Miklós Jancsó

Active - 1958 - 2004  |   Born - Sep 27, 1921   |   Died - Jan 31, 2014   |   Genres - Drama, War, Comedy

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Biography by AllMovie

Hungarian filmmaker Miklós Jancsó earned international recognition not only for his own films during the late '60s, but also for the new Hungarian cinema. Jancso's most recognizable films include The Round-Up (1966), The Red and the White (1967), and The Confrontation (1969). These films contain his distinctive combination of revolutionary viewpoints and highly structured, formal, cinematic style that give his films an abstract feel. Throughout his films, the actors are often placed into geometric patterns that mirror the landscapes around them. Imagery is more important than dialogue which is used sparingly in his films to encourage audiences to really contemplate and analyze his underlying messages. Born in Vac, Hungary, Jancso studied ethnography and art history while earning his doctor-of-law degree in 1944. He went on to spend several years in Transylvania doing ethnographic research before enrolling in Budapest's Academy of Dramatic and Film Art where he graduated in 1950. He then began churning out newsreels and documentary shorts until 1958 when he made his feature film debut. All of his films are framed by the terrible aftermath of war. Although his first films offered sympathetic explorations of the human characters, his subsequent works became increasing concerned with the use of imagery for its own sake. For his three landmark films, he won many international awards and special recognition at Cannes. In 1972, he again earned international acclaim, and the best director award at Cannes for Red Psalm. Seven years later, he won a lifetime achievement from the prestigious French film festival.

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