My Top 20 by Country (3) - Hungary
Under construction and always in progress.
The Best films from Hungary I've seen (so far).
Notes:
Extra note:
The list is a bit longer than just Top 20. I just had to list all the excellentia I've seen (and I really hope nobody would mind *smile*).
Important! The titles within the same rate are listed arbitrarily. Feel free to re-order them at your will.
The Best films from Hungary I've seen (so far).
Notes:
- Feature length films only.
- TV movies (and documentaries) eligible. TV mini-series are NOT.
- International co-productions also eligible provided they're directed by a 'native' director.
Extra note:
The list is a bit longer than just Top 20. I just had to list all the excellentia I've seen (and I really hope nobody would mind *smile*).
Important! The titles within the same rate are listed arbitrarily. Feel free to re-order them at your will.
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- DirectorPéter BacsóStarsFerenc KállaiLajos ÖzeZoltán FábriBanned for over a decade for its outspoken criticism of the post-WWII communist regime in Hungary, Péter Bacsó's 'The Witness' has since then achieved unparalleled cult status in its native land. Known as the best satire about communism, 'The Witness' has become a cult classic, which was also well received by critics and general audiences alike when it was finally released outside of Hungary. Its candid and realistic portrayal of the incompetent communist regime has earned great acclaim for both the director and the film itself when it was shown at Cannes Film Festival in 1981. 'The Witness' takes place during the height of the Rákosi Era, which was closely modeled after the ruthless and brutal Stalin regime. The film follows the life of an ordinary dike keeper, József Pelikán, who has been caught for illegally slaughtering his pig, Dezsõ. Instead of doing hard time for his "heinous" crime, Pelikán is elevated into an important position, generally reserved for the communist elite. Of course, Pelikán is utterly clueless about his newfound luck, not to mention his new job. Even his new benefactor, the mysterious Comrade Virág, is reluctant to reveal the real reason behind Pelikán's preferential treatment. Thus, begins Pelikán's hilarious adventure deep within the "sophisticated" communist society. One failure after another the incompetent Pelikán is elevated higher and higher on the communist echelon, all the while remaining completely clueless about his promotions. Until one day, when he gets called for to return the "favour" by falsely testifying against his long-time friend in a mock-up show trial.Cinema. 10/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsAndrás BálintMiklós GáborDániel ErdélyA boy in Budapest loses his father in 1945, when he was the age of six. He does not remember much of the father but fantasizes that he performed various heroic feats.PC. 10/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsLucyna WinnickaMargit MakayKároly KovácsHungary's postwar history told through the dreams, nightmares, and memories of the inhabitants of an old house on the eve of its destruction.PC. 10/10.
- DirectorPéter GothárStarsAnikó IvánIstván ZnamenákPéter GálfyA teenager boy has to grow up in the shifting political and moral landscape of post-1956 Hungary.Cinema. 10/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerIldikó BánságiKrystyna JandaIn early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?TV. 10/10.
- DirectorGyörgy PálfiStarsFerenc BandiJózsefné RáczJózsef FarkasUsing almost no dialogue, the film follows a number of residents (both human and animal) of a small rural community in Hungary - an old man with hiccups, a shepherdess and her sheep, an old woman who may or may not be up to no good, some folk-singers at a wedding, etc. While most of the film is a series of vignettes, there is a sinister and often barely perceptible subplot involving murder.OL. 10/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerHans Christian BlechArmin Mueller-StahlSet during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl (Brandauer), an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception.Cinema. 10/10.
- DirectorPéter GothárStarsMárk ZalaKati LázárGyula BodrogiThe Halassi couple go on holiday to Lake Balaton, they buy a vibrator to spice up their sex life, but not everything goes as planned.Cinema. 10/10.
- DirectorMiklós JancsóStarsAndrea DrahotaGyöngyi BürösErzsi CserhalmiSet in the 1890s on the Hungarian plains, a group of farm workers go on strike in-which they face harsh reprisals and the reality of revolt, oppression, morality and violence.PC. 9.5/10.
- DirectorZoltán FábriStarsMari TörőcsikImre SoósÁdám SzirtesIn a rural scenery in the throes of difficult changes lives a humble but promising young farmer girl called Mari Pataki. Her father forbids her from seeing the man she loves. The father, above all preoccupied by work on the fields and prospective wealth, decides to give his daughter in marriage to an old but rich man with whom he does business. Land marries land, he says. This seems to be the unyielding rule of the Hungarian peasantry. But the young lover is ready to stand up to any challenge to keep Maris love.PC. 9.5/10.
