Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

has had a notable cinema industry since the beginning of the 20th century, including

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

who affected the world of motion pictures both within and beyond the country's borders. The former could be characterized by directors

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian-speaking world since the ...

Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film '' Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordi ...

, or

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including '' The Round-Up'' (''Szegénylegények'', 1965), '' ...

; the latter by William Fox and

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

, the founders of

Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

respectively, or

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)British cinema The United Kingdom has had a significant film industry for over a century. While film production reached an all-time high in 1936, the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, during which the directors D ...

. Examples of successful Hungarian films include ''

Merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'', ''

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

'', ''

Werckmeister Harmonies ''Werckmeister Harmonies'' (; hu, Werckmeister harmóniák) is a 2000 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, based on the 1989 novel ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' by László Krasznahorkai. Shot in black-and-white a ...

'' and '' Kontroll''.

The early decades

1896–1901

Hungarian cinema began in 1896, when the first screening of the films of the

Lumière Brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...

was held on the 10th of May in the cafe of the Royal Hotel of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In June of the same year, Arnold and Zsigmond Sziklai opened the first Hungarian movie theatre on 41 Andrássy Street named the Okonograph, where they screened Lumière films using French machinery. The inhabitants of the elite neighborhood were opposed to this new form of entertainment, and the theatre soon closed. But film screenings in cafés, the centers of Budapest's public life, were becoming more and more widespread, and by 1911, over 100 movie theater operated in the capital. The first film shooting took place also in 1896, recording the festivities of the Millennium Celebration. Employees of the Lumiéres recorded the march at the

Buda Castle Buda Castle ( hu, Budavári Palota, german: link=no, Burgpalast) is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the si ...

. The first Hungarian cameraman was Zsigmond Sziklai. Uránia Scientific Theatre

The first consciously made Hungarian film was 'A Tánc' (The Dance) directed by

Béla Zsitkovszky Béla Zsitkovszky (3 April 1868 - 16 September 1930) was a Hungarian cinematographer and film director. Zsitkovszky was a film pioneer notable for producing the country's first ever film '' The Dance'' (''A táncz'') in 1901. Zsitkovszky was a c ...

, made for one of the shows at the Uránia Scientific Theatre. Gyula Pekár asked for a moving picture from Béla Zsitovszky, the projectionist of the Uránia. Zsitovszky, originally an optician, shot the picture on the roof terrace of the theatre with renowned actors and ballerinas of the Operaház Theatre. The 24

cinematograph Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Cin ...

ic short-films were premiered on 30 April 1901.

1901–1920

The infrastructure of the Hungarian cinema scene was built up during the first decade of the 20th century. By 1910, 270 permanent theatres operated in the country, including large capacity film palaces like the Royal Apollo. Film distribution was organized by the end of the decade. The first company to lend the film-shooting apparatus was the Projectograph, founded by Mór Ungerleider in 1908. The company also shot films, offering documentaries and newsreels, thereby making the first steps for the country's film industry. The literary and artistic scene enthusiastically supported the new form of expression. Writers of the Nyugat circle saw filmmaking as a sign of closing up to modern European Literature and became avid movie theatergoers.

Frigyes Karinthy Frigyes Karinthy (; 25 June 1887 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator. He was the first proponent of the six degrees of separation concept, in his 1929 short story, ''Chains'' (''Láncszemek'') ...

even became a dramaturg to

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Hunnia Studio The Hunnia Studio was the first Hungarian purpose-built film studio. Located in the capital Budapest it was built between September 1911 and February 1912. Its founder was the theatre director Miklós Faludi of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest, ...

, founded in 1911, formed as an offshoot of the

Vígszínház The Comedy Theater of Budapest ( hu, Vígszínház) is a theater in Budapest. Starting in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theater, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of ...

theatre. A characteristic style of early Hungarian cinema was the cinema sketch, a hybrid form of theatre and film. Each short projection was followed or interrupted by live stage actors, often acting their own characters from the screen. The genre inspired many prominent writers of the time, including

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...

and Karinthy. Comedians also used this form often to perform various jokes and scenes utilizing its hybrid nature, one well-known performer being

Gyula Gózon Gyula Gózon (19 April 1885 – 8 October 1972) was a Hungarian actor and comedian. Life Gyula Gózon was born on 19 April 1885, in Érsekújvár, but grew up in Esztergom. With the mentoring of his brother, he could fulfill his dream of lea ...

