Zoltán Fábri
Encyclopedia
Zoltán Fábri was a Hungarian film director
and screenwriter
. His films The Boys of Paul Street
(1969) and Hungarians
(1978) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
Fábri wanted to become an artist from an early age on. He studied painting and graduated at the Hungarian College of Fine Arts. He began working in the Hungarian film industry in 1950 as a production designer. He directed his first film Vihar (Storm) in 1951. He became an internationally acclaimed director with his third feature Körhinta (Merry Go-Round
) in 1956. He continued directing and writing until the early 1980s. After his retirement from the film industry Fábri taught on the Hungarian University of Theatrical and Film Arts. In his last years he wrote screenplays; they were never made. Fábri was also the president of the Hungarian Film Artist Union from 1959 to 1981.
Fábri's style of filmmaking can be described mainly as "classical", using academic techniques of art filmmaking. His greatest influences were the Italian
Neorealism
and French
Poetic Realism
. He experimented with narrative and flashback
techniques for a while in the 1960s (in his films Nappali sötétség and Húsz óra) and his 1976 film Az ötödik pecsét contains some highly surrealist scenes, but overall he never used the mannerisms of modernist film in his works. For this reason the Communist
regime favored Fábri over more controversial and experimental directors like Miklós Jancsó
. The film was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival
.
He was known as a perfectionist who wrote, drawn and choreographed every scene to the most precise detail months before production began and never improvised anything. His reputation as a rigid, tyrannical director was somewhat contradicted by his friendly and kind behaviour towards the American child actors on the set of The Boys of Paul Street.
Fábri made nearly all of his films based on literary material (novels or short stories) and wrote the screenplays himself. His constant theme was the question of humanity. Many of his films are set in or around World War II
. Two of his frequent collaborators were actress Mari Törőcsik
and cinematographer György Illés. In 1969 he played the role of prosecuted statesman Zoltán Dániel in his friend Péter Bacsó
's cult satire, A tanú (The Witness) as his sole acting job.
Fábri died in a heart attack at the age of 76 in 1994.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. His films The Boys of Paul Street
The Boys of Paul Street
The Boys of Paul Street is a 1969 American-Hungarian co-production film directed by Zoltán Fábri and based on the youth novel The Paul Street Boys by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnár. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
(1969) and Hungarians
Hungarians (film)
Hungarians is a 1978 Hungarian film directed by Zoltán Fábri. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film....
(1978) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Fábri wanted to become an artist from an early age on. He studied painting and graduated at the Hungarian College of Fine Arts. He began working in the Hungarian film industry in 1950 as a production designer. He directed his first film Vihar (Storm) in 1951. He became an internationally acclaimed director with his third feature Körhinta (Merry Go-Round
Merry-Go-Round (1956 film)
Merry-Go-Round is a 1956 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri, based on the short story Kútban by Imre Sarkadi...
) in 1956. He continued directing and writing until the early 1980s. After his retirement from the film industry Fábri taught on the Hungarian University of Theatrical and Film Arts. In his last years he wrote screenplays; they were never made. Fábri was also the president of the Hungarian Film Artist Union from 1959 to 1981.
Fábri's style of filmmaking can be described mainly as "classical", using academic techniques of art filmmaking. His greatest influences were the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Neorealism
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Poetic Realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
. He experimented with narrative and flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
techniques for a while in the 1960s (in his films Nappali sötétség and Húsz óra) and his 1976 film Az ötödik pecsét contains some highly surrealist scenes, but overall he never used the mannerisms of modernist film in his works. For this reason the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime favored Fábri over more controversial and experimental directors like Miklós Jancsó
Miklós Jancsó
Miklós Jancsó is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter.Jancsó achieved international prominence from the mid-1960s onwards, with works including The Round Up , The Red and the White and Red Psalm .Jancsó's films are characterized by visual stylization,...
. The film was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival
27th Berlin International Film Festival
The 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 24 to July 5, 1977.-Jury:* Senta Berger * Ellen Burstyn* Helène Vager* Rainer Werner Fassbinder* Derek Malcolm* Andrej Michaolkow-Kontschalowski* Ousmane Sembène...
