István Szabó: Mephisto / Colonel Redl / — István Szabó( Blu Ray boxset)

Here we have a boxset celebrating the three cinematic collaborations between renowned Hungarian director István Szabó and actor Klaus Maria Brandauer. The three films date from between1981 & 1988,  and each are powerful/ at times moving European period drama, full of great cinematic craft, moodiness, and wonderful acting. The set appears on Second Run, with each film receiving a lovely 4k scan, a selection of short films, and a few extras.

Before we get into the films featured, let’s talk about the two key collaborators here.  Director/writer István Szabó was born in Budapest in 1938 and is seen as one of the greatest filmmakers to appear from Hungary. Between the mid 60’s and early 2020’s, he has eighteen features to his name-  these include drama Father (1966), which featured a boy fantasizes about the heroic deeds of his dead father.  Epic romantic drama Sunshine (1992), which charts the fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century. And bittersweet friendship drama The Door (2012).

Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer was born in Bad Aussee, Styria, Austria, in 1943. Between the mid 1960’s and the present day, he has present ninety six credits to his name, having won twenty-nine awards over the years. He has starred in a host of important European & American films, with notable titles being Never Say Die (1983) and Out of Africa (1985)

 

Each film comes on its own disc, and first out of the gate, we have 1981’s Mephisto. This is set in Germany in the early 1930’s and focuses on Hendrik Höfgen (Brandauer) a popular provincial theatre actor, who is determined to be one of the known/ respected thespians in the country, seemingly no matter what he loses/ puts on the line.

When we first meet  Höfgen, he’s got a small role in a local production- he’s a nervous/ frustrated man- who we first see going from backstage to meeting his black dance teacher Juliette Martens ( Karin Boyd). As the first third of the film unfolds, he slowly but surely climbs the acting ladder- with parts in local theatre, singing and dancing, and even a film role.

Due to his talent/ acclaim, he gets a key role as Mephisto, the white-faced painted devil's agent in Faustus at a grand Berlin treat.  Following his rising star is the growth of the  Nazi party, as we see them shift from beating up folks in back alleys to ruling the country.

His wife, friends, and colleagues leave or are removed from the country- but as Höfgen egos grow, he becomes manipulated/ used by the nazi’s- getting pulled deeper and deeper, until it’s possibly too late.

Brandauer is truly exceptional here, with his character arc shifting from nervous acting passion to someone who feels he has a certain amount of sway/ control within the nazi government. The rest of the cast is perfectly selected, too- but notable mentions go to  Rolf Hoppe as The General, who is a master manipulator- shifting between friendlessness and barking anger. And Karin Boyd, as his dance teacher who becomes Höfgen's lover- again showing a great character arc.

Mephisto is a decidedly dialogue-heavy drama, with a runtime of two hours and twenty-five minutes. It effectively charts the actor's rise, and then his Faustian deal with the nazi’s. The feeling of building control/ unease is very aptly portrayed in the film, with Höfgen believing he’s getting more respect, but in reality, he’s getting further and further out of his depth.

On the extras front, we get the following archive things. Variation On A Theme (11.17) a 1961 short from  Szabó. It opens with WWII footage of tanks ploughing through buildings, buildings collapsing, happy-looking troops after a day of battling is done, etc. Moving onto footage of men with their sons looking around a museum full of guns/ war paraphernalia- laughing/ mock shooting. Then a group of shades wear longue lizard sitting on a summer's day outside, as the sound of marching jackboots is played.   István Szabó - The Director Answers ( 10.28), which sees a general career-based interview played over by film clips,

 

 

The second film in the set is 1985’s Colonel Redl. This is set during the fading light of the Austro-Hungarian empire, around the 1910’s.  It follows the rise and fall of Alfred Redl(Klaus Maria Brandauer )- who makes his way up the ranks, with a stern focus on the monarchy, even if it means abandoning family and friends.

The around two-and-a-half-hour film follows Alfred from being a Ruthenian child in a small village in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following him through a military academy, we see him as an uncertain/ nervous child. Playing the young Alfred, we have Gábor Svidrony who displays his awkwardness’/ wanting to please side very well. In the academy, he has just one main friend, Kristof Kubinyi

As he leaves the academy, Brandauer steps into the role as the young soldier- and we follow his life through the next ten, maybe fifteen years, I guess. And once again, aside from his masterful acting, he really sells the character's ageing.

During the film's main runtime, Alfred’s friend Kristof Kubinyi, is played by the similarly moustached & balding Jan Niklas. Their lives remained linked, with him initially taking the lower-ranking officer as he climbed up the ranks.

To start with, the film has quite a quaint costume-drama quality about it, as we see young Alfred’s poor-but-rather twee village, with POV shooting & interaction with village characters. But as the picture moves on, things become more meaningful, at times troubling. We have a fraught indoor duel, a deceptive affair, embarrassment & emotional devastation from family ties, unsure sexuality, and toeing of the party line- no matter the consequences.