. Mór Undergleider also started a professional journal on the subject of cinema, called ''Mozgófénykép Híradó'' (News of Moving Picture). The journal published articles of numerous renowned writers, theatrical directors, aestheticans, and scientists, including the pioneering film-theory articles of the 18-year-old

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Hungarian Soviet Republic The Socialist Federative Republic of Councils in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szocialista Szövetséges Tanácsköztársaság) (due to an early mistranslation, it became widely known as the Hungarian Soviet Republic in English-language sources ( ...

, the Hungarian cinema industry was the first one to be nationalized fully. The journal ''Vörös Film'' (Red film) was started to popularize the shift. A number of filmmakers welcomed the change, as the government provided protection against competing for foreign movies.

Interwar period

1920–1931

The aftermath of the First World War left the sprouting Hungarian movie industry in ruins. Native experts of the field, like directors

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Hollywood. During the twenties, foreign (mostly American) companies made use of the economical crisis by gaining hold of nearly all of the country's theatres. French, American, and Italian movies that had been banned during the war were all over Hungarian screens, leaving little ground for Hungarian productions. The few companies that operated at the time, like the Corvina Studio, drifted towards bankruptcy. The downfall was avoided largely by government support and protective laws. 1925 saw the creation of the Hungarian Movie Industry Fund, and a new law forced distributors to finance a Hungarian movie after every 30 imported ones. Theatres were forced to air the newsreels created by the Office of Hungarian Film. In 1929 the government of

István Bethlen Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874, Gernyeszeg – 5 October 1946, Moscow) was a Hungarian aristocrat and statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931. Early life The scion of an old Bethlen de Bethlen noble fam ...

began to tax imported movies (enriching the Industry Fund), but the fee was significantly lowered for companies that produced Hungarian movies; even a short movie was awarded 20 tax-free film imports. The Movie Industry Fund bought the bankrupt Corvina Studio in 1927, founding the Hunnia Movie Company with the intention to produce full-length feature films. The studio became the cornerstone for professionals in the following years. Its mission became difficult with the economic crisis of 1929 and the spreading of costly sound film, needing further investments. The movie-producing scene slowly emerged again, marked by the start of journal ''Filmkultúra'' with editor Andor Lajtha in 1928. Newer technology from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

started appearing, leaving room for innovation: with the Projektophone, Dénes Mihály became one of the many inventors of loud film, but he was unable to sell the patent. During the shooting of ''Csak egy kislány van a világon'', crew members were able to borrow equipment from

Fox Movietone News Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Australia and New Zealand until 1970 ...

, whose employees worked in Budapest that day, recording a few musical and speaking scenes. While the movie was one of the last silent ones, ironically, it also became the first to use voice. The first voiced movie screening was held on 30 September 1929 in the Puskin Theater, presenting the American film ''

The Singing Fool ''The Singing Fool'' is a 1928 American musical drama part-talkie motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow-up to his previous film, '' The Jazz Singer''. It is credited w ...

)''. Voiced, speaking scenes were inserted in more and more films, like in Mihály Kertész's ''Noah's Ark'', which featured a narrated introduction. The first full-length film with sound was

Hunnia Film Studio Hunnia Film Studio was the largest and most significant sound film studio in Hungary until its nationalization in 1948. Its predecessor, Corvin Film Studio, founded by Alexander Korda in 1917, was the most important Hungarian silent film comp ...

's 1931 movie ''Kék Bálvány''.

1931–1945

Because of its reputedly alien American storyline and setting ''Kék Bálvány'' was only a mild success, unlike ''

Hyppolit, a lakáj ''Hyppolit, the Butler'' ( hu, Hyppolit, a lakáj) is a 1931 black-and-white Hungarian film comedy of manners about an upwardly mobile family hiring a butler who previously worked for aristocratic families. It was the second full sound film pro ...