.
He was known as a perfectionist who wrote, drawn and choreographed every scene to the most precise detail months before production began and never improvised anything. His reputation as a rigid, tyrannical director was somewhat contradicted by his friendly and kind behaviour towards the American child actors on the set of The Boys of Paul Street.
Fábri made nearly all of his films based on literary material (novels or short stories) and wrote the screenplays himself. His constant theme was the question of humanity. Many of his films are set in or around World War II
World 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...
. Two of his frequent collaborators were actress Mari Törőcsik
Mari Töröcsik
Mari Törőcsik is a Hungarian film actress. She has appeared in over 120 films since 1956. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival for the film Mrs...
and cinematographer György Illés. In 1969 he played the role of prosecuted statesman Zoltán Dániel in his friend Péter Bacsó
Péter Bacsó
Péter Bacsó was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter.After high school graduation Bacsó wanted to become an actor and later a theatre director, but ultimately decided to try filmmaking. His first job in a film was as an assistant in Géza Radványi's Valahol Európában at the age of 19...
's cult satire, A tanú (The Witness) as his sole acting job.
Fábri died in a heart attack at the age of 76 in 1994.
Filmography
- Déryné (1951) - production designer
- Vihar / Storm (1951) - director
- Erkel (1952) - production designer
- Életjel / Fourteen Lives (1954) - director
- Dandin György, avagy a megcsúfolt férj (1955) - production designer
- KörhintaMerry-Go-Round (1956 film)Merry-Go-Round is a 1956 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri, based on the short story Kútban by Imre Sarkadi...
/ Merry Go-Round (1956) - director, screenwriter, production designer - Hannibál tanár úr / Professor Hannibal (1956) - director, screenwriter
- Bolond április / Summer Clouds (1957) - director, production designer
- Édes AnnaÉdes AnnaÉdes Anna is a 1958 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. It was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Mari Törőcsik - Édes Anna* Mária Mezei - Vízyné* Károly Kovács - Vízy Kornél* Zsigmond Fülöp - Jancsi* Béla Barsi - Ficsor...
/ Sweet Anna (1958) - director, screenwriter, production designer - Dúvad / Brute (1961) - director, screenwriter
- Két félidő a pokolbanTwo Half Times in HellTwo Half Times In Hell , also known as The Last Goal is a 1962 Hungarian war drama film based on The Death Match....
/ The Last Goal) (1962) - director, screenwriter, production designer - Nappali sötétség / Darkness in Daytime (1963) - director, screenwriter, production designer
- Vízivárosi nyár / Hard Summer (tv-series) (1964) - director
- Húsz óra / Twenty HoursTwenty HoursTwenty Hours is a 1965 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Cast:* Antal Páger as Elnök Jóska...
(1965) - director - Útószezon / Late Season (1966) - director
- A Pál-utcai fiúk / The Boys of Paul Street (1969) - director, screenwriter
- Isten hozta, őrnagy úr! / The Tóth Family (1969) - director, screenwriter
- A tanú / The Witness (1969) - actor
- Hangyaboly / Ant Hill (1971) - director, screenwriter
- Plusz-mínusz egy nap / Plus-Minus One Day (1973) - director, screenwriter
- 141 perc a befejezetlen mondatból / 141 Minutes from the Unfinished Sentence (1975) - director
- Az ötödik pecsét / The Fifth SealThe Fifth SealThe Fifth Seal is a 1976 film by Hungarian director Zoltán Fábri based on a novel of the same name by Hungarian author Ferenc Sánta. It was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Lajos Őze - Miklós Gyuricza...
(1976) - director, screenwriter - Magyarok / Hungarians (1978) - director, screenwriter
- Fábián Bálint találkozása Istennel / Bálint Fábian Meets God (1980) - director, screenwriter
- RequiemRequiem (1982 film)Requiem is a 1982 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement.-Cast:* Edit Frajt - Netti...
(1981) - director, screenwriter - Gyertek el a névnapomra / Housewarming (1983) - director, screenwriter