Hungary, it has been noted, has a special devotion to cinema; there, perhaps more than anywhere in Europe, film is "the most important art" (Lenin's term). Starting soon after the war, Hungary was home to several seminal film schools, really production units, where great films were made in the good times, and great theory fomented in periods of repression. Through Hungary's cinema, which is never far from the political realities of the moment, we can assess the feelings that moment engendered. This is especially true of the film renaissance from 1954 to 1957; Hungary's famous Golden Age, the sixties; and what was called the New Hungarian Cinema of the seventies. But it is also evident in periods where mediocrity is the prevailing mode, as in the thirties and early forties; then the renegade film artist stands out all the more. Our current series of works from one of the great filmmaking countries of the world broadens our knowledge of "the possibilities of art and the art of the possible," as authors Liehm and Liehm put it.We have concentrated on some of our beloved favorites, many now out of distribution (films by Gothár, Makk, Szabó, Mézáros, Janscó); very rare films from the thirties and forties; and films by renowned directors including Fábri, Gaál, and Kósa that have never made it to our shores. We also highlight films from the eighties and nineties by the directors (Béla Tarr, Ferenc Grunwalsky, and György Fehér) who are electrifying film festivals today. We are pleased to welcome as our guest on October 24 director Gyula Gazdag, a PFA favorite and the subject of a retrospective in 1987. This series is presented in collaboration with Magyar Filmunio, Budapest. Prints are courtesy Magyar Filmunio, except where otherwise noted, with special thanks to Katalin Vajda. We are grateful to Yvette Biro and Gyula Gazdag for their curatorial advice and assistance. We also wish to acknowledge the cooperation of The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Facets Multimedia, George Eastman House, and Brent Kliewer.Friday September 4, 1998