,'' which premiered only two months later, and became the first box office hit, as well as one of the most successful and well-known motion pictures of the country. Directed by István Székely, who was called back from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

for the job, the movie's comedic tone and bourgeois setting became a standard for native film production in the following ten years. Actors like Pál Jávor and

Gyula Kabos Gyula Kabos (19 March 1887, Budapest – 6 October 1941, New York) was a Hungarian actor and comedian, widely known for his comedic movie roles in the late 1930s. Biography Early years Kabos was born on 19 March 1887, in Budapest as Gyul ...

became sought-after performers, appearing in nearly every major production of the decade. As sound film enabled more natural performances, popular stage actors became more attracted to the big screen, however, many of them could not adapt to the different working conditions, or to the new phenomena of the 'filmstar,' a life with pressure from the media and fans. By 1932, over 500 theatres operated in the country, a quarter of them located in Budapest. Support for sound playback was spreading, with around half of the venues owning the needed devices. The maximum timeframe of the shooting was 12 days, after which the producing company fined the director for each additional day. After the problems of the 1920s, Hungarian film production boomed in the 1930s, rising from 6 films in 1932 to a peak of 36 in 1937.Cunningham p.37 From 1935 onwards, far-right-wing groups were formed throughout the country. They criticized the movie industry as being "infested with Jews" and its products "containing obscene, unmoral content". The number of protests were increasing, and premiers were disrupted, like in the case of ''Lovagias Ügy''. As Horthy's government formed increasingly closer ties with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, the press also started to put pressure on Jewish cast members. Article XV., the first "Jew law" introduced in 1938, enforced a 6% maximum on Jews in the Film Guild. Later anti-semitic laws restricted Jews from being directors, performers, screenwriters or managers of film studios, film distribution companies, and theatres. This made work nearly impossible for a large number of film-makers and actors, and many of them, like

, fled the country. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

slowly showed its signs in the country with an increasing number of air raids and bombings, making film production extremely difficult. In the final years of the war, only a handful of movies were made, most of them being slap-dash works. During the war, movie theatres did not play American and Soviet features, so industry professionals and selected audiences could watch films like ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' only a small, hidden, makeshift screenings for high prices.

1945–1947

The War had caused huge damage to industry property, but production work resumed relatively early, in 1945. Three movies were produced that year, the most prominent of these new ventures being

Márton Keleti Márton Keleti (27 April 1905 – 20 June 1973) was a Hungarian film director. He directed 50 films between 1937 and 1973. His 1959 film '' Yesterday'' was entered into the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' ...

's ''A Tanítónő''. They attempted to resurrect the production and story mechanisms of pre-war cinema, with private investments and old story schemes, but their failure seemed to prove that audience needs were changed and the small number of new cinemas will not provide enough revenue. The private sector slowly backed off from film production, resulting in no Hungarian films being made in 1946. Work resumed in 1947, with the government proposing a 200.000 Ft aid to film-producing companies (the average budget of a movie being 500.000 Ft). Companies were started, but most of them were backed by political forces. ''Mezei próféta'' was financed by the Peasant Party, ''Könnyű múzsa'' by the

Independent Smallholders' Party The Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party ( hu, Független Kisgazda-, Földmunkás- és Polgári Párt), known mostly by its acronym FKgP or its shortened form Independent Smallholders' Party ( hu, Független Kisgazdapárt), ...

, ''Valahol Európában'' by the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, and ''Beszterce ostroma'' by the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

. Signaling the fierce situation, many of these movies were banned, causing moral and financial loss to targeted factions. Most of the films from this transitional period continued the tradition of literary adaptations, but a number of them tried to introduce some sort of social criticism. Two notable pictures were the realist ''

Valahol Európában ''Somewhere in Europe'' ( hu, Valahol Európában) is a 1948 Hungarian drama film directed by Géza von Radványi. It depicts the aftermath of World War II and specifically the lives of a gang of orphaned children in a postwar setting. The gang of ...

'' by Géza Radványi and '' Ének a búzamezőkről'' by

István Szőts István Szőts (June 30, 1912 – November 6, 1998) was a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. He was born in Szentgyörgyválya (now Valea Sângeorgiului, Călan, Romania), and later moved with his father to Hungary. Szőts studied fine ...

. The latter movie had a smaller influence on the industry as it was banned in 1948 until the seventies. 21 March 1948 became a turning point for cinema production as the state began to nationalize certain parts of the industry, with several further steps in 1948–49 resulting in a total takeover.

