 1st, 1944 in Kaisariani, as reprisal for the Greek Resistance ambush against Nazis.
- DirectorNikos FoskolosStarsNikos KourkoulosMary HronopoulouManos KatrakisAngelos Kreouzis survives a shipwreck and reveals to the committee in charge that the disaster was not an accident, but the consequence of the neglect of the ship by those responsible.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsMarcello MastroianniNadia MourouziSerge ReggianiA bee keeper, Spiros, travels from the north to the south of Greece with his bees to meet the spring.
- DirectorNikos FoskolosStarsNikos KourkoulosManos KatrakisEleni ErimouAn incorruptible examiner finds the real culprit of a brutal homicide and tries to release his wrongfully accused ex-lover. Now, he is closer to the solution; but, it takes courage to face the facts. Is he prepared to confront the truth?
- DirectorCostas FerrisStarsSotiria LeonardouNikos KalogeropoulosMichalis ManiatisThe story of a group of Rembetes, singers and musicians of the Greek equivalent to the blues, in the early decades of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a young female singer.
- DirectorNikos GrammatikosStarsVangelis MourikisMarilita LambropoulouMinas HatzisavvasA former drug addict gets a new lease of life in his grandfather's dilapidated rural house, only to face the unwritten laws of the close-knit community. Now, all that's needed is a catalyst. Who can stop the advent of hell on New Paradise?
- DirectorGiannis DalianidisStarsZoi LaskariNikos KourkoulosMirka KalatzopoulouA blonde diva breaks up with her arrogant libertine boyfriend, hurting his dangerous male ego. And as the pain of humiliation clouds the mind, the lethal revolver in her hand demands revenge. Who is to blame for her downfall?
- DirectorGiorgos PanousopoulosYorgos TsemberopoulosGiorgos TsemperopoulosStarsBetty LivanouAris RetsosGiorgos SiskosOn a hot Athenian July, a reclusive Astronomy student spots a disillusioned woman with his telescope, and his dull existence takes on a new meaning. They coexist in time and space; but, they are so far apart. Will they ever become one?
- DirectorAlekos SakellariosStarsNikos StavridisMimis FotopoulosMaro KodouWhen it comes to his wife, Orestis is suspicious of everything, be it a moustachioed chauffeur or a lost pair of bumblebee-yellow gloves. But, are his fears justified or is this case of the lost fashion accessories a big misunderstanding?
- DirectorVasilis GeorgiadisStarsNikos KourkoulosMary HronopoulouGiannis VoglisIn Greece, in the early part of the 20th century, two brothers from a wealthy landowning family have opposite views on how the poor workers who work on their land should be treated.
- DirectorVasilis GeorgiadisStarsJenny KareziGiorgos FoundasDimitris PapamichaelThe inextricably intertwined stories of five women who work as prostitutes just before the ban on brothels in Troumba.
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsMelina MercouriGiorgos FoundasAlekos AlexandrakisProud, independent Stella, an unconventional Rebetico singer who cherishes her freedom, finds herself in an intense whirlwind romance. Everything points to a tragic ending, and in the aftermath of passion, there can be no winners.
- DirectorNikos PanayotopoulosStarsNikos KourisAthina MaximouZoe NalbantiOn the brink of the new millennium, a young aspiring singer leaves Athens for the seedy nightclubs of the rough Greek province, bent on getting her big break amid milky-white cigarette smokes, decayed divas--and ultimately--broken hopes.
- DirectorKostas GerampinisStarsLazarou FotisPavlos IordanopoulosPaschalis KaratzasThodoris is a lonely 25-year-old who spends his days working out. When he signs up to a new gym, he meets Vicky, a sexy 30 year old trainer. He tries to claim her attention as he struggles with his shame, image and repressed libido.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsEva KotamanidouVangelis KazanAliki GeorgouliGreece, 1939-1952: Fascist, Nazi, and Communist conflict, as seen through the eyes of a family of travelling provincial players.
- DirectorAsimina ProedrouStarsStathis StamoulakatosEleni OuzounidouEvgenia LavdaA tragic incident on Greece's northern border strikes a local family of three, pushing them to face their own personal impasses, while having to deeply consider the price for their actions.
- DirectorSotiris TsafouliasStarsPigmalion DadakaridisDimitris KatalifosManos VakousisA professor of criminology tries to solve five completely unrelated murders whose only link is quotes from Pythagoras.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsMelina MercouriJules DassinGiorgos FoundasAn American scholar in Greece sets about improving the prostitute with whom he is infatuated.
