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1-50 of 3,359
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Miklos Jancsó was born in 1921 in Vac, Hungary. His mother Angela Poparada was Romanian and his father Sandor Jancsó Hungarian. Jancsó received a degree in Law from the University of Cluj-Napoca in 1944. After fighting in WWII and a brief period as a POW, he chose to join the Film and Theater Academy in Budapest, and graduated with a diploma in Film Directing in 1950. His fifth feature film The Round-Up (1966) was a huge hit domestically and internationally and is often considered a significant work of world cinema. Hungarian film critic Zoltan Fabri called it "perhaps the best Hungarian film ever made." Film critic Derek Malcolm included the film in his list of the 100 greatest films ever made. In Hungary, it was seen by over a million people (in a country with a population of 10 million). His next film The Red and the White (1967) became Jancsó's biggest success internationally. It won for example the 'Best Foreign Film' award from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. In his following films he developed a personal style of historical analysis using complex camera movements, dance and popular songs, creating his own cinematic style he called "political musical". The long takes became a trademark of Jancsó, so for example the 80-minute long Winter Wind (1969) consists of only 12 shots. Jancsó received the 'Best Director' award at the Cannes Film Festival 1972 for the film Red Psalm (1972). During the 1970s, Jancsó divided his time between Italy and Hungary and made a number of films in Italy, the best known of which is Private Vices, Public Virtues (1976). At that time, his films Hungarian Rhapsody (1979) and Allegro barbaro (1979) were the most expensive to have been produced in Hungary, but the critical reaction was muted. Jancsó was awarded the Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival in 1990. After little success and a long break Jancsó returned with The Lord's Lantern in Budapest (1998), which proved to a be a surprising comeback for the director. This success led to a succession of 5 more Pepe (Zoltán Mucsi) and Kapa (Péter Scherer) films, the last in 2006. Jancsó also cemented his reputation by making appearances in a number of films, for example as himself in his Pepe and Kapa films and in guest roles in works by up-and-coming Hungarian directors. Jancsó died of lung cancer on 31 January 2014, aged 92. Fellow Hungarian director Béla Tarr called Jancsó "the greatest Hungarian film director of all time" and acknowledged Jancsó's influence on his own work.- Stephen Bekassy was born on 10 February 1907 in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. He was an actor, known for A Song to Remember (1945), Beyond the Time Barrier (1960) and One Step Beyond (1959). He was married to Veronica M Beregi, Hagar Wilde, Lívia Neufeld, Teri Fejes and Hanna Landy. He died on 30 October 1995 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
She graduated in 1957 after which she went to work to the National Theatre. Her first role was Solveig in Peer Gynt. She was a student in the College when Zoltan Fabri gave her the main character cast in the film: Korhinta (1955). She is a well-balanced (sense and sensibility) actress, who can act so many characters. She awarded with Kossuth award and 'Kivalo muvesz'.- Producer
- Additional Crew
Andy Vajna was born in Budapest. In 1956 at the age of 12, he fled from Hungary and with the support of Red Cross he made his way alone to Canada. Vajna launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theaters in the Far East. He founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong in 1976. Vajna met with Mario Kassar at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, then he and Kassar formed Carolco. In 1982, Vajna was a founder and then president of the American Film Marketing Association. During that same year, Vajna and Kassar made their film production debut. In December 1989, Vajna sold all his interest in Carolco and formed Cinergi Productions, Inc. to engage in the financing, development, production and distribution of major event motion pictures. As part of its business plan, Cinergi has formed an alliance with The Walt Disney Company for distribution of Cinergi motion pictures in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Vajna has never forgotten his Hungarian roots and always tried to help the Hungarian film industry. He also actively participated in the distribution of Motion Pictures in Hungary eventually having a 70% share of the Hungarian box office. In 1989 Vajna founded InterCom that has become a market leader and a distributor of many Hollywood studios, including 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Disney and MGM. In 2002 he founded Digic Pictures in Hungary which is a high-end animation studio. Since 2011 Andrew G. Vajna has been working as Government Commissioner in charge of the Hungarian film industry. In the same year he conceived Hungarian National Film Fund with the mission to contribute to the production of Hungarian films or co-productions that provide art and entertainment for moviegoers and bring significant success both domestically and on an international level. Under the Vajna era Hungarian movies financed by the Hungarian National Film Fund won altogether more than 130 international awards (including a Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Film) while the number of foreign films produced in Hungary increased significantly.- Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Marcell Jankovics was born on 21 October 1941 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a writer and director, known for Küzdök (1977), Toldi - Movie (2022) and Hungarian Folk Tales (1980). He was married to Éva Rubovszky. He died on 29 May 2021 in Budapest, Hungary.- Director