Film in the socialist era

1948–1950

After the communist nationalization, the only company allowed to produce feature films was the Hungarian National Filmmaking Company, while newsreels and documentary production was managed by the News and Documentary Film Company, and distribution through MOKÉP. Control over film production was centralized and authorities specified story themes and setting. Scripts were often rewritten multiple times to secure the transmission of ideological messages. The nationalization solved the long-running problem of funding, the government's resources allowing for technically more complex, big-budget movies. The first product of the nationalized industry was

Frigyes Bán Frigyes Bán (19 June 1902 – 30 September 1969) was a Hungary, Hungarian film director. His wife was the actresÉva Vass (1933-2019) Selected filmography * ''One Night in Transylvania'' (1941) * ''Háry János (1941 film), Háry János'' (1941 ...

's ''Talpalatnyi föld'', continuing the tradition of films that showed a more realistic country life with the help of folk literature. However, ideological content was still present. Films of 1948–49 – while varying in genre, a change that was welcomed after the mostly comedic approach of the thirties – aimed to show the sins of the past, and how they would change under the new socialist rule. By 1950, the film industry was under total government control, plans for new movies were only issued by central command (with themes like "socialist conversion of the agriculture", or "exposing enemy sabotage".) The films were issued to be directed by industry veterans who started their career in the 1930-40s, like

, even while they were politically not to be trusted. Young directors could only work on dramaturgic jobs. Films with contemporary settings became more frequent, with the intention to be storied guides to explain communist morale, and to warn about its enemies. Manufacturing movies depicted the labor heroes of factory production or on the fields, showcasing the ideal worker (''Első fecskék'', ''Ütközet békében'', ''Tűzkeresztség''). Sabotage movies showed a reactionary figure from the old regime, often an engineer or an intellectual, who works as an agent to sabotage production, sometimes collaborating with western forces. While their first attempt is successful, an investigation by wise party members uncovers the conspiracy (''Teljes gőzzel'', ''Becsület és dicsőség'', ''Civil a pályán''). Both types utilized traditional tools of filmmaking, with either comedic or musical elements to show the joys of physical labor, or elements of detective stories to show sabotage. Historical films were also present, showing revolutionary ages that authorities felt to be parallel to contemporary events (like '' Föltámadott a tenger'' – the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

, ''Rákóczi hadnagya'' – the peasant uprising led by

Ferenc Rákóczi Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include: * Ferenc Batthyány, Hungarian magnate and general * Ferenc Berényi, Hungarian artist ...

1953–1956

Beginning in 1953, slight attempts of democratization began in film production. The script became subservient to directorial work, giving chances to young talents (

Károly Makk Károly Makk (December 22, 1925 – August 30, 2017) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Five of his films were nominated for the ''Palme d'Or'' at the Cannes Film Festival; however, he won lesser awards at Cannes and elsewhere. He wa ...

, János Herkó). Political messages were toned down, with manufacturing movies converting into real comedies with only marginal political elements (''Állami áruház'', ''2x2 néha öt''), and sabotage movies turning into disaster films, showing more realistic threats to production (natural disaster or human negligence) that requires the collaboration of a community. Socially critical works began to appear, both in drama (''Keserű igazság'') and comedic (''Két emelet boldogság'') form. Fuelled by proper funding and the easing political climate, 1954–56 were the beginning years for cinema as an art form in Hungary. The two most influential director of the era were

Zoltán Fábri Zoltán Fábri (15 October 1917 – 23 August 1994) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His films ''The Boys of Paul Street'' (1969) and ''Hungarians'' (1978) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. H ...

and

Félix Máriássy Félix Máriássy (1919–1975) was a Hungarian film editor and director. Selected filmography Director * '' Mrs. Szabó'' (1949) * '' Rokonok'' (1954) * '' A Glass of Beer'' (1955) * '' The Smugglers'' (1958) * '' Bábolna, 1964'' (1964) * ...

. While Fábri operated with a dramatic-expressionist style that placed protagonists into extreme situations to face basic moral questions ('' Körhinta'', '' Hannibál tanár úr''), Máriássy used a lyric, and strongly realistic tone, depicting events with high detail (''Budapesti tavasz'', ''Egy pikoló világos''). Another important director was Károly Makk, whose films, ranging from satirical comedy (''Mese a 12 találatról'') to expressionistic social drama (''Ház a sziklák alatt'') represented the increasingly diversifying nature of the decade's film production.