- DirectorGiorgos GeorgopoulosStarsPrometheus AleiferOmiros PoulakisVangelis MourikisTwo teenagers, a trolley ticket controller, a couple separating. Everyday, cross-cutting stories in an Athens with constant power outages.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsOmero AntonuttiEva KotamanidouMihalis GiannatosA rebel leader calling himself Alexander the Great escapes from prison and captures some English tourists to hold as hostages. He returns to his village and finds there a commune in existence.
- DirectorArgyris PapadimitropoulosStarsMakis PapadimitriouElli TringouHara KotsaliOn a hedonistic Greek island, a middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her group of hard partying friends.
- DirectorChristopher PapakaliatisStarsJ.K. SimmonsMaria KavoyianniAndrea OsvártIn modern Greece, while socioeconomic turmoil ravages Southern Europe, three distinct stories unfold, each representing a different generation of Greeks in love with a foreigner, each story coming together in the end to form a whole.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsAlexandra AidiniNikos PoursanidisGiorgos ArmenisThe story starts in 1919 with some Greek refugees from Odessa arriving somewhere near Thessaloniki. Among these people are two small kids, Alexis and Eleni.
- DirectorNikos LabôtStarsMarisha TriantafyllidouDimitris ImellosMaria FiliniAn oppressed woman discovers a new sense of self when she gets her first job as a cleaning woman in a shopping mall.
- DirectorAlexis DamianosStarsMaria VassiliouGiorgos KoutouzisKoula AgagiotouAthens, 1971. In the tumultuous years of the Greek military junta, an unconventional couple is torn between the complexities of love, life, and the suffocating pressure of fragile societal relations. Will they survive one another?
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsHarvey KeitelMaia MorgensternErland JosephsonAn exiled filmmaker finally returns to his home country where former mysteries and afflictions of his early life come back to haunt him once more.
- DirectorAlekos AlexandrakisStarsAlekos AlexandrakisManos KatrakisAliki GeorgouliThe stories of poor people living in a neighborhood in Athens and their difficulties.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsChristos StergioglouMichele ValleyAngeliki PapouliaA controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.
- DirectorZacharias MavroeidisStarsMichalis SarantisThanasis PapageorgiouGiota FestaA 30-something failed businessman moves into his grandpa's house, the defunct WW2 veteran. His quest to live up to his legacy, will redefine both the family hero and himself.
- DirectorNicos PerakisStarsNikos KalogeropoulosGiorgos KimoulisTakis SpyridakisThe "adventures" of some friends during their military service.
- DirectorPanos H. KoutrasStarsKostas NikouliNikos GeliaGiannis StankoglouStrangers in their own birthplace, 16-year-old Danny and 18-year-old Odysseus cross the entire country in search of their Greek father, after their Albanian mother passes away.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsChristos LoulisAlexandros BourdoumisUlrich TukurGreece in 2015: the economy is in tatters and the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. A new government rebels against the EU's iron-fisted rule and inspires millions of Europeans. Based on the political memoirs of Yanis Varoufakis.
- DirectorNikos KoutelidakisStarsGiannis BezosGiannis StankoglouAntinoos AlbanisAt the time of the Greek junta, in an isolated army camp, a lieutenant forces a soldier to teach him the tango in order to ask the wife of his Colonel to dance with him.
- DirectorPantelis VoulgarisStarsThanasis VengosGiorgos ArmenisDimitris KatalifosThree men head towards a turning point in their lives.
- DirectorGiorgos SkalenakisStarsElena NathanailSpyros FokasThodoros RoubanisWhile on vacation with her husband, a beautiful woman falls in love with a handsome local, risking everything.
- DirectorNikos PanayotopoulosStarsNikitas TsakiroglouVangelis KazanElena KyranaDuring the shooting of a film, a strange man enters the set holding an umbrella. He walks into the sea and disappears. The musician for the film tries to investigate the incident and the significance of this action.
- DirectorYannis EconomidesStarsStathis StamoulakatosVangelis MourikisMaria KallimaniFollowing his father's death, Nikos leaves the provinces to work in Athens guarding his brutish uncle's dogs. Nikos finds the dynamic of his relationship with his uncle changing when his uncle's wife draws closer to him.
- DirectorErrikos AndreouStarsKostas PrekasCorinna TsopeiDeborah ReedA married pilot is torn between two women.
- DirectorAntonis KokkinosStarsKostas KazanasDimosthenis PapadopoulosYorgos PirpassopoulosIn late-1960s Athens, a student forms a strong friendship with a group of young dreamers, against the backdrop of a new reality. The vision to change the world holds them together; but, after a tragic event, will things be the same again?
