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István Szabó is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter and Executive Producer Hongrois born on 18 february 1938 at Budapest (Hongrie)

István Szabó

István Szabó
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Nationality Hongrie
Birth 18 february 1938 (86 years) at Budapest (Hongrie)
Awards Kossuth Prize

István Szabó (born February 18, 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.

Szabó is the most internationally famous Hungarian filmmaker since the late 1960s. Working in the tradition of European auteurism, he has made films that represent many of the political and psychological conflicts of Central Europe’s recent history, as well as of his own personal history. He made his first short film in 1959 as a student at the Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts, and his first feature film in 1964.

He achieved his greatest international success with Mephisto (1981), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, most of Szabó's films have been international co-productions filmed in a variety of languages and European locations. He has continued to make some films in Hungarian, however, and even in his international co-productions, he often films in Hungary and uses Hungarian talent. Szabó became involved in a national controversy in 2006 when the Hungarian newspaper Life and Literature revealed that he had been an informant of the Communist regime’s secret police.

Best films

Being Julia
Being Julia
(2004)
(Director) Albert Nobbs
Albert Nobbs
(2011)
(Scriptwriter) Colonel Redl
Colonel Redl
(1985)
(Director)

Usually with

Lajos Koltai
Lajos Koltai
(11 films)
Péter Andorai
Péter Andorai
(7 films)
Ildikó Bánsági
Ildikó Bánsági
(7 films)
András Bálint
András Bálint
(5 films)
Károly Eperjes
Károly Eperjes
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of István Szabó (18 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

I Served the King of England
I Served the King of England (2007)
, 2h
Directed by Jiří Menzel
Origin Republique tcheque
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Julia Jentsch, Ivan Barnev, Oldřich Kaiser, Zuzana Fialová, Marián Labuda, Josef Abrhám
Roles Millionaire #7
Rating72% 3.646483.646483.646483.646483.64648
Jan Dítě has been released from a Czech prison just before the very end of his 15-year sentence and is settling in a town near the border between Czechoslovakia and Germany. He occupies his time with rebuilding a deserted house, and begins to recall his past, where he says that his main wish in life was to be a millionaire. Jan begins his career as a frankfurter vendor at a railroad station, and quickly learns the power of money and the influence it exerts over people.
Mephisto
Mephisto (1981)
, 2h24
Directed by István Szabó
Origin German
Genres Drama, War
Themes Films about television, Political films
Actors Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Ildikó Bánsági, György Cserhalmi, Péter Andorai, Karin Boyd
Roles Theatre Party Attendant (uncredited)
Rating76% 3.8461353.8461353.8461353.8461353.846135
L’ascension vertigineuse d'Hendrik Höfgen, un comédien ambitieux et opportuniste sous la République de Weimar, prêt à sacrifier peu à peu amis, convictions et honneur pour faire carrière. Il obtient le rôle de Méphisto dans la pièce de Goethe, au théâtre national... mais n'est-il pas en réalité plutôt un nouveau Faust, ayant vendu son âme au diable nazi ?

