Music Box (film)
Encyclopedia
Music Box is a 1989 film
that tells the story of a Hungarian-American immigrant who is accused of having been a war criminal. The plot revolves around his daughter, an attorney
, who defends him, and her struggle to uncover the truth.
The movie was written by Joe Eszterhas
and directed by Costa-Gavras
. It stars Jessica Lange
, Armin Mueller-Stahl
, Frederic Forrest
, Donald Moffat
and Lukas Haas
.
It is loosely based on the real life case of John Demjanjuk
and, as well, on Joe Eszterhas
' own life, since he later discovered that his father was a former Nazi collaborator in Hungary
.
. He insists that it is a case of mistaken identity. Against the advice of both the prosecutor and her former father-in-law
, Harry Talbot, Anne resolves to defend her father. One of her reasons is how deeply her son, Mikey, loves and admires his grandfather.
According to prosecuting attorney Jack Burke of the Office of Special Investigations, Michael Laszlo is not, as he claims, a simple political refugee, regular churchgoer, and family man. Rather, he is "Mishka," the former commander of a death squad
linked to the Hungary
's Fascist and racist Arrow Cross Party
. During Siege of Budapest, Mishka and his unit tortured and murdered scores of Hungarian Jews, Gypsies, and many others with psychopathic glee. To Anne, these allegations are absurd. The affectionate single father who raised her could not possibly have commited such crimes.
In light of the accusations, the city of Chicago
is divided. Laszlo's supporters, ranging from friends and family to those who deny the Holocaust
, are pitted against those who believe in his guilt and seek to harass him. A photo of Laszlo shielding his grandson from protesters works in his favor. At the same time, the trial puts a great deal of stress on Anne, and she begins to quarrel more with Burke, even going so far as to imply his guilt in the recent death of his wife. Meanwhile, digging into her father's accounts reveals large payments to a fellow Hungarian immigrant named Tibor. Mike claims these were loans which Tibor was unable to repay before his death.
As a denaturalization hearing unfolds, the crimes of "Mishka" are described in gruesome testimony by the few who survived contact with him. As a result, the case pivots on an Arrow Cross identification card that bears Laszlo's name. An expert from the FBI initially confirms its authenticity. Laszlo on the other hand, claims that this is a conspiracy by the People's Republic of Hungary
and its secret police
, the ÁVH
. Their reasons are retaliation for his protest against the visit of a Hungarian ballet troupe several years earlier.
In rebuttal, Anne locates a KGB
defector who testifies about the ability of the Soviet Union
to produce similar forgeries and their use to frame anti-communists in the West. The defector further explains that such knowledge was shared with a very interested Hungarian government. This revelation, combined with Anne's throwing into question the reliability of any witness living under an oppressive Communist government, again throws the defendant's guilt into doubt.
At this impasse, Burke announces that there is a witness who can prove that Mike Laszlo and "Mishka" are the same person; due to his medical condition he is incapable of leaving Budapest
. Anne, Burke, and the judge travel to Hungary, but Laszlo declines to go, claiming that the Hungarian State will murder him and make it look like an accident. Before Anne leaves, her legal assistant brings more details about the man to whom Laszlo had made payments, revealing that Tibor had died in a hit-and-run car accident and that she believes he was blackmailing Mike Laszlo. She gives Anne his sister's address in Budapest and urges Anne to seek the truth, but Anne shrugs her off.
The night she arrives in Budapest, Anne is visited by a stranger who claims to be a friend of her father. He chats with her for a while, then leaves a box with a hidden folder of documents. The next day at the hospital, after hearing some damning evidence from the witness, Anne produces these documents—signed affidavits made by the witness and stating that a completely different man was "Mishka." In light of this evidence, and despite protests from both Burke and the witness, the Jewish judge dismisses the indictment. Anne, elated, brushes off Burke's accusations that she is living in a fantasy world and begins her trip back home. Riding back to the hotel, she suddenly directs her driver to take her to the address she received from her assistant.
Introducing herself as someone who had known her brother, Tibor, Anne is welcomed warmly by his elderly sister. As they converse, the woman mentions that the only thing of Tibor's that she has is his wallet, sent from America. She produces from it a piece of paper that she does not understand. Anne informs her that it is a pawn shop ticket and the woman implores her to retrieve whatever Tibor pawned and to send it to her, as she has so little by which to remember her brother. As soon as she returns to America, Anne retrieves the item, which turns out to be the titular music box. Anne winds it up and watches it go, taken by its charm. Then, Anne weeps inconsolably as the music box dispenses photos of her father enthusiastically torturing and murdering Jews.