- Writer
- Production Designer
He was born in 1917 and between the two World War he finished his primary and secondary school. After them he graduated in the College of Fine Arts, which helped him later to be a production-designer. He liked to learn and joined the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. He bacame a director and actor. In the beginning of his career he was a production-designer, actor and he directed in theatres. He liked illustration and made many book illustrations. After the 2nd WW he was the main director of the Magyar Theatre, and in 1947 he was the member of the National Theatre. In 1950 he got a job in the Film Factory as an art director. Occasionally he wrote scripts. His first film Vihar (1952) is filmed in a Hungarian village. At the height of his career he made the internationally renowned film Merry-Go-Round (1956). He died in heart-attack when he was 77.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833 and died in Vienna, Austria in 1897. A perfectionist, he often compared himself unfavorably to composers such as Beethoven and ended up destroying many compositions without their ever being heard. While basically conservative, he showed musical growth throughout his four symphonies and occasionally borrowed wilder folk themes, such as in his Hungarian Dances, and he explored a vast range of human emotion in his Violin Concerto.
Although he never married, much of his later life involved a seemingly unending devotion to Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann - both of whom were long-time friends to Brahms.- Director
- Actor
- Cinematographer
György Fehér was born on 12 February 1939 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a director and actor, known for Passion (1998), Twilight (1990) and Satantango (1994). He died on 15 July 2002 in Budapest, Hungary.- John Bartha was born on 6 February 1915 in Csíkszereda, Austria-Hungary [now Miercurea Ciuc, Romania]. He was an actor, known for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Cry of Death (1968) and Our Man in Jamaica (1965). He was married to Erzsi Paál. He died on 7 March 1991 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Károly Makk was born on 22 December 1925 in Berettyóújfalu, Hungary. He was a director and writer, known for Another Way (1982), Love (1971) and The Gambler (1997). He was married to Andrea Zsiga Kiss, Marianne Krencsey, Virág Dõry and Hanna Dömötör. He died on 30 August 2017 in Budapest, Hungary.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Gustav Mahler is largely considered one of the most talented symphonic composers of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. His musical output comprised mainly of symphonic and song cycles requiring mammoth orchestras and often choruses. Sadly, Mahler never experienced popularity as a composer during his lifetime, not nearly as much as Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, or even Tchaikovsky, but his talents as interpretive artist on the conductor's podium earned him many accolades and prestigious assignments as music director to famous orchestras. Mahler was born in Kaliste, Bohemia on July 7, 1860, to a distillery manager father and a homemaker mother. Gustav was the second of twelve children, of which five died in infancy and three others did not live to mature adulthood. The constant conflicts between Gustav's domineering and abusive father and his weak mother helped to shape his compositional style, always reflecting on the struggle between good and evil, happy and sad, strong and weak, etc. Mahler showed musical talent at an early age, and by the age of eight years, he was already composing music influenced by military marches played at the nearby barracks. His parents eagerly encouraged his music studies, sending him to private tutors and ultimately to the Vienna Conservatory (1875-1878). Mahler's studies at the Conservatory got off to a slow start, but the final year at school was marked with him winning several composing awards. After graduation, for want of paying composing work, Mahler instead started conducting, typically directing light operas at second-rate orchestras. His insistence on complete artistic control of the entire production, from the stage costumes to the dramatic routines to how each and every note in the opera was played, earned him few friends among the orchestral players and performers but many positive reviews from critics. It was during these ten years after graduation from the Conservatory in which Mahler really began serious orchestral composing. Works written during this time included Das Klagend Lied (1880), Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) (1884), and his First Symphony (1888). It must be noted that Mahler conducted the premieres of each of his orchestral works. However, the premiere of his First, in Budapest in November 1889, was deemed a critical failure, since the audience was unaccustomed to the sound of this complex, modern work. Yet the First is perhaps his most approachable symphony, containing many Austrian Lieder themes and simple melodies. And, still, with a performance time of 55 to 60 minutes, it is his shortest symphony! Failures