Born in Vác in 1921 to a Hungarian father and a Romanian mother, Miklós Jancsó studied law, then film directing in Budapest, and made newsreels and documentaries before his first feature, The Bells Have Gone to Rome (1958). With the writer Gyula Hernádi he made films of long takes and choreographed camera movement, set in rural and historical landscapes, about abuse of power, which were often read as allegories of Hungary under communism. He won best director at Cannes for Red Psalm (1972). He revived his career with the low-budget Pepe and Kapa series from 1999 and died in Budapest in 2014.
Filmography
- My Way Home (1964)
- The Round-Up (1965)
- The Red and the White (1967)
- Silence and Cry (1968)
- The Confrontation (1969)
- Agnus Dei (1970)
- Red Psalm (1971)
- Elektreia (1974)
- Hungarian Rhapsody (1979)