Once again, Brandauer is exceptional in his role- truly filling his part- in posture, emotion, and onscreen presence. Other notable roles come from Hans Christian Blech as Alfred’s superior, who follows through his career, first gently pushing/ supporting him, and later becomes fearful and manipulative.

The period detail and costumes look really good, with a often very moodily effective use of weather on outside shots- be it mist-bound, or snow-heavy landscapes.

On paper, the two-and-a-half-hour runtime may sound like somewhat of a slog- but the story and pace move well throughout, as you get very much pulled into trails, tribulations, hopes, and fears of Alfred Redl.

Extras-wise, on this disc, we get two shorts. You (10.46), this is from 1963- it opens with collages of classical paintings of female beauty. We then switch to focus on a short-haired young woman- she talks about love with off screen man. Walks through a summertime city, eats ice cream, walks up and down stairs, sunbathes, etc.  I guess the short is fine for what it is, though I can’t see myself revisiting it.  Concert (16.54), this is also from 1963. It regards a piano, initially it’s been peddled along the side of a city side river by three men- they stop and play it a few times, then leave it for a selection of different to play on. This is a rather charming and quirky short.

Lastly, we have Remembrance of József Romvári  (8.16) Filmmaker Sophy Romvari's tribute to her grandfather, the production designer József Romvári, with narration by Szabó.

 

 

Finally,  we have1988’s Hanussen, which finds Klaus Maria Brandauer playing a WW1 soldier who develops clairvoyant abilities after a head injury. Going on stage performing, his popularity grows as more and more of the predictions come true- leaving him literally playing with fire, as the nazi regime is on its rise. The film is roughly based on the life of Austrian hypnotist, mentalist, occultist and astrologer Erik Jan Hanussen.

Once again, Hanussen has a fair, lengthy runtime of two hours and twenty minutes- but it never drags.  It charts well the character's life, with Brandauer once again brilliantly stepping into the role, as he moves through the trials and tribulations of the man's life.

Things open on the battlefields of WWI, as we see a group of soldiers clambering out of the trenches- coming under brutal gunfire straight away. They come to the graveyard with most of the troops being gunned down, and one of the few left alive is bloody-faced/ screaming Klaus Schneider(Brandauer).  The bandaged/ mentally tormented Klaus is sent to a psych hospital, where bearded military Dr Bettelheim(Erland Josephson) treats him, managing to calm and focus his spirit.

After release from the hospital, Klaus is transferred to another unit, which is led by the waxy-moustached Captain Tibor Nowotny(Károly Eperjes). The pair bound over their pre-war involvement with stage performance- and fairly soon, it seems Klaus has a special talent for reading other thoughts & telling the future- with him having a first performance in front of his unit, just as war is declared over.

Tibor starts managing Klaus, and one of the first thing he does is suggest he change his name for the stage- so he goes by Eric Jan Hanussen. As the months & years tick by, more and more of the predictions come true, and in the end, he moves to Berlin to gain large & larger audience, as the nazi party is rising.

Initially, I was concerned as a film Hanussen was going to retread similar ground to  Mephisto, due to the time setting/involvement with the Nazi rise. But the lead characters are quite different, and their outcome is too.

Brandauer is once again truly spellbinding throughout- moving from a troubled & traumatised man, to a self-assured, seemingly powerful man. We get some  great snapshots of wonderfully staged shows, as Eric hypnotises audience members- getting them to do ridiculous, at times risky tasks. And of course, predicting the future, like for example, Hitler coming into power.

All in all, Hanussen is another inspired blending of the talents of director Szabó, and actor Brandauer- and it’s a pity they never worked together again.

For the final disc, we have the extras. City Map (16.50). This 1971 short is set in Budapest, and it’s quite a detailed/ shifting short. It starts off with old maps of the city, then overhead/ by the river footage of Budapest. As the film moves on, we get shots of city streets- with seemingly chatter/conversations coming from the buildings. There are short on-street monologues from different characters, more shots of maps of (I think different districts of the city), old photos of people, etc. A short that clearly a lot of thought/ time was put into this short, and I’ll certainly return to it. Szabó’s Central Europe( 2.07) A look at Szabó's Hungarian films.

 

Each film comes in its own Blu-ray case- with its own glossy inlay booklets with new writing by Hungarian cinema experts John Cunningham, Peter Hames and Catherine Portuges, plus journalist Stephen Lemons on the real-life Erik Jan Hanussen. The whole set is presented in a cardboard slip.  All of the three features take in new HD scans, which all look lovely.

In conclusion, this collection presents us with some of the best/ most impactful in European cinema. These collaborations between director István Szabó and actor Brandauer stand up with classic director/ acting paring like Herzog and Kinski. Really unmissable boxset, if you have any interest in thoughtful/ impactful drama- that’s wonderfully acted and masterfully directed.