[quote=&quot;kenji&quot;:2by3yurx]Thanks a lot for that- Cats Play is not one i'd heard much about. Makk’s Love is a beautifully made film, picked by the excellent British critic Derek Malcolm in his book of 100 favourites. Another Way was fine. I also thought My Way Home and The Red and the White by Jancso were excellent, the sense of space, the landscapes and smooth roving camera; the latter captures the swaying fortunes of battle, a sense of individuals caught up in larger events not always in their control. I’d still like to see Red Psalm. Szabo’s Mephisto (1981), a German co-production won the Foreign Film Oscar; about an actor (Brandauer) who sells his soul to the Nazis and then comes repayment time.

I’ve heard very good things of Witness (Bacso) and its apparently Svejk-like character appeals- parts of the Good Soldier Svejk (Czech) book were hysterical.

From this decade Mundruczo’s Johanna was interesting, a sort of operatic Joan of Arc in a hospital- she’s an angel for the patients, who are understandably happy that she’ll sleep with them to assist their cures. I'd like to see his film Delta which the International Critics' prize at Cannes i think

Tavaszi Zapor/Spring Showers by Fejos is an early classic from 1932 i fancy seeing; it was picked in the BFI’s 360 classics. Hollering’s Hortobagy is a notbale mix of documentary/fiction mix from 1936, about the way of life, animals and music, especially the horsemen and their noble steeds, of the countryside at the time.

Ok, i’ll say a bit on some shorts on youtube- Hadarics Gabor’s “Connections”, one of several shorts from Gyor, may appeal to lovers of the US avant-garde and home-made amateurish vids, but it’s distinctive and strange, reminded a bit of Tarkovsky’s Stalker (mainly the music). Then there’s the 1980 Oscar-winning short animation by Rofusz, The Fly- well worth catching (or is that swatting?), as is Ivanyi's 1996 Cannes -winning Wind (Szel)[/quote:2by3yurx]

Thanks for the quick survey of Hungarian cinema. I'm taking down notes. I'm discovering and hearing about films I should watch out for. It's really disconcerting to hear and see how this part of the world, and Eastern Europe in general, has been kept in the margins of filmdom (a situation that is not about to change), when it has produced some of the finest films and directors in the history of world cinema.

Jancso is a favorite of mine too. My Way Home is also probably my number one film by him. It's a poignant film towards the end, but the rest of the film is also his most emotionally rewarding, and dare I say most enjoyable, a quality that he reins in in his subsequent films. This film also inaugurates his trademark style -- the highly mobile and highly choreographed cinematography, the thematics of war, the overall mise en scene -- that became more and more pronounced in films like The Red and The White, The Round-Up, and The Silence and The Cry. (Red Psalm approaches utmost stylization, plus the fact that this is, if I'm not mistaken, Jancso's first attempt at color. He doesn't disappoint.)

I've also treasured the two Marta Meszaros films I've seen, namely, Adoption and  Diary for My Children. In my to-watch-pile, I have The Unburied Man. 

Elsewhere, I have in my possession several of Zoltan Fabri's films, including Merry-Go-Round, Sweet Anna and Fifth Seal. It's quite ironic that I've yet to see any of them. The same goes for Baczo's Witness, my copy of which is missing at the moment. I enjoyed seeing Karel Stekly's The Good Soldier Sveijk, so I wouldn't mind seeing another bumbling, comedic character in Witness. 

Is Fejos the same as Pal Fejos or Paul Fejos? I have located his Fantomas (1932), but without English subtitles.  I have also located Kornel Mundruczo's Delta, plus several of his other films. Great time to be a cinephile if you don't mind bittorrents. I can share an invite with you if you are not too averse to this. Cheers!