1956–1960

The reprisal following the civil war of 1956 affected the movie's world severely, several films were banned, while many industry experts and actors left the country. Decentralization of the country's film production was halted, the planned reorganization became superficial, with the Hungarian National Filmmaking Company regaining its name of Hunnia Film Studio, and the News and Documentary Film Company were renamed to Budapest Film Studio. The latter also received permission to produce feature films, and while its budget and machinery were not ready for this task for a few following years, it provided a breeding ground for a number of young talents, like

. Political influences regained their place in production, so directors stayed away from contemporary or socially critical themes. Most of the films were set between the two World Wars, many of them being literary adaptations. Adopting novels from writers like

Kálmán Mikszáth Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages. Biography Mik ...

or Sándor Tatay, they showed the detailed lifestyle of peasants and the common man in a moderately realistic fashion.

1960–1970

The sixties were the years of rejuvenation for the Hungarian movie industry. After the harsher years following the events of 1956, the newly elected socialist government, headed by

János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989), born János József Czermanik, was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health le ...

wanted to appear more liberal, resulting in softening rules and regulations in every area. The two former film studios were split into four independent ones, headed by film-makers. These artistic teams could approve or deny filming plans themselves; supervision was only present in the form of pre-screening of the finished movie. Instead of multiple stages of control over scripts and plans, the censoring became a posterior process. Only a low number of films became censored, not only because the government's intention to maintain a more broad-minded image, but because directors also tried to avoid more problematic themes. Socially critical films, often utilizing cross-talk and allegorical elements, re-emerged, and many of them were allowed to be screened at western film festivals. As technology became cheap, large masses of people became introduced to this form of entertainment. In the countryside, clubs and community houses were converted to screening rooms, while in towns, and especially Budapest, hundreds of new movie theatres opened. Ticket price for premiere movies was 8 Ft, and 2 Ft for older films or in worker district – a cost that nearly every class could pay. With short animations and newsreels playing before and after feature films, movie-going became a several-hour-long entertainment. Special theatres operated to only show children's movies or newsreels (a ticket was valid for 30 minutes). The founding of Balázs Béla Studio was another important step in the reshaping of the industry. While the studio had only a small budget, movies made here did not need to be pre-screened to external reviewers, only the ones intended for larger audiences. Young professionals finishing university got a chance to quickly join live production. The studio became the main workshop for avant-garde and experimental filming, contributing greatly to the generational change of the sixties. Art groups with different characteristics were formed. The era's filming was largely influenced by western modernism, but similarly to

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and Polish cinema, new elements and styles were rarely present in their pure form, but rather mixed with cultural, historical and political themes. For example, the rebellious, youth-centered

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

served as an inspiration for

's early works, like '' Álmodozások kora'' or '' Szerelmesfilm'', which used non-linear narration and experimental camera work. But in both cases, youth themes were combined with other themes like history or the clash of generations. Against the trends of earlier decades, the positive intellectual appeared as a new type of character, full with optimism and ideas, battling not only with political barriers, but with bureaucracy, and the old generation's rigid rules and positions ('' Falak'', '' Szemüvegesek'', ''Megszállottak''). Intellectuals became personified, with such characters often reflecting on their own situation in long, moralizing dialogue scenes. The demand for presenting rural life reappeared, but such films were produced with the world-view of the new generation. Protagonists looked at peasant life as a thing of the past, and while they respected old morals and were nostalgic, they were critical about not only the social relations of past decades, but the general helplessness of their predecessors, dismaying their submission and lack of revolt. Reckoning with the past and parentage were the themes of numerous movies of the decade ('' Oldás és kötés'', '' Feldobott kő'', '' Tízezer nap''). Instead of the ballad-like, detailed rendering of country life, new directors used more stylized methods. The theme of generational conflict appears in more light-hearted, entertaining forms in the second half of the decade, often in collaboration with popular pop-bands (''Ezek a fiatalok'', ''Szerelmes biciklisták''). Directors from the old generation also dealt with themes that looked at the past, and while omitting the element of conflicting generations, they too explored the question of individual destiny and history, historical determination, and moral decisions in such cases (''Párbeszéd'', '' Húsz óra'', ''Hideg napok''), often utilizing modernistic tools like paralleling viewpoints and interpretations. The sixties was not only the decade of modernist film but the starting era of distinctive directorial filmmaking. This can also be observed in Hungary. After his debut films, '' Így jöttem'' and '' Szegénylegények'' were the first movies where Miklós Jancsó's trademark visual style – long, slow cuts and horizontal camera movement – appear.

directed his most personal movies during this time, pairing subjectivity with first-person narration. After 1956's ''

Professor Hannibal ''Professor Hannibal'' (Hungarian: ''Hannibál tanár úr'') is a 1956 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri and starring Ernő Szabó, Zoltán Greguss and Manyi Kiss. The film is based on a novel by Ferenc Móra set in Budapest duri ...

