Directed by:
István SzabóCinematography:
Lajos KoltaiComposer:
Zdenkó TamássyCast:
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Gudrun Landgrebe, Hans Christian Blech, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Jan Niklas, László Mensáros, Tamás Major, Károly Eperjes, Péter Andorai (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The film, which has been produced by the free utilization of different literary sources, is a depiction of the cold art-nouveau world of a progressive Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the beginning of the century. Alfred Redl, the offspring of an Ukrainian family of railway-men, advances to become a colonel and later the chief of the intelligence service of the Monarchy. The film portrays the psychological background of this breathtaking career, and the character of a "man without a face". Already as a young boy, Redl writes a poem of praise about the Emperor, and instead of attending his father's funeral, participates at the celebration organized for the honour of Franz Joseph's name-day by the Officer's Candidate School. All through his life, a special bond attaches him to his aristocratic school-mate, the Hungarian Kubinyi Kristóf, and his sister, Katalin. He models himself on them, trying to iron out his past and his family. Lacking on human emotions, ambition and the fervour of being a subject of the Emperor keeps the swing in his life. This double-sidedness of his mask explains his unparalleled enthusiasm at his last task: The successor to the throne asks him to organize his very own political trial, wishing to use him as a scape-goat in the death-dance of the agonizing state. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Albert Almási
Kingdom of Hungary
Best movies:
Twisting (1964)
Imre Csuja
Hungary
Best movies:
Paths of Light (2005)
Perlasca: The Courage of a Just Man (2002) (TV movie)
Glass Tiger 3 (2010)
Miklós Dimulász
Hungary
Best movies:
6:3 (1999)
Hungarian Rhapsody (1979)
Lajos Dobák
Kingdom of Hungary
Best movies:
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
András Fekete
Kingdom of Hungary
Best movies:
Dog's Night Song (1983)
Narcissus and Psyche (1980)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Béla Fáy
Austria-Hungary
László Félix
Kingdom of Hungary
Károly Gesztesi
Hungary
Best movies:
Glass Tiger 2 (2006)
Children of Glory (2006)
Just Sex and Nothing Else (2005)
István Hirtling
Hungary
Best movies:
Glass Tiger 3 (2010)
Sunshine (1999)
Oh, Bloody Life (1984)
Sándor Horváth
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Fifth Seal (1976)
Nobody's Daughter (1976)
Recovery (1974)
Ádám Horváth
Kingdom of Hungary
László Hável
Kingdom of Hungary
János Jani
Best movies:
Budapest Tales (1977)
Lovefilm (1970)
József Lukács
Kingdom of Hungary
József Lukácsi
Hungary
Best movies:
Mephisto (1981)
Lajos Mezey
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Mephisto (1981)
The Witness (1969)
Bálint Fábián Meets God (1980)
László Molnár
Hungary