of Mahler the composer did not daunt Mahler the conductor, as his successes with the operas of Mozart, Wagner, and even some brand new works from Tchaikovsky earned him a reputation as a brilliant interpretive artist. Still, Mahler persevered, composing the Second Symphony (1892), a mammoth work of five movements requiring a full orchestra, female choral soloists, two choirs, an offstage brass band, and a pipe organ. His Third Symphony (1896) took this one step further, a six movement symphonic journey typically taking one hour and forty minutes to perform. During this time, Mahler was busy conducting orchestras and opera companies in Kassel (1883), Prague (1885), Leipzig (1886), Budapest (1888), Hamburg (1891), and Vienna (1894), but it was the musical director position at the Vienna Court Opera that he was aiming for. First, he had to overcome some family problems (both his parents died within months of each other, a younger brother fled to the United States, and another younger brother committed suicide), but, more importantly, Mahler's Jewish faith stood in the way of his career goal (Vienna was largely anti-Semitic during this time). To accommodate, he accepted a Roman Catholic baptism, and was promptly appointed musical director of the Vienna Hofoper Court Opera. Mahler's tenure at the Hofoper was tumultuous yet productive; he composed his Fourth Symphony (1901), thereby completing what many music historians agree wraps up his "Early Symphonies." His Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Symphonies (1903, 1904, 1905 respectively), all purely orchestral, make up his intermediate works. Although these works are increasingly modern and complex, they still contain some wonderful lyrical passages, especially the divinely beautiful Adagio from his 5th. Also, during this time he married Alma Schindler (a composer of fair talent herself), and they had two daughters, Maria (born 1902), and Anna (born 1904). Still, as director of The Hofoper, Mahler brought new high standards of performance unmatched anywhere else in the world. 1907 brought three tragic events to Mahler's life (ironically foreshadowed by the three "hammer blows" present in the Finale of his 6th Symphony): First, he was forced to resign from the Hofoper in somewhat acrimonious circumstances (chiefly disagreements as to what artistic direction he wanted to take the Hofoper), second, the diagnosis of the valve defect in his heart, and third, the death of his elder daughter (of Scarlet Fever). But by this point in his career Mahler had reached worldwide popularity as an orchestral and operatic conductor, and new work was not difficult to find. But it was composing that fueled his passions; The Eighth Symphony (1908) began the final series of Mahler's works. The Eighth is another work of Biblical proportions; a standard performance requires a full orchestra with enlarged brass and woodwind sections, eight soloists (three sopranos, two altos, a tenor, baritone, and bass), two full mixed choirs, a children's choir, several "unconventional" orchestral instruments (guitars, a harmonium, a piano, and a celesta), and, again, a pipe organ. Mahler disliked the alternate title bestowed upon this symphony, A Symphony of a Thousand, but indeed, during the premiere (in Munich in 1910), over one thousand performers were present. Amazingly, this lengthy and difficult work (only two movements but requiring 80-90 minutes to perform), was a huge success at its premiere; in attendance were many famous musicians, businesspeople, and royal families. Concluding Mahler's final works were Das Lied von der Erde (1908), the Ninth Symphony (1909), and an unfinished Tenth Symphony (1911), all of which he did not live to see or hear performed. The completed portions of the Tenth contain references to how Mahler lamented his crumbling marriage (by this time Alma was having an affair) yet it is considered perhaps the most pure form of Mahler's music (it contains many elements of modern 20th Century music). It was during concluding a winter season of conducting the New York Philharmonic Society in the spring of 1911 in which the heart condition diagnosed four years earlier caught up with Mahler; he traveled back to Austria to spend his final days near his family. He died late in the evening of May 18. Mahler's legacy took a long time to mature. His music, although complex and full of vivid imagery, failed to become popular in musical circles until fifty years after his death; it was primarily the efforts of Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, and, more recently, Simon Rattle , who have introduced the works of Mahler to many. Mahler himself declared, "My time will come."- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Johann Strauss (or Johann Strauss son), one of Austrian music's most famous names who studied music secretly against his father's will, later became the leader of his father's band and the indisputable "waltz king"; his waltz 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube', is the main theme in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
He was born Johann Sebastian Strauss on October 25, 1825, in Vienna, Austria. His father was the composer Johann Strauss Sr. Young Johann Strauss studied music secretly with his father's first violinist in the Strauss orchestra. He was reprimanded by his father who wanted him to be a banker. He continued studies of counterpoint, harmony, and violin, and concentrated fully on a career as a composer at the age of 17, when his father left the family.