'',

further elaborates the theme of moral choice in historical times in many of his films from the 1960s, like ''

Isten hozta, őrnagy úr! ''The Toth Family'' ( hu, Isten hozta, őrnagy úr!) is a 1969 Hungarian comedy-drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Zoltán Latinovits as Major (Őrnagy) * Imre Sinkovits ...

'', '' Két félidő a pokolban'', ''Nappali sötétség''. After trying several genres, the cinema of

becomes more unified, creating the most political, dramatic films of his career during the era, with ''Megszállottak'', ''Elveszett paradicsom'', ''Az utolsó előtti ember''. Art and entertainment films became more separated, with the latter going through a similar renewal, seeking new genres and actors. The most popular films were

Zoltán Várkonyi Zoltán Várkonyi (13 May 1912 – 10 April 1979) was a Hungarian actor and film director. In 1961, he was a member of the jury at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. Four years later, he was a member of the jury at the 4th Moscow Intern ...

's adaptations of

Mór Jókai Móric Jókay de Ásva (, known as ''Mór Jókai''; 18 February 1825 – 5 May 1904), outside Hungary also known as Maurus Jokai or Mauritius Jókai, was a Hungarian nobleman, novelist, dramatist and revolutionary. He was an active participant ...

novels (''A kőszívű ember fiai'', ''Egy magyar nábob'', ''Kárpáti Zoltán'') and

's comedies ('' Butaságom története'', '' A tizedes meg a többiek''). Disaster movies of the fifties were replaced by action films, detective stories (''A hamis Izabella'', ''A gyilkos a házban van'') and spy movies (''Foto Háber'', ''Fény a redőny mögött''). Meant to carry on the tradition of cabaret/comedy films of the past, satirical comedy films appeared, often starring the popular László Kabos (''A veréb is madár''). The end of the decade saw another wave of censorial strictness, so film productions turned from political, revolting themes towards the private sphere, often utilizing stylized, lyrical motifs, producing so-called aestheticizing films.

1970–1980

Both the objective and subjective form of the Hungarian film, developed in the sixties, went through the process of stylization in the seventies. Objective films try to compose a closer, sociological description of social processes (marked by the trend of documentarism), the subjective, overstepping biographical elements, try to stress the individual side of its form (marked by the slightly pejorative term aestheticism). In both cases, the classical forms of narration fell into the background, and parallel to the loosening of the story, pictorial effects were strengthened, often using allegorization. The two definitive trends of the seventies became the documentarism, meant to introduce a new aspect and change in form, and, continuing from the sixties, the directorial films. Other contemporary genres and forms, like

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, or the so-called state-of-the-generation films can all be connected to them. The most influential trend of the decade was documentarism, creating the genre of

fictional documentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on ...

(or documentary feature films), a genre regarded as distinctively Hungarian (

Budapest school The Budapest school, or documentarism, was a Hungarian film movement that flourished from roughly 1972 to 1984. The movement originated from Béla Balázs Studios, a small-budget filmmaking community that aimed to unite the young avant-garde an ...

). Short and full-length documentaries created in the Balázs Béla Studio from the end of the sixties had a major influence on its creation. As film producers of the seventies were dissatisfied with the illusion of realism of the previous years, they felt that conventional acting and dramatics no longer offered new possibilities. Many of the era's influential films include, or try to surpass documentarism, by distancing from realist depiction in building up unconventional scenes. In these films (including András Jeles's ''A kis Valentino''), the sociologically accurate world becomes transparent, and by exposing documentarism, a peculiar cinematic language is revealed. By the end of the decade, documentarist stylization decoupled into a lyrical, or sometimes grotesque version utilized in feature films (like of

Judit Elek Judit Elek (born 10 November 1937) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. She directed 16 films between 1962 and 2006. Her film '' Mária-nap'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Filmograph ...

