THE ROUND-UP Movie Review

Szegenylegenyek Nehezeletuck
The Hopeless Ones
The Poor Outlaws

In a 19th-century prison camp, Hungarian peasants and herdsman are rounded up, terrorized, and brutally tortured by the Austrian Army following their suspected participation in a popular uprising. Miklós Jancsó's grim and incendiary historical epic was made in 1965, and was clearly intended—despite the period setting—as an outraged cry against the brutalities and injustices of a far more contemporary regime. Jancsó's visual style is elegant, carefully choreographed, and highly stylized, providing a powerful contrast to the savagery depicted on screen. The Round-Up created a sensation when screened at the Cannes Festival and later at the New York Film Festival, launching its director into the international spotlight.

NEXT STOP … The Red and the White, Andrei Rublev, Red Sorghum

1966 90m/B HU Janos Gorbe, Tibor Molnar, Andras Kozak, D: Miklos Jancso; W: Gyula Hernadi. VHS FST, HTV