''The Fifth Seal'' ( hu, Az ötödik pecsét) is a 1976 film by Hungarian director

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 ...

based on the 1963 novel with the same name by Hungarian author Ferenc Sánta. It won the Golden Prize at the

10th Moscow International Film Festival The 10th Moscow International Film Festival was held 7-21 July 1977. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Hungarian film ''The Fifth Seal'' directed by Zoltán Fábri, the Spanish film '' El puente'' directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and the Sovie ...

and it was entered into the

27th Berlin International Film Festival The 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1977. The festival opened with ''Nickelodeon'' by Peter Bogdanovich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet Union film '' The Ascent'' directed by Larisa Shep ...

. The film was also selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

49th Academy Awards The 49th Academy Awards were presented Monday, March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and Warren Beatty. ''Network'' and '' Al ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Plot

During the reign of the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National ...

World War II 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 opposing ...

, four friends are chatting around the table of a bar owned by Béla (Ferenc Bencze) when a wounded photographer (István Dégi) who has just come back from the battlefront joins them. During their gathering, two Arrow Cross officers come in for a drink. After leaving, the group bitterly refer to them as murderers. One of the friends, a watchmaker named Miklós Gyuricza (Lajos Öze), poses a moral question to János (Sándor Horváth) about two hypothetical characters; Tomóceusz Katatiki and Gyugyu. Tomóceusz Katatiki was the leader of an imaginary island, and Gyugyu was his slave. The powerful and careless Katatiki treated the poor Gyugyu with extreme brutality, but never felt any remorse as he lived by the barbarian morality of his age. Gyugyu lived in misery and suffering but found comfort in the fact that whatever cruelty happens to him it is never caused by him and he is still a guiltless person with a clean conscience. What would he choose, if he had to die and reincarnate as one of them? The photographer says that he would choose Gyugyu, but the others don't believe him. As they go home we get to know some of the deepest secrets of their lives. It turns out that Gyuricza is hiding Jewish children at his flat. Meanwhile, László (László Márkus) drinks excessively, plagued with the question Gyuricza posed, and experiences hallucinations in his drunken stupor. Upset that the four bar attendees didn't believe him about Gyugyu, the photographer reports the four of them to the Arrow Cross Party for calling the Arrow Cross officers 'murderers'. The next evening, the four friends are at the bar again when arrow-cross officers arrest them. They are taken to an office of the party where an arrow-cross official (

Zoltán Latinovits Zoltán Latinovits (9 September 1931, in Budapest – 4 June 1976, in Balatonszemes) was a Hungarian actor. Early life His mother divorced his father Oszkár Latinovits in 1941 and married István Frenreisz, a medical doctor, with whom she had ...

) forces them to slap a dying partisan in the face in order to be freed. Gyuricza is the only one that complies. Gyuricza exits the building, severely disturbed by what transpired. As he walks through the city, buildings explode and crumble.

Cast

Lajos Őze Lajos Őze (27 April 1935 – 21 October 1984) was a Hungarian actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1955 and 1984. He starred in the 1976 film '' The Fifth Seal'', which was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. Sel ...

- Miklós Gyuricza (Gyuricza Miklós) * László Márkus - László Király (Király László) * Ferenc Bencze - Béla * Sándor Horváth - János Kovács (Kovács János) *

István Dégi István Dégi (born Makó, August 21, 1935 - died Budapest, November 8, 1992) was a Hungarian actor. Partial filmography * ''Szerelem csütörtök'' (1959) * ''Gyalog a mennyországba'' (1959) * ''Égrenyíló ablak'' (1960) - Nagyfülü * '' ...

- Károly Keszei (Keszei Károly) *

- civvies * Gábor Nagy - the blonde one * György Bánffy - the high one * József Vándor - Macák * Noémi Apor - Mrs Kovács (Kovácsné) * Ildikó Pécsi - Irén * Marianna Moór - Lucy (as Moór Mariann) * Rita Békés - Erzsi *

György Cserhalmi György Cserhalmi (born 17 February 1948, in Budapest) is a Hungarian actor. He graduated from the Actors Academy in 1971. He is also the founder of the Labdater Theatre in the Globe cultural centre. Employment *1971: Debrecen Csokonai Theat ...

- dying communist * Gábor Kiss - Guard * Gabriella Kiss - Gyuricza's daughter

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Seal, The 1976 films 1970s war drama films 1976 drama films 1970s Hungarian-language films Films directed by Zoltán Fábri Hungarian World War II films Hungarian war drama films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links