Director

Being Julia
Being Julia (2004)
, 1h44
Directed by István Szabó
Origin Canada
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Films about television
Actors Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Shaun Evans, Michael Culkin, Lucy Punch
Rating69% 3.4974553.4974553.4974553.4974553.497455
Set in London in 1938, the film focuses on highly successful and extremely popular theatre actress Julia Lambert (Annette Bening), whose gradual disillusionment with her career as she approaches middle age has prompted her to ask her husband, stage director Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons), and his financial backer Dolly de Vries (Miriam Margolyes) to close her current production to allow her time to travel abroad. They convince her to remain with the play throughout the summer; and Michael introduces her to Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), an enterprising American, who confesses his deep appreciation of her work. Seeking the passion missing from her marriage, and anxious to fill the void left when her close friend Lord Charles (Bruce Greenwood) suggested they part ways to avoid scandalous gossip, Julia embarks on a passionate affair with the young man and begins to support him so he may enjoy the glamorous lifestyle to which she has introduced him. Their relationship revives her, sparking a distinct change in her personality. Always hovering in the background and offering counsel is the spirit of her mentor, Jimmie Langton (Michael Gambon), the theatrical manager who gave Julia her start and made her a star, while flesh-and-blood Evie (Juliet Stevenson) serves as her personal maid, dresser, and confidante.
Taking Sides
Taking Sides (2002)
, 1h48
Directed by István Szabó
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Films about classical music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on plays
Actors Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgård, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birgit Minichmayr, Ulrich Tukur, Oleg Tabakov
Rating70% 3.5439553.5439553.5439553.5439553.543955
In Berlin at the end of World War II, Wilhelm Furtwängler (Stellan Skarsgård) is conducting Beethoven's 5th Symphony when yet another Allied bomb raid stops the performance. A minister in Hitler's government comes to Furtwängler's dressing room to advise him that he should go abroad, and escape the war. The film then jumps to some time after the Allied victory, and we see U.S. Army General Wallace (R. Lee Ermey) task Major Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) with "getting" Furtwängler at his denazification hearing: "Find Wilhelm Furtwängler guilty. He represents everything that was rotten in Germany".
Sunshine
Sunshine (1999)
, 3h1
Directed by István Szabó
Origin Hongrie
Genres Drama, War, Historical, Romance
Themes Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Ehle, Hanns Zischler, Deborah Kara Unger
Rating74% 3.745343.745343.745343.745343.74534
The 19th-century patriarch of the Hungarian-Jewish Sonnenschein family is a tavern owner, who distills and makes his own popular liquor in Austria-Hungary. From the recipe, the liquor, called "Taste of Sunshine," is commercially made by the next generation of the family who gain great wealth and prestige from the business. That generation of the family lives many happy and privileged years and the children are highly educated. The oldest son, Ignatz (the first of 3 generational roles played by Ralph Fiennes), a fast rising judge, falls in love and has an affair with his first cousin, Valerie (Jennifer Ehle), against his father's wishes. The second son, Gustave (James Frain), becomes a medical doctor. Ignatz is asked by a chief judge to change his Jewish surname if he wishes to be promoted within the judiciary. Ignatz, his brother, and his cousin Valerie all happily change their last name to Sors - a "more Hungarian" name.
Dear Emma, Sweet Böbe
Dear Emma, Sweet Böbe (1992)
, 1h30
Directed by István Szabó
Origin Hongrie
Genres Drama
Actors Johanna ter Steege, Péter Andorai, Ildikó Bánsági, Irma Patkós, Hédi Temessy, Attila Kaszás
Rating70% 3.535423.535423.535423.535423.53542
The film shows the political system's changes in Budapest. The Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe shows the losers of the change and their searching of way. After that Russian language had been removed from compulsory subjects of Hungarian schools the two Russian teacher, Emma and Böbe became redundant. The teaching staff also were shaken of insecurity, accusing each other. Emma and Böbe are learning English in the evenings. Emma also sells newspapers and she has an affair with the married school director, who is not too brave to decide. One of the best scenes of the film when Böbe and many naked women - teachers and nurses - are waiting for casting in a film studio. Böbe is acquainted with foreigners and she trades in foreign currencies. Böbe will be arrested and she finally jumps out of the window of the teachers' accommodation.
Meeting Venus
Meeting Venus (1991)
, 1h59
Directed by István Szabó
Origin Hongrie
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Actors Glenn Close, Niels Arestrup, Erland Josephson, Macha Méril, Jay O. Sanders, Marián Labuda
Rating65% 3.2936753.2936753.2936753.2936753.293675
Un chef d'orchestre hongrois est appelé à l'Opéra de Paris pour diriger Tannhäuser de Richard Wagner, et rencontre de nombreuses difficultés.
Hanussen
Hanussen (1988)
, 2h20
Directed by István Szabó
Origin German
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Historical
Themes Films about magic and magicians
Actors Klaus Maria Brandauer, Erland Josephson, Ildikó Bánsági, Károly Eperjes, Grażyna Szapołowska, György Cserhalmi
Rating71% 3.5919953.5919953.5919953.5919953.591995
Austrian Klaus Schneider, who later comes to be known as Erik Jan Hanussen is wounded during World War I. While recovering in the care of Dr. Emil Bettelheim (Erland Josephson), the Doctor discovers that Schneider possesses empathic powers. After the war, with one friend as his manager and another as his lover, Schneider changes his name and goes to Berlin to perform in halls and theaters as a hypnotist and mind reader. His purported powers bring him to the attention of the Nazis which cause his fame and power – as well as his own troubles – to grow.
Colonel Redl
Colonel Redl (1985)
, 2h20
Directed by István Szabó
Origin German
Genres Drama, Historical
Themes Spy films, Films about sexuality, Films about suicide, Théâtre, LGBT-related films, Films based on plays, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Klaus Maria Brandauer, Hans Christian Blech, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Gudrun Landgrebe, Jan Niklas, András Bálint
Rating73% 3.69353.69353.69353.69353.6935
Alfred Redl, a Ruthenian boy from Galicia in the Austria- Hungary Empire, wins an appointment to a prestigious military academy in spite of being the son of a mere peasant farmer. At his departure from home, his mother installs in him eternal gratitude towards the Emperor Franz Josef. Redl is never to forget that he owes to the emperor his promising career.
Mephisto
Mephisto (1981)
, 2h24
Directed by István Szabó
Origin German
Genres Drama, War
Themes Films about television, Political films
Actors Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Ildikó Bánsági, György Cserhalmi, Péter Andorai, Karin Boyd
Rating76% 3.8461353.8461353.8461353.8461353.846135
L’ascension vertigineuse d'Hendrik Höfgen, un comédien ambitieux et opportuniste sous la République de Weimar, prêt à sacrifier peu à peu amis, convictions et honneur pour faire carrière. Il obtient le rôle de Méphisto dans la pièce de Goethe, au théâtre national... mais n'est-il pas en réalité plutôt un nouveau Faust, ayant vendu son âme au diable nazi ?
Confidence
Confidence (1980)
, 1h45
Directed by István Szabó
Origin Hongrie
Genres Drama, Historical
Themes Political films
Actors Ildikó Bánsági, Péter Andorai, Lajos Balázsovits, Zoltán Bezerédy, Katalin Karády
Rating74% 3.739263.739263.739263.739263.73926
Pendant les derniers mois de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la vie de Kata prend un tournant inattendu. Elle apprend qu'en raison des activités de résistance de son mari, tous deux doivent se cacher quelque temps. Elle reçoit de nouveau papiers d'identité en tant qu'épouse de János Bíró, un réfugié transylvain, et découvre un nouveau foyer et un nouveau mari qui lui est inconnu. Kata, effrayée et ne sachant que faire, se tourne vers cet homme avec confiance et s'ouvre à lui, attendant de lui qu'il réponde à ses questions, qu'il la comprenne et la soutienne. Mais János Bíró, un combattant expérimenté du mouvement de résistance, a été rendu méfiant par des expériences humaines et historiques difficiles, et accueille Kata avec suspicion et froideur, exigeant d'elle la prudence la plus stricte vis-à-vis de tout et de tout le monde.