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ISTVAN SZABO: MEPHISTO / COLONEL REDL / HANUSSEN (1981-1988)
István Szabó is perhaps the best-known of all Hungarian filmmakers, having made hugely successful, Oscar-winning films in Hungary, Europe and in Hollywood. This Box Set uncovers the most creative and exuberant period of Szabó’s Hungarian cinema, with a trio of exceptional films made in collaboration with actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, writer Péter Dobai and cinematographer Lajos Koltai. These films unravel the conflicts of history, society, and the individual in a rich and dazzlingly audacious, yet personal manner.
These important and powerfully relevant films are presented from stunning 4K restorations, and released for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK.
THIS SET INCLUDES
Mephisto (1981)
István Szabó’s Oscar-winning adaptation of Klaus Mann’s novel paints a portrait of Hendrik Höfgen (Klaus Maria Brandauer), a passionate but struggling actor who, despite his political ambivalence, remains in Germany as the Nazis come to power. When he accepts a Nazi official’s offer to make him a star, Höfgen finally receives the success and adulation he has long sought – but at what price?
Colonel Redl (1985)
Set in the years leading up to WW1, and inspired by John Osbourne’s controversial 1965 play A Patriot for Me, Szabó’s film charts the rise of the brilliant but unscrupulous Alfréd Redl in the Austro-Hungarian military. Compromised by his secret homosexuality, Redl is manipulated into a series of treasonous betrayals, becoming a prisoner of his own deceptions.
Hanussen (1988)
Wounded during WW1, an Austrian soldier claims he has gained the power to foresee the future. Adopting the name Erik Jan Hanussen, he sets himself up as a hypnotist, astrologer and clairvoyant in a Berlin theatre, ingratiating himself with those in power.
Szabó’s film vividly recreates the period as the film parallels the rise of Hanussen with Hitler and the Nazi regime.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Limited Edition 3-disc Blu-ray Box Set.
- All three features presented from 4K restorations by the National Film Institute Hungary – Film Archive.
- Four of István Szabó’s acclaimed but rarely seen short film works: Variations on a Theme (1961), You (1963), Concert (1963), and City Map (1977).
- István Szabó – The Director Answers: An interview with the award-winning filmmaker.
- Remembrance of József Romvári: Filmmaker Sophy Romvári’s tribute to her grandfather, production designer József Romvári with narration by Szabó.
- Szabó’s Central Europe: A look at Szabó’s Hungarian films.
- Individual booklets each with new writing by Hungarian cinema experts John Cunningham, Peter Hames and Catherine Portuges.
- Trailers.
(REGION FREE)