Young Strauss made his debut at the Dommayer's Casino in Hietzing, the upscale district of Vienna. He became the rival of his father and gained popularity performing with his own orchestra. He took the side of revolutionaries when Vienna was racked up by the bourgeois revolution of 1848. He publicly played La Marseillaise and was hauled up by the Viennese authorities. That caused him denial of position of the Hofballmusikdirektor (Royal Ball Music Director). His career continued after the death of his father in 1849, which allowed the merger of two Strauss orchestras under the baton of Johann Strauss.
Strauss took his united orchestra on extensive tours in Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, France, and Britain. Russian Tsar Alexander II commissioned Strauss to play at Pavlovsk, the royal suburb of St. Peterburg. There was the opening of a new railway and a landmark concert hall for Russian aristocracy. Strauss also accepted commissions to play for the Grand Prince Michael in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1853, when the commissions became too much to be handled, his mother persuaded younger brother Joseph to take over the helm of the Strauss Orchestra. Strauss eventually toured and concertized to an exhaustion and was confined to a sanatorium to recuperate as he was suffering from neuralgia. He was married three times and had complications with the Catholic Church which refused to grant him a divorce. Strauss had to change his religion and nationality in order to get married to the woman he loved; he became a citizen of German Duchy of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. After that he became free to marry his third wife Adele, who encouraged his creative talent in his later years.
Johann Strauss was the most sought after composer of dance music in the second half of the 19th Century. His influence is felt in the music of the operetta maestro Franz Lehár and other composers. Among his admirers were Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Richard Strauss and other prominent composers. Strauss wrote Die Fledermaus (The Bat), Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), Wiener Blut (The Viennese Blood), and other popular operettas. His exquisite waltzes: The Blue Danube, Tales from the Vienna Wood, Man only Lives Once, On the Beautiful Blue Danube, and many other waltzes made Johann Strauss the indisputable "waltz king" of the 19th century. He died of pneumonia on June 3, 1899, in Vienna, and was laid to rest in the cemetery of Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, Austria.- Nóra Káldi was born on 18 November 1943 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Szerelmes biciklisták (1965), Gulliver in the Country of Dwarfs (1974) and A nagy kék jelzés (1970). She was married to György Kálmán. She died on 6 August 1993 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
István Bujtor was born on 5 May 1942 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor and producer, known for A három testör Afrikában (1996), Hamis a baba (1991) and Mennyei seregek (1983). He was married to Bujtor, Judit and Perényi, Eszter. He died on 25 September 2009 in Budapest, Hungary.- Actor
- Director
Géza Tordy was born on 1 May 1938 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor and director, known for Széchenyi napjai (1985), Klapka légió (1983) and Csínom Palkó (1973). He died on 30 March 2024 in Hungary.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Miklós Gábor was born on 7 April 1919 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. He was an actor and writer, known for Mágnás Miska (1949), Állami áruház (1953) and Torquato Tasso (1984). He was married to Éva Ruttkai, Éva Vass and Mária Rákosi. He died on 2 July 1998 in Budapest, Hungary.- Imre Sinkovits was born on 22 November 1928 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Corporal and Others (1965), The Loves of Liszt (1970) and A pénzcsináló (1964). He was married to Katalin Gombos. He died on 18 January 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Writer
- Director
- Script and Continuity Department
Péter Bacsó was born on 6 January 1928 in Kosice, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He was a writer and director, known for Forró vizet a kopaszra! (1972), Nyár a hegyen (1967) and Jelenidö (1972). He died on 11 March 2009 in Budapest, Hungary.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
István Gaál was born on 25 August 1933 in Salgótarján, Hungary. He was a director and writer, known for The Falcons (1970), Sodrásban (1964) and Legato (1978). He died on 25 September 2007 in Budapest, Hungary.- Éva Ruttkai was born on 31 December 1927 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Butaságom története (1966), Ünnepi vacsora (1956) and Keserü igazság (1986). She was married to Miklós Gábor. She died on 27 September 1986 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
- Writer