- DirectorNikos MystriotisWhile 1970s Greece was developing its tourism, a new type of male was born, the archetypal Greek Lover or "Spear" who used to target young female tourists with the intention of passionate one-night stands.
- DirectorDinos DimopoulosStarsNikos KourkoulosMary HronopoulouFloretta ZanaA disgraced ex-pilot of the Greek Air Force has one last chance to redeem himself, by shedding light on a terrible air crash. But, strong political interests and unscrupulous mediators are bent on silencing him. Will the truth shine?
- DirectorKostas ManoussakisStarsElli FotiouAnestis VlahosSpyros FokasA disturbing family drama about the pathogeny of Greek countryside.
- DirectorNikos PapatakisStarsHristos TsagasAris RetsosZozo ZarpaA young furrier leaves Castoria in 1971 to emigrate to France to live with a relative. He finds a photograph, leading to a confrontation with his relative.
- DirectorGeorge SiougasStarsOmiros PoulakisPrometheus AleiferIoanna TsirigouliAdonis returns to Athens to introduce his bride-to-be to his mother Rina and brother Lefteris, a schizophrenic. But Adonis's visit unravels family dynamics and deep-running problems that haunt all of them.
- StarsChristopher PapakaliatisKlelia AndriolatouMaria KavoyianniOrestes travels to a small island during the pandemic in order to set up a music festival from scratch. Confronted with the small society of the island, he will find himself involved in an extreme love story.
- DirectorNikos FoskolosStarsKostas KazakosAngelos AntonopoulosMema StathopoulouA recently widowed young farmer is mistaken for the notorious leader of a ruthless gang of bandits. Now, a feared convict, the police, and a band of thieves are after him. Can he stay alive, and save his loved ones?
- DirectorGeorgis GrigorakisStarsVangelis MourikisArgyris PandazarasSofia KokkaliA father and a son long lost. Love and hate. Digging deep into mud to find their roots. Revenge and Redemption. A Western, revisited.
- DirectorSotiris GoritsasStarsGerasimos SkiadaressisStelios MainasKatharina ZapatkaTwo friends from a small Greek town travel to Bulgaria and Switzerland, hoping they can gain money from the difference in foreign exchange rates.
- DirectorDinos KatsouridisStarsKostas HatzihristosNikos RizosKostas DoukasA well-off grocery store owner and his outspoken right hand, who are head over heels in love with their neighbours, are about to have their ambitious plans crushed when the girls' true sweethearts put in an appearance at a joyous event.
- DirectorPanos H. KoutrasStarsMina OrfanouYannis KokiasmenosMinos TheoharisYorgos is released from prison after 14 years of incarceration for a murder he committed. He meets Strella, a young transsexual sex worker. They spend the night together and soon they fall in love. But the past is catching up with Yorgos.
- DirectorNikos FoskolosStarsZoi LaskariKostas KarrasEleni AnousakiAfter escaping the violent political upheaval in the Republic of the Congo, a Greek woman falls in love with her benefactor who is harbouring a shocking secret. Is she prepared to face the facts, and accept her fate as a captive of hate?
- DirectorGiorgos TzavellasStarsMaro KodouGiorgos KonstadinouDespo DiamantidouAn unmarried couple in the strict Greek society of the 60s.
- DirectorDimos AvdeliodisStarsAngeliki MalantiAngelos PantelarasTakis AgorisIn early-1960s Chios, the sudden death of a forest ranger forces the local agronomist to appoint his successor. But, none of the available field guards accepts the position due to the bad reputation of the village.
- DirectorFilippos KoutsaftisStarsPanagiotis FarmakisThe past and the present coexist in a place spoiled by modern industry but which long ago hosted the Eleusinian Mysteries, the secret ceremonies that initiated the ancient Greeks into the miracles of life, death and the afterlife.
- DirectorAlekos SakellariosStarsOrestis MakrisGeorgia VasileiadouJenny KareziAunt Calliopi returns to Greece from Chicago after 30 years and plans to marry off her nieces.
- DirectorCostas KapakasStarsGeorges CorrafaceAgeliki SpiliopoulouAnny LoulouWith the sweet taste of love's first kiss in his mouth, an engineer takes a trip down memory lane after receiving an invitation from an old friend. Thirty years after that innocent peck on the lips, fate reunites two estranged soulmates.
- DirectorAndreas MorfoniosStarsSpiros PapadopoulosFanis MouratidisAnna-Maria PapaharalambousTwo estranged brothers, who have not spoken to each other for years, reunite at their mother's funeral.
- DirectorNikos NikolaidisStarsVera TschechowaJohn MooreNiki TriantafillidiAwaiting for Orpheus to save her from a modern Hades, Euridice faces her fears, desires, hallucinations and memories.
