The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins Backdrop Blur
The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins Poster
10.0 2h 7m

The Trial of Martinovics and the Hungarian Jacobins

For this austere, clear and sharp telefeature, Judit Elek focused on the last months of Martinovics’ life: his interrogation by the Austrians, the examining Magistrate Schilling in particular, shown as a battle of wits as well as delusions on both sides. Elek had wanted to make this film in the early 1970s, but wasn’t allowed to. When she finally got the chance, the reactions were predictable, as the parallels with recent Hungarian history were simply too obvious for officialdom not to feel anxious. History may not repeat itself, but the variations look eerily similar.

Top Cast

  • János Ács

    János Ács

  • Tamás Fodor

    Tamás Fodor

  • György Petri

    György Petri

  • Gábor Deme

    Gábor Deme

  • Erzsébet Gaál

    Erzsébet Gaál

  • Székely B. Miklós

    Székely B. Miklós

  • János Szikora

    János Szikora

  • Béla Spindler

    Béla Spindler

  • Csaba Oszkay

    Csaba Oszkay

Overview

For this austere, clear and sharp telefeature, Judit Elek focused on the last months of Martinovics’ life: his interrogation by the Austrians, the examining Magistrate Schilling in particular, shown as a battle of wits as well as delusions on both sides. Elek had wanted to make this film in the early 1970s, but wasn’t allowed to. When she finally got the chance, the reactions were predictable, as the parallels with recent Hungarian history were simply too obvious for officialdom not to feel anxious. History may not repeat itself, but the variations look eerily similar.

Rating

10.0 / 10
1 Reviews
0 Popular

Recommendations

Visions of Light

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

Visions of Light

7.0 1992