Géza Morcsányi was born on 28 August 1952 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor and writer, known for On Body and Soul (2017), Magyar szépség (2003) and Paszport (2001). He was married to Judit Balog. He died on 4 January 2023 in Hungary.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Antal Páger was born on 29 January 1899 in Makó, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor, known for Hattyúdal (1964), Pacsirta (1964) and Azurexpress (1938). He was married to Bea Szilágyi and Júlia Komár. He died on 14 December 1986 in Budapest, Hungary.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
A musical prodigy, Smetana was encouraged and trained by his father. His move to Prague in 1843 was disheartening when he was unable to generate interest in his abilities; however, he did form a friendship with Liszt, and dedicated several of his works to him. He opened a music school and performed privately for deposed Emperor Ferdinand, and by 1849 he had made enough money to enable him to marry Katerina Kolárová, a former student. Bohemia was torn by revolution, and, beset by financial difficulties, Smetana and his family lived hand-to-mouth for a number of years. Three of his four daughters died between 1854 and 1856, and his wife developed the tuberculosis that would kill her in 1859.
Eventually, in 1856, he went to Sweden to work as a conductor and achieved some success. He returned to Prague in 1861 and helped found a national opera house. Fired with patriotism for his native land, Smetana worked on a number of Bohemian-themed operas and also concentrated on learning the Czech language. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated rapidly in his later years; he became deaf as syphilis ravaged his body. He was confined to a mental asylum where he died in 1888, and is buried in Prague.- Lajos Szücs was born on 10 December 1943 in Apatin, Yugoslavia. He was an actor, known for The Breed (2001), Last Run (2001) and A mérközés (1981). He was married to Ildikó Pécsi. He died on 12 July 2020 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Géza von Radványi was born on 17 December 1907 in Kassa, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Kosice, Slovak Republic]. He was a writer and director, known for Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965), Európa nem válaszol (1941) and Mädchen in Uniform (1958). He was married to Mária Tasnádi Fekete and Eva Daghofer. He died on 27 November 1986 in Budapest, Hungary.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Gábor Bódy was born on 30 August 1946 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a director and writer, known for Amerikai anzix (1975), Narcissus and Psyche (1980) and Kutya éji dala (1983). He was married to Veronika Baksa-Soos (Veruschka Body). He died on 25 October 1985 in Budapest, Hungary.- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Gyula Benkö was born on 22 August 1918 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for Szerelmes szívek (1944), Férjhez menni tilos! (1963) and Három csengö (1941). He was married to Katalin Molnár. He died on 30 June 1997 in Budapest, Hungary.- Actor
- Director
- Script and Continuity Department
Zoltán Várkonyi was born on 13 May 1912 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor and director, known for Simon Menyhért születése (1954), Sóbálvány (1958) and Fekete gyémántok (1977). He was married to Vera Szemere and Dóra Fáy Kiss. He died on 10 April 1979 in Budapest, Hungary.- Hédi Temessy was born on 6 May 1925 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Film... (2000), Damnation (1988) and A pénzcsináló (1964). She died on 29 May 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dezsö Garas was born on 9 December 1933 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor and director, known for Jacob the Liar (1974), A legényanya (1989) and A három növér (1991). He was married to Ágnes Böszörményi Nagy. He died on 30 December 2011 in Budapest, Hungary.- In Hungary lots of people said that he had been the king in the movies in the 20th century. Latinovics was born in his grandfather's restaurant at 12:30pm. His mother, Katalin Gundel, was the daughter of the well-known restaurant owner in Pest. His father, Oszkár Latinovics, was a landowner in South-Hungary and he left his family some days after Zoltán was born. When he was 10 his mother married again. His stepfather was a doctor. 2 brothers were born, István Bujtor (this is his stage-name) and Károly Frenreisz. He loved the cinema, the theatre and he painted a lot. He collected and read books. First he learnt the joiner profession and he graduated as an architect before became an actor. He learnt 4 languages fluently: English, French, German, and Italian. But he was a strange, curious person, he "wanted" the life and he didn't want it, finally committing suicide. He liked the truth. His famous romance and love with Éva Ruttkai was well-known.