- DirectorGiorgos TzavellasStarsYvonne SansonDimitris HornVasilis AvlonitisA bank teller discovers an accounting error and becomes rich.
- DirectorVasilis GeorgiadisStarsGiannis VoglisAnne LonnbergKostas BakasA shepherd falls in love with an English tourist in Greece.
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsEllie LambetiGiorgos PappasDimitris HornOn a lazy Athenian Sunday, a young and fresh saleswoman loses her soon-to-be winning lottery ticket, only to meet its handsome new owner. Of course, she wants it back; however, what if fortune and ardent Cupid are already on her doorstep?
- DirectorNikos GrammatikosStarsNikos GeorgakisGiorgos EvgenikosVangelis MourikisThe story follows the sporadic reunions of six friends during the seven-year period of their integration into society.
- DirectorPantelis VoulgarisStarsAnna VagenaSmaro VeakiKostas RigopoulosAnna is a servant of an old lady for ten years. The old lady chooses a man for Anna.
- DirectorNicos PerakisStarsYannis TsimitselisYorgos SeitaridisIoannis PapazisisA group of Greek solders, who serve their military service in Kos, is sent to guard the skerry of Pitta. Everything looked normal until a Turkish boat disembarks 4 castaways on Pitta.
- DirectorMakis PapadimitratosStarsAlexandros ParisisMakis PapadimitratosAnastasis KolovosAn ex drug addict tells his hilarious adventure on his way to find heroin, mid August, in Athens.
- DirectorDinos DimopoulosStarsGiorgos PappasAnna SynodinouMichalis NikolinakosA stop at a level crossing brings a happily married woman face to face with the memory of a fleeting liaison with a Resistance fighter. Now, this bittersweet fantasy demands answers. Did a ghost of the distant past return to haunt her?
- DirectorNikos TzimasStarsAlekos AlexandrakisAngelos AntonopoulosKostas KazakosThe story of Nikos Belogiannis, member of the Greek Communist Party and officer of ELAS.
- DirectorNikos KoundourosStarsDinos IliopoulosMargarita PapageorgiouGiannis ArgyrisA peaceful, frightened little man is mistakenly identified as "the dragon", a notorious criminal at large. He briefly and reluctantly rules the underworld until they realize their mistake.
- DirectorTakis KanellopoulosStarsLili PapayanniKostas KaragiorgisAngelos AntonopoulosThe love story between a captain's wife and his sergeant which has a tragic ending.
- DirectorRenos HaralambidisStarsRenos HaralambidisAnna-Maria PapaharalambousMichalis IatropoulosAs the lights flicker on a warm August night amid vacant Athens' stillness, a modern bohemian flirts with a woman he has just met. The perfect strangers stroll around the city's quiet night streets, changed by the unforgettable journey.
- DirectorThodoros MaragosStarsVasilis DiamantopoulosAnna MatzouraniNikos KalogeropoulosIn a small Greek village, short time after the collapse of the Junta regime, a memorial of those who died in the German occupation of Greece brings in the surface the political differences of a conservative teacher and his two sons.
- DirectorRenos HaralambidisStarsRenos HaralambidisGiorgos VoultzatisManos VakousisAfter his mother's death, Stephanos inherits her debts and, in order to pay them, decides to help an old classmate who wants to rob a bank.
- DirectorGiorgos PanousopoulosStarsKaryofyllia KarabetiAlekos SissovitisValeria HristodoulidouA young man returns to the city where he grew up where he will meet his childhood love, a married pharmacist, while he will also meet a girl who has just been released from prison.
- DirectorAlekos SakellariosStarsDinos IliopoulosKostas HatzihristosPantelis ZervosAn 80 year old vendetta finally lands on the hands of two peace loving, and not so brave men, who both fear each others intent.!
- DirectorAlekos SakellariosStarsAliki VougiouklakiDimitris PapamichaelHristos TsaganeasA young idealist scholar at an all-girls boarding school comes face to face with the institution's privileged students. Will they learn a thing or two about respect? Can a little discipline pave the way for a fresh whirlwind romance?
- DirectorAlekos SakellariosStarsVasilis LogothetidisNitsa TsaganeaIlia LivykouA quiet and modest man, disappointed and embittered by the civil war that plagues Greece after WWII, faces Hitler and his Nazis who strike back to retake Greece.
- DirectorAlexander VoulgarisStarsAnthi EfstratiadouSofia KokkaliIro BezouSeems like an ordinary trip to a remote beach. Four young women enjoy the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the sea and one another's company. None of them is "Winona".