, Ferenc Grunwalsky, Lívia Gyarmathy, Géza Böszörményi) and an experimental line, marked by BB Studio's ''Filmnyelvi Sorozat'', and films of the K/3 Group, led by

Gábor Bódy Gábor Bódy (30 August 1946 – 24 October 1985) was a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, theoretic, and occasional actor. A pioneer of experimental filmmaking and film language, Bódy is one of the most important figures of Hungarian cine ...

. Most of the films made in the BB Studio and on the Academy used cinéma verité as a method to reveal socially sensitive themes, but unlike the outer, intellectual standpoint of the sixties, they explored the inner conflicts of their subjects. The era's mainstream was also created along the lines of the more artistic documentarist films, in the form of state-of-the-generation movies. While in part continuing the tradition of public life movies of the sixties, they incorporated the changed social attitudes of the seventies.

1980–1989

Márta Mészáros Márta Mészáros (born 19 September 1931) is a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. The daughter of László Mészáros, a sculptor, Mészáros began her career working in documentary film, having made 25 documentary shorts over the spa ...

is best known for her film

Diary for My Children ''Diary for My Children'' ( hu, Napló gyermekeimnek) is a 1984 Hungarian drama film directed by Márta Mészáros. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury. In July 2021, the film was show ...

(1984), which won the Grand-Prix Award at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

and is the first film in a trilogy of autobiographical films that also includes

Diary for My Lovers ''Diary for My Lovers'' ( hu, Napló szerelmeimnek) is a 1987 Hungarian drama film directed by Márta Mészáros. It was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement ...

(1987), and

Diary for My Mother and Father ''Diary for My Mother and Father'' ( hu, Napló apámnak, anyámnak) is a 1990 Hungarian film directed by Márta Mészáros. Synopsis This story follows a young student, who is orphaned as she grows to adulthood in the shadow of the 1956 Hung ...

(1990).

Hungarian cinema today

From 1990

Films

*Hungarian Requiem (1991) *

Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning ' Satan's Tango') is a 1994 drama film directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Hungarian novelist ...

(1994) * The Gambler (1997) * Gloomy Sunday (1999) *

(2000) *

Abandoned Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to: Common uses * Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded * Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property ** Chi ...

(2001) *I Love Budapest (2001) *

Hukkle ''Hukkle'' (meaning "hiccup") is a 2002 experimental Hungarian film directed by György Pálfi about the daily life of people in a village. The story is based on the Angel Makers of Nagyrév. Cast * Ferenc Bandi: Uncle Csuklik * Józsefné ...

(2002) *Pleasant Days (2002) *A Long Weekend in Pest And Buda (2003) * Kontroll (2003) *

The District! ''The District!'' ( hu, Nyócker!) is a 2004 Hungarian caricaturistic animated film directed by Áron Gauder. Its original title is a shortened colloquial form of ''nyolcadik kerület'', the eighth district of Budapest, also known as Józsefvá ...

(2004) * Fateless (2005) *Just Sex and Nothing Else (2005) *Children of Glory (2006) *Johanna (2006) *Rokonok (2006) *

Taxidermia ''Taxidermia'' is a 2006 Hungarian surrealist comedy-drama horror film directed and co-written by György Pálfi. An international co-production of Hungary, Austria and France, the film spins a metaphorical socio-political retelling of Hungary's ...

(2006) *Kaméleon (2008) *Delta (2008) *

The Man from London ''The Man from London'' ( hu, A londoni férfi) is a 2007 Hungarian film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky. It is an adaptation by Tarr and his collaborator-friend László Krasznahorkai of the 1934 novel ''L'Homme de Londres'' by proli ...

(2008) *

Katalin Varga Katalin Varga ( hu, Varga Katalin ; August 22, 1802 - aft. 1852) was the leader of the Transylvanian Miners' Movement in the 1840s. Life Family and early life Varga was born into a family of impoverished nobility on August 22, 1802, in Halmág ...

(2009) *

The Turin Horse ''The Turin Horse'' ( hu, A torinói ló) is a 2011 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, starring János Derzsi, Erika Bók and Mihály Kormos. It was co-written by Tarr and his frequent collaborator László Krasznaho ...

