The ninth Budapest Classic Film Marathon will present 100 restored films at venues across the Hungarian capital from September 15 to 20, including the original version of The Match Of The Century featuring Hungarian football legend Ferenc Puskás and Tony Scott’s The Hunger starring David Bowie, the National Film Institute (NFI) said on Monday.
The festival programme will feature iconic films alongside legendary silent movies, screenings accompanied by live music, professional events, discussions and workshops. This year’s central theme will be the 70th anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 revolution.
Among the audience favourites and film-history classics on the programme are Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie, starring Audrey Tautou and Mathieu Kassovitz, Ridley Scott’s road movie Thelma & Louise, featuring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Harvey Keitel, and Sándor Sára’s historical drama 80 Hussars.
One of the festival’s highlights will be the restored version of Márton Keleti’s 1956 satire The Match Of The Century, presented in the original form filmed with Puskás. The film was made during the era of the Golden Team’s success and contains sharp social criticism. Its story follows the inhabitants of a fictional country who continue to celebrate an inept football star despite his repeated failures, before the crowd eventually revolts against an all-powerful minister.
After Puskás emigrated from Hungary in 1956, three scenes were subsequently reshot with fellow Golden Team player Nándor Hidegkuti. The festival will screen the original version featuring Puskás.
Sára’s 1978 historical film 80 Hussars, which tells the story of the 1848–49 Hungarian War of Independence, will also feature in the programme linked to the 1956 theme. Starring Dózsa László, Géza Tordy and György Cserhalmi, the film is regarded as one of the outstanding historical works of Hungarian cinema, particularly for its monumental imagery.
The festival will also screen Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 film La Haine, which portrays social tensions in the Paris suburbs through a turbulent day in the lives of three young men. Andrzej Wajda’s 1958 Ashes And Diamonds will also be shown, exploring love, freedom and the possibility of a new beginning in post-war Poland.
Roman Polanski’s 2002 film The Pianist, based on the memoirs of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman, will also be part of the programme. The film depicts the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Holocaust, as well as the struggle of one survivor.
The festival will present several special thematic selections. The Blood Countesses – Female Vampires In 20th-Century Genre Cinema programme will include Tony Scott’s 1983 film The Hunger, starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. The film places vampire mythology in a modern urban setting while exploring mortality, the fear of ageing and desire.
The festival will again place a strong emphasis on younger audiences. School screenings will feature the participation of filmmakers, while discussions, workshops and interactive programmes will be organised for student groups. More than 100 international film preservation and distribution professionals are expected to attend the festival’s professional events.
The Budapest Classic Film Marathon will take place at the Uránia National Film Theatre, Toldi Cinema, Art+ Cinema, the French Institute and Budapest Garden Cinema. The National Film Institute is expected to publish the full programme at the end of August.
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