Anne goes to Mikey's birthday party, her first thought being to get her son away from his murderous grandfather. When her father walks into the room, she confronts him. Even in the face of the overwhelming evidence, her father continues to deny his crimes, chalking it up to a conspiracy by the ÁVH. Anne also accuses him of the hit and run which killed Tibor. Calmly, her father responds, "No. He was a friend."
Sickened, Anne calls her father a monster, says that she never wants to see him again, and that she doesn't want him anywhere near Mikey. However, her father calmly explains that his grandson would never believe such things about him. Much to Anne's distress, he then goes directly out to play with Mikey. Anne is then seen typing a letter to Jack Burke and enclosing the damning photos and negatives. Soon after, Anne picks up a newspaper from her doorstep which bears the headline, "Mike Laszlo: War Criminal! Justice Department Releases Atrocity Photos." The film fades out as Anne comforts her son.
. Both Walter Matthau
and Kirk Douglas
were in talks with Costa-Gavras to play the part of Mike Laszlo. Ultimately Gavras selected Armin Mueller-Stahl, who had wanted to work with Gavras since being impressed by his work after seeing Missing
. Mueller-Stahl, an East-German defector, had difficulty obtaining a U.S. visa, as he was suspected of ties to the Stasi
.
Principal photography for the film started on location in Chicago
, but for later scenes of the film the production was moved to Budapest
, Hungary, as Gavras wanted authenticity in what he considered some of the key scenes.
of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film a luke-warm two star review. Among his complaints were that the film was "not about guilt or innocence; it is a courtroom thriller, with all of the usual automatic devices like last-minute evidence and surprise witnesses" and that "Naziism is used only as a plot device, as a convenient way to make a man into a monster without having to spend much time convincing us of it." Foremost was his frustration that little attempt was made to understand Mike Laszlo, and that "the old man, who should be the central character if this movie took itself seriously, is only a pawn."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
was even more critical of the film, doubting it existed for any purpose other than to get Jessica Lange an Oscar nomination, bluntly stating "real-life tragedy has been used to hype cheap melodrama. It's more than offensive; it's vile."
Caryn James of the New York Times applauded Jessica Lange's performance, but had to admit that "Ms. Lange comes as close to inventing a character out of thin air as any screen actor can. Nothing in Joe Eszterhas's overblown script or in Costa-Gavras's simplistic direction begins to support it. In the end, not even Ms. Lange's profuse energy and intelligence can redeem the film's unremitting shallowness and mediocrity." James ultimately felt that Music Box "finally tells us nothing about wronged innocence or monstrous evil."
All three reviewers commented on the plot similarities between Music Box and Betrayed
, the 1988 collaboration between writer Joe Eszterhas
and director Costa-Gavras
, with the replacement of white supremacists with war criminals and the same predictable formula.
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
that tells the story of a Hungarian-American immigrant who is accused of having been a war criminal. The plot revolves around his daughter, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, who defends him, and her struggle to uncover the truth.
The movie was written by Joe Eszterhas
Joe Eszterhas
József A. "Joe" Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American writer, best known for his work on the pulp erotic films Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has also written several non-fiction books, including an autobiography entitled Hollywood Animal.-Early life:Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary,...
and directed by Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras, is a Greek filmmaker, who lives and works in France, best known for films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller, Z...
. It stars Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
, Frederic Forrest
Frederic Forrest
-Life:Forrest was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allie and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner. He is known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now, When The Legends Die, It Lives Again, the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, Right to Kill? and for playing...
, Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat
Donald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
and Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
.
It is loosely based on the real life case of John Demjanjuk
John Demjanjuk
John Demjanjuk is a retired Ukrainian-American auto worker who gained notoriety after being accused numerous times of Holocaust-related war crimes....
and, as well, on Joe Eszterhas
Joe Eszterhas
József A. "Joe" Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American writer, best known for his work on the pulp erotic films Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has also written several non-fiction books, including an autobiography entitled Hollywood Animal.-Early life:Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary,...
' own life, since he later discovered that his father was a former Nazi collaborator in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Plot
Defense attorney Anne Talbot learns that her father, Hungarian immigrant Michael J. Laszlo, is in danger of having his American citizenship revoked. The reasons are that he stands accused of war crimes committed during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He insists that it is a case of mistaken identity. Against the advice of both the prosecutor and her former father-in-law
Father-in-law
A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship...
, Harry Talbot, Anne resolves to defend her father. One of her reasons is how deeply her son, Mikey, loves and admires his grandfather.