- DirectorBéla TarrÁgnes HranitzkyStarsJános DerzsiErika BókMihály KormosA rural farmer is forced to confront the mortality of his faithful horse.TV. 9.5/10.
- DirectorMiklós JancsóStarsJános GörbeZoltán LatinovitsTibor MolnárIn Hungary, the national movement led by Kossuth has been crushed and the Austrian hegemony re-established, but partisans carry on with violent actions. In order to root out the guerilla, the army rounds up suspects and jails them in an isolated fort. The authorities do not have the identity of the guerilla leaders, who are supposed to be present among the prisoners. However, they know enough about some of the suspects to apply perfidious forms of coercion effectively.TV. 9/10.
- DirectorBéla TarrStarsMiklós Székely B.Vali KerekesGyula PauerA lonely barfly falls in love with a married bar singer.PC. 9/10.
- DirectorLászló NemesStarsGéza RöhrigLevente MolnárUrs RechnA Jewish-Hungarian concentration camp prisoner sets out to give a child he mistook for his son a proper burial.TV. 9/10.
- DirectorMárton KeletiStarsTamás MajorImre SinkovitsIván DarvasDuring World War II, PFC Molnár decides his military service is over, and with a serious amount of money hidden in hand grenades, he heads to an abandoned mansion where he encounters not only the sour butler but a bunch of others who are also trying to wimp out on their duties.OL. 9/10.
- DirectorZoltán FábriStarsLajos ÖzeLászló MárkusFerenc BenczeIn Budapest in 1944, a watchmaker, a book seller and a carpenter are drinking in a bar with the owner, when they are joined by a stranger. The watchmaker asks a hypothetical question that will change their lives.OL. 9/10.
- DirectorGyörgy PálfiStarsIsabelle AdjaniAnouk AiméeWoody AllenA simple yet timeless love story between a man and a woman, told using scenes edited together from hundreds of other films.OL. 9/10.
- DirectorMarcell JankovicsStarsGyörgy CserhalmiVera PapGyula SzabóIn this dreamlike Hungarian folk myth, a horse goddess gives birth to three powerful brothers who set out into the Underworld to save three princesses from three evil dragons and reclaim their ancestors' lost kingdom.OL. 9/10.
- DirectorKároly MakkStarsLili DarvasMari TörőcsikIván DarvasThe wife of a political prisoner tends to her mother-in-law and keeps from the old woman the truth about her son, whom she believes is in New York making a film.PC. 9/10.
- DirectorZoltán HuszárikStarsZoltán LatinovitsÉva RuttkaiÉva LeelössyAn old man is recollecting all the women he met in his youth. An old woman wants them to commit suicide together but changes her mind. The little town has a doctor whose wife can not forget the old man, and the waiter who serves him his dinner doesn't know that Sinbad will soon court her.PC. 9/10.
- DirectorZoltán FábriStarsEdit FrajtLajos BalázsovitsLászló GálffiA woman finds out that one of her doctor husband's patients used to be the cellmate of her first husband, who died in prison years before.TV. 9/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerErland JosephsonIldikó BánságiA man's story parallels Hitler's rise. Austrian Klaus Schneider, wounded in World War I, recovers in the care of Dr. Emil Bettleheim. Bettleheim discovers that Schneider possesses powers of empathy and of clairvoyance, such that could aid suicidal patients. After the war, with one friend as his manager and another as his lover, Schneider changes his name to Eric Jan Hanussen and goes to Berlin, as a hypnotist and clairvoyant performing in halls and theaters. He always speaks the truth, which brings him to the attention of powerful Nazis. He predicts their rise (good propaganda for them) and their violence (not so good). He's in pain and at risk. What is Hanussen's future?TV. 9/10.
- DirectorBéla TarrStarsJudit PogányRóbert KoltaiKyri AmbrusA husband and wife, drifting apart, reflect on the events leading up to the worst argument of their marriage.PC. 9/10.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsJudit HalászAndrás BálintEdit KelemenJancsi reminiscences about Kata his childhood friend in WWII Budapest, They are separated as a result of 1956 revolution. Reunited as adults, they struggle with whether they will stay in each others lives.PC. 9/10.
- DirectorGéza BereményiStarsKároly EperjesJudit PogányEnikõ EszenyiSandor Monori thinks that he can buy everything with his gold. The story takes place after the World War II at the famous Teleki ter where he is the King of the market.TV. 9/10.