- Zoltán Gera was born on 19 August 1923 in Szeged, Hungary. He was an actor, known for Victory (1981), A Tenkes kapitánya (1964) and Citizen X (1995). He was married to Helga Görgey and Livia Ránki. He died on 7 November 2014 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Ádám Szirtes was born on 10 February 1925 in Tápiósáp, Hungary [now Sülysáp, Hungary]. He was an actor, known for Hideg napok (1966), Rózsa Sándor (1971) and A koppányi aga testamentuma (1967). He died on 27 July 1989 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
József Madaras was born on 16 August 1937 in Rigmani, Romania. He was an actor and director, known for A Tenkes kapitánya (1964), Pókfoci (1977) and Princ, a katona (1966). He died on 24 April 2007 in Máriahalom, Hungary.- Dorottya Géczy was born on 21 May 1931 in Budapest, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Age of Illusions (1965), Cha-Cha-Cha (1982) and Házasságból elégséges (1962). She was married to István Rozsos, János Szilágyi and Ferenc Baracsi. She died on 3 April 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Sándor Szabó was born on 25 April 1915 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor, known for Topaz (1969), Nem élhetek muzsikaszó nélkül (1978) and Az élet muzsikája - Kálmán Imre (1984). He was married to Kató Bárczy and Klára Jász. He died on 12 November 1997 in Budapest, Hungary.- Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (18 August 1830 - 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 2 December 1848 until his death. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866 he was also President of the German Confederation. He was the longest-reigning ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the longest-reigning emperor and seventh-longest-reigning monarch of any country in history
- Director
- Writer
- Animation Department
György Kovásznai (1934-1983) was born on 15 May 1934 in Budapest, Hungary.
In 1944 Kovásznai's foster father was called upon for military service in Austria with his family. During their time away from Budapest the family lost their home, and all of their personal belongings. Returning to Budapest at the end of 1944, the family had to start life all over again, and lived in poverty from that time onwards.
Kovásznai attended the Budapest College of the Fine Arts, but gave up his studies in 1954, at the age of 20. He then worked as a miner for a year and a half, in an effort to get some first-hand experience with the working class. However, the artist soon became completely disillusioned, as he found that "people hate struggle, great slogans and politics. They pay attention to them only as long as they suffer from them..."
In 1956 Kovásznai was readmitted to the Budapest College of the Fine Arts, but was dismissed the following year before receiving his diploma.
From 1958 to 1974 he worked as the editor and columnist of Nagyvilág, a significant Hungarian arts and literary journal, in which he published some of his criticism and paintings. He came to know writers and literature critics during his time at the journal.
Around the same time, in the late 1950's, Kovásznai started holding semi-illegal artistic gatherings at a friend's house. An avant-garde artist community of 50-200 people came together several times a week, until the end of the 1960's. It emerged decades later that his best friend, who hosted these sessions, had been passing on information about Kovásznai to the counterintelligence agency throughout the years.
In 1961 Kovásznai started to work at the Pannonia Film Studio, Hungary's main animation film studio, initially as a playwright, but soon moving on to make his own films. He continued to work at the studio until his death in 1983. Over the course of his career at the studio he made 26 short films, a mini TV-series and a musical-animation feature film. However, his animations were only shown for brief periods of time in cinemas, or not at all. Kovásznai never had an opportunity to exhibit his paintings and drawings in his lifetime.
Politically, Kovásznai was attached to Marxism, yet had an ongoing conflict with the ruling regime. A significant part of his oeuvre reflects on the spring and summer of 1968, and the events in Paris and Prague. His take on the Prague Spring, which culminated in the Soviet invasion, was expressed in his short film "Memory of the summer of '74". In this movie a cockroach-like creature and a black, windowless train form a sharp contrast with a world of summer joy, full of pop music and pretty girls.