According to prosecuting attorney Jack Burke of the Office of Special Investigations, Michael Laszlo is not, as he claims, a simple political refugee, regular churchgoer, and family man. Rather, he is "Mishka," the former commander of a death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
linked to the Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's Fascist and racist Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
. During Siege of Budapest, Mishka and his unit tortured and murdered scores of Hungarian Jews, Gypsies, and many others with psychopathic glee. To Anne, these allegations are absurd. The affectionate single father who raised her could not possibly have commited such crimes.
In light of the accusations, the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
is divided. Laszlo's supporters, ranging from friends and family to those who deny the Holocaust
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, are pitted against those who believe in his guilt and seek to harass him. A photo of Laszlo shielding his grandson from protesters works in his favor. At the same time, the trial puts a great deal of stress on Anne, and she begins to quarrel more with Burke, even going so far as to imply his guilt in the recent death of his wife. Meanwhile, digging into her father's accounts reveals large payments to a fellow Hungarian immigrant named Tibor. Mike claims these were loans which Tibor was unable to repay before his death.
As a denaturalization hearing unfolds, the crimes of "Mishka" are described in gruesome testimony by the few who survived contact with him. As a result, the case pivots on an Arrow Cross identification card that bears Laszlo's name. An expert from the FBI initially confirms its authenticity. Laszlo on the other hand, claims that this is a conspiracy by the People's Republic of Hungary
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
and its secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
, the ÁVH
State Protection Authority
The State Protection Authority was the secret police force of Hungary from 1945 until 1956. It was conceived of as an external appendage of the Soviet Union's secret police forces, but attained an indigenous reputation for brutality during a series of purges beginning in 1948, intensifying in 1949...
. Their reasons are retaliation for his protest against the visit of a Hungarian ballet troupe several years earlier.
In rebuttal, Anne locates a KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
defector who testifies about the ability of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to produce similar forgeries and their use to frame anti-communists in the West. The defector further explains that such knowledge was shared with a very interested Hungarian government. This revelation, combined with Anne's throwing into question the reliability of any witness living under an oppressive Communist government, again throws the defendant's guilt into doubt.
At this impasse, Burke announces that there is a witness who can prove that Mike Laszlo and "Mishka" are the same person; due to his medical condition he is incapable of leaving Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Anne, Burke, and the judge travel to Hungary, but Laszlo declines to go, claiming that the Hungarian State will murder him and make it look like an accident. Before Anne leaves, her legal assistant brings more details about the man to whom Laszlo had made payments, revealing that Tibor had died in a hit-and-run car accident and that she believes he was blackmailing Mike Laszlo. She gives Anne his sister's address in Budapest and urges Anne to seek the truth, but Anne shrugs her off.
The night she arrives in Budapest, Anne is visited by a stranger who claims to be a friend of her father. He chats with her for a while, then leaves a box with a hidden folder of documents. The next day at the hospital, after hearing some damning evidence from the witness, Anne produces these documents—signed affidavits made by the witness and stating that a completely different man was "Mishka." In light of this evidence, and despite protests from both Burke and the witness, the Jewish judge dismisses the indictment. Anne, elated, brushes off Burke's accusations that she is living in a fantasy world and begins her trip back home. Riding back to the hotel, she suddenly directs her driver to take her to the address she received from her assistant.
Introducing herself as someone who had known her brother, Tibor, Anne is welcomed warmly by his elderly sister. As they converse, the woman mentions that the only thing of Tibor's that she has is his wallet, sent from America. She produces from it a piece of paper that she does not understand. Anne informs her that it is a pawn shop ticket and the woman implores her to retrieve whatever Tibor pawned and to send it to her, as she has so little by which to remember her brother. As soon as she returns to America, Anne retrieves the item, which turns out to be the titular music box. Anne winds it up and watches it go, taken by its charm. Then, Anne weeps inconsolably as the music box dispenses photos of her father enthusiastically torturing and murdering Jews.
Anne goes to Mikey's birthday party, her first thought being to get her son away from his murderous grandfather. When her father walks into the room, she confronts him. Even in the face of the overwhelming evidence, her father continues to deny his crimes, chalking it up to a conspiracy by the ÁVH. Anne also accuses him of the hit and run which killed Tibor. Calmly, her father responds, "No. He was a friend."
