Culture of Hungary - Film

Film

A lot of Hungarians have contributed to film art and its technology. Because of historical reasons it was easier to reach success abroad. Hungarians in Hollywood have got more than 136 Academy Award nominations and about 30 Academy awards (until 1996). This is especially impressing considering the relative small 10 million country and might be the highest per capita in the world. The peak was in the decade of the 1940s when there were about 43 nominations to exiled Hungarians.

Hungarians emigrated in big numbers after several disasters after the first world war (1918) when neighbour-countries (Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia) occupied Hungary which lost 2/3 of its territory (1920). In the turmoil there followed a communist takeover with the so-called red terror and a reaction against it called the white terror. This also caused worse economy and filmmakers tried their fortunes abroad, first mainly in the German-speaking world like Géza von Bolváry and later also in the English-speaking world. Sound-film was invented (1918) in Germany by Dénes Mihály.With the arrival of racial laws (from 1939) people considered Jewish were forced to leave to get working opportunities. It is ironic that some of the most successful propaganda films during the second world war, on opposing sides, were made by Hungarians: Münchhausen by Josef von Báky and "Pimpernel" Smith by Leslie Howard. With the communist takeover in 1948 more Hungarians left. After the crushed 1956 revolution, some important filmmakers left, including Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács, Jean Badal, Peter Medák. With the amnesty of 1960 the cultural climate somewhat eased.

Nevertheless some Hungarians have despite the hardships of staying at home got the coveted nominations (15 times for 18 persons) and in some cases even the award (Ferenc Rófusz (80), István Szabó (81), Zsuzsa Böszörményi (91) a co-winners Jászberényi, Perlaki and Priskin (2010)). The most well-known Hungarian film to date is Mephisto, by István Szabó. It won an Academy Award in the category Best Foreign Language film. The year before The Fly an animation by Rófusz became the very first Hungarian film awarded. Foreign student Academy Award went to Zsuzsa Böszörményi (1991). In 2010 the trio Márk Jászberényi, Tamás Perlaki and Gyula Priskin got the scientific and engineering award for Lustre, a software to colorcorrect intermediates in real-time. (First used on The Lord of the Rings). 8 films have been nominated in the category Best Foreign Language Film. 4 nominations to István Szabo (most nomineed person in Hungary), 2 to Zoltán Fábri (69,79) and one each to Imre Gyöngyössy/Barna Kabay and Károly Makk. 3 films have been nominated for Best Short Animation.(Marcell Jankovics, Ferenc Rófusz and Géza M.Toth). Cinematographer Lajos Koltai has been nominated for best cinematography.

Successful Academy-award-nominated people of Hungarian background in Hollywood includes:

• Producers: Adolph Zukor One honorary award (49), William Fox 1 nomination, Joe Pasternak One honorary award (39), Emeric Pressburger One nomination (1949), Frank Darabont One nomination; Jules White 4 nominations (Best short subject: 1935, 36, 46 and 47).
• Art Directors: William S. Darling 7 nominations (1933,36,37,39,43,44,46)/ 3 wins, Vincent Korda 4 nominations (1940–42,62) / 1 win (1940), Joseph Kish 5 nominations (1944, 48, 59, 65)/1 win (1965), Marcel Vértes 1 nomination, Alexandre Trauner 2 nominations (1961,76)/1 win (61).
• Special effects: George Pal (György Pál) 7 nominations (1942–48) plus one Honorary award (1944).
• Technical award: Atilla Szalay (1996).
• Music score. Miklós Rózsa 16 nominations (41-43,45-48,52-54, 60 and 2 x 62))/ 3 wins (46,48 and 60: Spellbound, A Double Life and Ben-Hur, Karl Hajós 2 nomination (1944, 45) Leo Erdödy one nomination (1944).
• Actors: Leslie Howard (László Steiner) (UK) 2 nominations (1934, 39), Cornel Wilde one nom. (46), Paul Lukas one win (1943).
• Screenplaywriters: Lajos Bíró one nomination (1929), co-writer:Géza Herczeg one win Zola (38)(first Hungarian to get an Academy Award), Emeric Pressburger (UK) 4 nominations (3 x 1943, 1949) /one win (1943) (most nomineed Hungarian in screenplay), Hans Szekely (as John S. Toldy) one win (40), Frank Partos one nomination (1948), André de Toth one nomination (1950), Melchior Lengyel one nomination (40), Robert Pirosh (US-born) one win (1949) and Frank Darabont 2 nominations (1994, 99).
• Cinematographers: Rudolph Maté (Polish-born) 5 nominations (1940–44), John Alton (born Johann / Jenö Altmann) one win (52), Ernest Laszlo 8 nominations (60,61,63,65,66,68,70,76)/ one win 65), Vilmos Zsigmond 4 nominations (77, 78, 84, 06) /one win (77).
• Directors: Michael Curtiz (born Mihaly Kertész):6 nominations (35, 2 x 38, 42 and 43) /2 wins (Casablanca), King Vidor 5 nominations (28,30,32,38 and 56) plus one Honorary (79) and George Cukor 5 nominations (34,41,48 and 51)) /one win (65) My Fair Lady.