Kovásznai was diagnosed with a serious form of leukaemia in 1980, but refused to be treated and ran away from the hospital, so that he could create his final monumental series of paintings and write his great summarizing essay on art theory. He died in 1983. Kovasznai was primarily a painter, who practiced the art of painting on both canvas and the cinema screen and he is often seen as a free-spirited, universal artist whose work cannot be classified into any known artistic school of thought. His unique oeuvre consists of paintings and drawings, as well as experimental animation films in which he attempted to "animate" the art of painting - which was an approach entirely different from mainstream animation. As he once put it: "Perception in terms of movement, in terms of a series of non-isolated phenomena, is a life philosophy".
During an era increasingly dominated by the growing momentum of socialism (both intellectually and aesthetically), Kovasznai consciously and defiantly attempted to pass between genres: "It's about time that these representatives of the traditional, classical, but over-materialistic genres leave behind their departmentalized-to-death roles." - he said.
Discussing Kovasznai's impact today Hungarian sociologist, Ferenc Hammer wrote: "Do you remember Peter Parker's first fight in Spider-Man? When he is attacked by a bullying schoolmate, the viewers are made to see through Parker's eyes that the opponents are moving in different time dimensions. For Parker, the fierce attack appears as a slow-motion shot. This is why those involved in the scene perceive Parker to be moving at a paranormal speed. Before the dazzled eyes of posterity, Kovasznai appears -for lack of a better definition- as a Gesamtkunst artist, whose works of total art keep evading the force of systematizing interpretation. While spellbound audiences keep gaping at the painted figures that abandon their frames, marvelling at the artist who side-step genre delimitations in a flash, let us conjure the aquarium of silence that surrounds Parker, with the noises of the outside world deadened into a hollow mumble."
Since the early 2000s the Kovasznai Research Centre has worked to preserve and promote Gyorgy Kovasznai's oeuvre. Initially the Research Centre focused on cataloguing, restoring and digitalising all aspects of Kovasznai's work (paintings, drawings, films, and writings) and it now seeks opportunities to present the work to the public. As Kovasznai had no opportunity to exhibit his work during his lifetime, and his films had only been accessible in cinemas for very limited periods of time, the first stage of the Foundation's work was to establish his crucial role within the history of Hungarian contemporary art.
In 2010 the first ever Kovasznai retrospective took over an entire wing of the Hungarian National Gallery to critical and public acclaim, accompanied by a comprehensive monograph.
In 2011, the Research Centre hosted a joint exhibition of South African artist William Kentridge and Kovasznai's work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, which featured installation-based animated films by both artists. Speaking about Kovasznai's work, Kentridge said: ''Seeing... Kovasznai... what felt very familiar was kind of the impetus and the essentialness and the emergency of making. That it felt like an emergency. That work has to be made non-stop. ...Whether it is in charcoal, or thick oil paint, whether it is a view of Johanessburg or Budapest, that seems secondary to the pressure for, the pressure for making, and the excess of making... seeing his work my immediate thought was I want to be back in the studio making something. There was kind of a collegial fury of creation which is a main thing that I kind of got, got from him."
In autumn 2011, a Kovasznai exhibition was held at the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, Germany. Between October 2012- February 2013 the Deutsches Historisches Museum of Berlin hosted an exhibition titled "The Desire for Freedom. Art in Europe since 1945", featuring one of Kovasznai's films alongside works by Fernand Léger, Damien Hirst, Tadeusz Kantor, Richard Hamilton, Gerhard Richter and Boris Christo. The exhibition later set out on a journey to Milan, Tallin and Krakow to last until January 2014.
At the beginning of 2016 the Research Centre introduced György Kovásznai to the British fine art scene via a major solo exhibition at the Somerset House in London. The event was a major success both with the academic audience and the general public, and it opened up doors for the international promotion of Kovásznai's oeuvre: In November 2016 Kovásznai's "Ca Ira" pictures are exhibited alongside works by William Kentridge and four emerging artists as part of the show titled "Creative Fury" in London's Clerkenwell Gallery. Meanwhile Kovásznai's animation films have been widely featured in the programme of film festivals around the world, including the Queensland Film Festival in Australia, the Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation in the US and the Manchester Film Festival in the UK. Kovásznai's short films have also been included in the programme of Art Basel Miami 2016.