Sickened, Anne calls her father a monster, says that she never wants to see him again, and that she doesn't want him anywhere near Mikey. However, her father calmly explains that his grandson would never believe such things about him. Much to Anne's distress, he then goes directly out to play with Mikey. Anne is then seen typing a letter to Jack Burke and enclosing the damning photos and negatives. Soon after, Anne picks up a newspaper from her doorstep which bears the headline, "Mike Laszlo: War Criminal! Justice Department Releases Atrocity Photos." The film fades out as Anne comforts her son.
Cast
- Jessica LangeJessica LangeJessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
..... Ann Talbot - Armin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
..... Mike Laszlo - Frederic ForrestFrederic Forrest-Life:Forrest was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allie and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner. He is known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now, When The Legends Die, It Lives Again, the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, Right to Kill? and for playing...
.... Jack Burke - Donald MoffatDonald MoffatDonald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
..... Harry Talbot - Lukas HaasLukas HaasLukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
..... Mikey Talbot - Elżbieta CzyżewskaElzbieta CzyzewskaElżbieta Justyna Czyżewska was a Polish actress active in both Poland and the United States.-Early life:...
..... Melinda Kalman - James ZagelJames ZagelJames Block Zagel is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist.- Early life and education :...
(billed as "J.S. Block")..... Judge Irwin Silver - Michael RookerMichael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
..... Karchy Laszlo
Production
This film marks the second collaboration between director Costa-Gavras and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas after 1988's BetrayedBetrayed (1988 film)
Betrayed is a 1988 motion picture drama directed by Costa-Gavras, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Tom Berenger and Debra Winger.-Plot:Set in the American Midwest, the film begins with the murder of a Jewish radio host in Chicago...
. Both Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
and Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
were in talks with Costa-Gavras to play the part of Mike Laszlo. Ultimately Gavras selected Armin Mueller-Stahl, who had wanted to work with Gavras since being impressed by his work after seeing Missing
Missing (film)
Missing is a 1982 American drama film directed by Costa Gavras, and starring Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea, Charles Cioffi and Janice Rule...
. Mueller-Stahl, an East-German defector, had difficulty obtaining a U.S. visa, as he was suspected of ties to the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
.
Principal photography for the film started on location in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, but for later scenes of the film the production was moved to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary, as Gavras wanted authenticity in what he considered some of the key scenes.
Critical reception
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave the film a luke-warm two star review. Among his complaints were that the film was "not about guilt or innocence; it is a courtroom thriller, with all of the usual automatic devices like last-minute evidence and surprise witnesses" and that "Naziism is used only as a plot device, as a convenient way to make a man into a monster without having to spend much time convincing us of it." Foremost was his frustration that little attempt was made to understand Mike Laszlo, and that "the old man, who should be the central character if this movie took itself seriously, is only a pawn."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
was even more critical of the film, doubting it existed for any purpose other than to get Jessica Lange an Oscar nomination, bluntly stating "real-life tragedy has been used to hype cheap melodrama. It's more than offensive; it's vile."
Caryn James of the New York Times applauded Jessica Lange's performance, but had to admit that "Ms. Lange comes as close to inventing a character out of thin air as any screen actor can. Nothing in Joe Eszterhas's overblown script or in Costa-Gavras's simplistic direction begins to support it. In the end, not even Ms. Lange's profuse energy and intelligence can redeem the film's unremitting shallowness and mediocrity." James ultimately felt that Music Box "finally tells us nothing about wronged innocence or monstrous evil."
All three reviewers commented on the plot similarities between Music Box and Betrayed
Betrayed (1988 film)
Betrayed is a 1988 motion picture drama directed by Costa-Gavras, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Tom Berenger and Debra Winger.-Plot:Set in the American Midwest, the film begins with the murder of a Jewish radio host in Chicago...
, the 1988 collaboration between writer Joe Eszterhas
Joe Eszterhas
József A. "Joe" Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American writer, best known for his work on the pulp erotic films Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has also written several non-fiction books, including an autobiography entitled Hollywood Animal.-Early life:Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary,...
and director Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras, is a Greek filmmaker, who lives and works in France, best known for films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller, Z...
, with the replacement of white supremacists with war criminals and the same predictable formula.
Awards and nominations
- Golden BearGolden BearAccording to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
winner at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival40th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 9 to 20, 1990.-Jury:* Michael Ballhaus * Margaret Ménégoz * Vadim Abdrashitov* Suzana Amaral* Steven Bach* Roberto Benigni* Lívia Gyarmathy... - Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
- Jessica Lange (nominee) - Golden Globe for Best Actress- Jessica Lange (nominee)
- Young Artist AwardYoung Artist AwardThe Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
for best young actor in a motion picture- Lukas Haas(nominee)