(2011) * The Maiden Danced to Death (2011) *

Demimonde is French for "half-world". The term derives from a play called , by Alexandre Dumas , published in 1855. The play dealt with the way that prostitution at that time threatened the institution of marriage. The was the world occupied by elite me ...

(2015) *

Son of Saul ''Son of Saul'' ( hu, Saul fia) is a 2015 Hungarian historical drama film directed by László Nemes, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, a ...

(2015) *

Kincsem Kincsem (; Hungarian for "My Precious" or "My Treasure"; March 17, 1874 – March 16, 1887) was a Hungarian Thoroughbred racehorse who has the longest undefeated record of any racehorse after winning all of her 54 races. The next closest in this ...

(2017) *

On Body and Soul ''On Body and Soul'' ( hu, Testről és lélekről) is a 2017 Hungarian drama film written and directed by Ildikó Enyedi. The story revolves around a CFO of a slaughterhouse and the newly appointed meat quality inspector who discover they can c ...

(2017)

Directors

Nimród Antal Nimród E. Antal (; born November 30, 1973) is a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Antal was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents of Hungarian people, Hungarian descent. In 199 ...

György Pálfi György Pálfi (born 11 April 1974 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian filmmaker. His film ''Taxidermia'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Pálfi's films have received numerous awards and nominatio ...

Ildikó Enyedi Ildikó Enyedi (; born 15 November 1955) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Her 2017 film '' On Body and Soul'' won the top prize at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Foreign Language Acad ...

Lajos Koltai Lajos Koltai, ASC, HSC, (born 2 April 1946) is a Hungarian cinematographer and film director best known for his work with legendary Hungarian director István Szabó, and Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore. He was nominated for an Academy ...

*Endre Hules *

Can Togay Can Togay (; born August 27, 1955), also known as János Can Togay, is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, actor, poet, producer, cultural manager and cultural diplomat. Biography Can Togay was born the son of Turkish parents. He spe ...

* László Nemes

Academy Award nominees/winners

*Attila Szalay (with two others) technical AA-award for SpaceCam 1996 (?) *

AA-nomination for Best Cinematography (2000) for "Malena" * Géza M.Tóth AA-nomination (2007) for Best Short Film, animation: "Maestro"(2005) *Márk Jászberényi, Tamás Perlaki and Gyula Priskin: Scientific Academy Award (2010) for development of software * László Nemes winning the award for best foreign-language film (2016) with

. *"Lustre", a color correcting system that enables real-time manipulation during digital intermediate process. Scientific Academy Award (2014) was given for

Mud box A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

shared by five persons of whom three were Hungarians:

Tibor Madjar Tibor is a masculine given name found throughout Europe. There are several explanations for the origin of the name: * from Latin name Tiberius, which means "from Tiber", Tiber being a river in Rome. * in old Slavic languages, Tibor means "sacred pl ...

for the concept and Csaba Kőhegyi and

Imre Major Imre is a Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian language, Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich (name), Emmerich or H ...

for the design.

References

* Cunningham, John. ''Hungarian Cinema: From Coffee House to Multiplex''. Wallflower Press, 2004. *Gábor Szilágyi. ''Életjel: a magyar filmművészet megszületése 1954–1956''. Budapest: Magyar Filmintézet, 1994. *István Zsugán. ''Szubjektív magyar filmtörténet: 1964–1994''. Budapest: Osiris-Századvég, 1994. *Gábor Szilágyi. ''Tűzkeresztség: a magyar játékfilm története, 1945–1953''. Budapest: Magyar filmintézet, 1992. OCLC 28409300 *József Veress. ''A Magyar film története''. Budapest: Anno Kiadó, 2006. *István Nemeskürty. ''Word and image; history of the Hungarian cinema''. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1968. OCLC 434165

Notes

External links

mmka.hu Official website of the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungaryfilmintezet.hu Official website of the National Film Archivefilm.hu
– a portal dedicated to Hungarian films
filmtortenet.hu
– a portal presenting a timeline of Hungarian cinema
Hungarian film
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Spotlight on Hungarian Cinema
– reviews of important Hungarian films in English.
Hungarian Film Posters
on the

European Film Gateway The European Film Gateway (EFG) is a single access point to the digitized holdings of historical European film documents from numerous film archives and cinematheques, including over 600,000 individual objects from over 60 collections. The Europ ...

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