Since 2018 the Ybl Budai Creative House in Budapest hosts a permanent exhibition of Gyorgy Kovasznai's works which was launched via a "Kovasznai Summer Festival", including a retrospective show and a series of film screenings.- Lukács Bicskey was born on 11 May 1961 in Szeged, Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Eagle (2011), Spy (2015) and Robin Hood (2006). He was married to Kincsö Pethö. He died on 8 April 2015 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ferenc Kállai was born on 4 October 1925 in Gyoma, Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Witness (1969), A vörös grófnö (1985) and Jegor Bulicsov és a többiek (1981). He was married to Ida Csima. He died on 11 July 2010 in Hungary.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ferenc Zenthe was born on 24 April 1920 in Salgotarjan, Hungary. He was an actor, known for Princ, a katona (1966), A Tenkes kapitánya (1965) and A Tenkes kapitánya (1964). He was married to Gizella. He died on 30 July 2006 in Budapest, Hungary.- Ferenc Puskás (1 April 1927 - 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and played four international matches for Spain. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. He won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), ten national championships (five Hungarian and five Spanish Primera División) and eight top individual scoring honors. In 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS. With 806 goals in 793 official games scored during his career, he is the sixth top goalscorer of all time. He also has at least 362 assists, which is the second most in history behind Pelé.
- Lajos Öze was born on 27 April 1935 in Szentes, Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Witness (1969), III. Richárd (1973) and Ártatlan gyilkosok (1973). He was married to Thoma, Ildikó. He died on 21 October 1984 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Producer
- Director
- Actor
André Szöts was born on 19 March 1937 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a producer and director, known for Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Laura (1979). He died on 18 March 2006 in Budapest, Hungary.- Iván Darvas was born on 14 June 1925 in Behynce, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He was an actor, known for Film... (2000), Liliomfi (1955) and Jakob the Liar (1999). He was married to Irén Motorcza and Klári Tolnay. He died on 3 June 2007 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tamás Major was born on 26 January 1910 in Újpest, Austria-Hungary [now in Budapest, Hungary]. He was an actor and director, known for Stars of Eger (1968), The Loves of Liszt (1970) and Volpone (1975). He was married to Beck, Judit. He died on 13 April 1986 in Budapest, Hungary.- Ferenc Bencze was born on 4 October 1924 in Oradea, Bihor, Romania. He was an actor, known for Aelita (1980), Az eröd (1979) and Héroszok pokoljárása (1982). He died on 7 September 1990 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Writer
Sándor Sára was born on 28 November 1933 in Tura, Hungary. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Sodrásban (1964), Feldobott kö (1969) and Könyörtelen idök (1992). He was married to Szegedi, Erika (I) and Marianna Moór. He died on 22 September 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.- Born on December 18, 1863, the eldest son of Archduke Karl-Ludwig von Habsburg and his wife, Princess Annunziata di Borbone, Franz Ferdinand was third in line to the thrown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire upon his birth. After his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide in 1889 and his father died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir of his aging uncle Emperor Franz Josef. He eloped with Countess Sophie Chotek in 1900, but this marriage was considered unequal and they were forced to renounce rights of rank and succession for their three children. A radical reformist, Franz Ferdinand had a number of new ideas he planned to implement when he became Emperor, one of them giving Slavs an equal voice in the empire. After the annexation of Bosnia by Austria, he decided to go on a tour of his new province in 1914 in hopes of fostering good will with his new subjects. A Serbian terrorist group called The Black Hand sent three of its members to murder Franz Ferdinand and his wife as they visited Sarajevo. Their first assassination attempt, throwing a bomb at the Archduke's car, failed, though a number of bystanders were wounded. The assassins almost gave up their plans, and one of them, Gavrilo Princip, wandered off down the street. Meanwhile, the Archduke and Archduchess decided to visit the wounded in the hospital, but their driver took a wrong turn and they ended up on the same street as Princip. Seizing his chance, Princip stepped forward and fired several times into the car, fatally wounding both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. They were raced to the governor's mansion where they were pronounced dead. Not only did this act of violence orphan their three young children, it also set off a series of events that led directly to World War I.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
László Vitézy was born on 17 May 1940 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a director and writer, known for Békeidö (1980), Red Earth (1982) and Érzékeny búcsú a fejedelemtöl (1987). He was married to Ágnes Hankiss, Katalin Szegvári and Sipos, Katalin. He died on 2 February 2024 in Hungary.