Other famous Hungarians in Hollywood are cinematographers László Kovacs ASC, Andrew László ASC. Andrew Marton directed the chariot-race in Ben-Hur. Joe Eszterhas (Esterhazy) wrote Basic Instinct and became the highest-paid writer in Hollywood history. He also wrote the Berlin Golden Bear winner "Music Box" and the first Hungarian "blockbuster", Children of Glory. Zoltan Elek won AA-award(86] for make-up. Actors of Hungarian origin are Peter Lorre, Paul Newman (10 AA nominations/one win plus one Honorary award], Tony Curtis (2 AA nominations), Johnny Weissmüller (Tarzan) and Béla Lugosi (Dracula), Franciska Gaal, Ilona Massey, Zsa Zsa Gabor. Hedi Lamarr was half-Hungarian as was Adrien Brody (1 AA], Goldie Hawn, Marton Csokas and Isabelle Huppert.

In Great Britain, Alexander Korda founded London films to be able to compete with Hollywood on the same terms. He produced The Third Man with music of Anton Karas. Producer Gabriel Pascal got one nomination (39) for Pygmalion co-directed and starred by Leslie Howard. In Germany Géza von Radványi made 70-mm films to compete with Hollywood. Ephraim Kishon (b. Ferenc Hoffmann) was Israel's first nominee for best foreign-language film. He got two nominations (1964, 1972). Ján Kadár (b János Kádár) won the first AA for Czechoslovakia (1965). In Canada, Paul Sarossy is active often as Atom Egoyans cinematographer.

Home in Hungary:Some years after the failed revolution of 1956, against the Soviet-dominated communist dictatorship, the cultural climate eased up a bit and led to more creative freedom. Important films in the 1960s were directed by István Gaál: (The Falcons), András Kovács: Hideg Napok (1966), Miklós Jancsó: The Round Up (1965) (Screenplay: Hernádi Gyula, DOP: Tamás Somló), and István Szabó (The Father). Márton Keleti directed: Franz Liszt: Dreams of Love. (1970) filmed in 70 mm by István Hildebrandt. Other important filmmakers Sándor Pál, Márta Mészáros (Adoption Golden Bear Berlin 1975), Péter Gothár (Golden Lion, Venice): Time Stands Still (Cannes: Award of the Youth, 1982) (1982). Sunshine and Children of Glory are successful bigger budget movies about Hungary's turbulent past. Recent successful films include: János Szász: (Witman fiúk, DOP: Tibor Máthé 1997), György Pálfi: Hukkle (2002), (Taxidermia) (2006). The first super-studio in Hungary was Korda Studios. The next was Raleigh Studios, Budapest. Partly because of this there has been during the last years an increasing number of foreign films of mainly bigger budgets were shot in Hungary, especially in Budapest. Budapest has been nicknamed "the Hollywood at the Danube" because it is arguably by now the most Hollywood-populated place outside the US. Steven Spielberg's Munich was also partly shot in Budapest. Most of Guillermo del Toros Hellboy II was shot in Hungary. In 2008 47 foreign films were shot in Hungary. In 2009 52. As a comparison about 20 to 30 Hungarian movies are made annually.