A tanú (1969)

Director:

Péter Bacsó

Writers:

Péter Bacsó (writer)
János Ujhelyi (writer)

Release Date:

28 January 1983 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Banned for over a decade for its outspoken criticism of the post-WWII communist regime in Hungary, Péter...

Plot Keywords:

Hungary | Dike | Satire | Pig | Show Trial

Cast

Ferenc Kállai	...	Pelikán József, gátõr
Lajos Öze	...	Virág Árpád (as Õze Lajos)
Béla Both	...	Bástya elvtárs
Zoltán Fábri	...	Dániel Zoltán
Lili Monori	...	Gizi
Károly Bicskey	...	Gulyás Elemér
György Kézdi	...	Virág detectívje
József Horváth	...	Vasutas
Róbert Rátonyi	...	Oprettszínész
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
György Bálint
Pál Bánó
Mária Dudás	...	Gépírónõ
Tibor Fehér
György Györffy	...	Börtönigazgató
József Iványi
Pál Jákó
Péter Korbuly
Georgette Mertzhradt
Lajos Mezey
Steve Nemeth		(as István Németh)
István Novák	...	Dr. Kotász, hóhér
György Pálfi
József Pecsenke	...	Bástya testõre
Mária Rákosi	...	A miniszter titkárnõje
Tibor Sipeki
Lajos Tándor	...	Jegyszedõ
László Vámos	...	Idegorvos
István Velenczei	...	Minisztériumi alkalmazott
Ida Versényi	...	Gogolák elvtársnõ

Also Known As:

The Witness

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-8

Company:

MAFILM 1. Játékfilmstúdió

Trivia:

The character Comrade Virágh is the satire of the all powerful secret police general of the era Gábor Péter. This is very obvious when Virágh is speaking highly of Pelican's jacket as the civil job of Péter was a tailor.

Quotes:

Pelikán József, gátõr: As of today, the ghost train shall be know as The Socialist Ghost Train. We'll get rid of the skeletons and other old junk. We'll replace them with portraits of our great leaders, especially Comrade Bástya.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ereszd el a szakállamat! (1975)

Soundtrack:

Jaj, cica

A Hungarian Orange.

That Bacso Peter's devastating satire was banned by the Hungarian authorities for almost a decade will come as no surprise to anyone lucky enough to see this film. You might be left wondering, however, why or how it was eventually granted clearance while communism still held sway in the country. Perhaps it was the pure, blatant cheekiness of the movie? Or perhaps the government of the time realised there was something to be said for the ability to laugh at oneself? Whatever the reasoning, The Witness stands up as more than a curiosity piece from another era. It's still remarkably fresh, and continues to have much to tell us on the subject of authoritarian bureaucracy. Parts of this film, such as the sequence with the 'Magyar Narancs' (Hungarian Orange) have passed into the countries mass consciousness, and with good reason. In fact, I suspect that as good as this film is you really have to be Hungarian to truly appreciate its subtleties and joys. For the rest of us, however, there are still hilarious moments such as the sausage factory in the basement or Pelikan accidentally being given papers with the pre-determined outcome of a court case. This is a unique, beautiful and powerful political satire and a true Hungarian cinematic treasure.