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Director: Marcell Jankovics
Release date: May 27, 1977
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
‘The Struggle’ is as short as Jankovics’s previous film, ‘Sisyphus’ (1974), and again in black and white. This time Jankovics uses pencil on a white canvas to depict a sculptor sculpting a human figure. But then the sculpture itself starts sculpting back…
Jankovics’s design is very realistic, and his animation of the highest quality, but the film is less interesting to look at than ‘Sisyphus’ because this time Jankovics shows more than he suggests. Nevertheless, this is a clever little film that like ‘Sisyphus’ shows that Jankovics was one of the greatest and most interesting animators ever.
Watch ‘The Struggle’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘The Struggle’ is available on the Blu-Ray of ‘Son of the White Mare’
Director: Marcell Jankovics
Release date: 1974
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
‘Sisyphus’ is a very short animation film, which is indeed about a man pushing a large rock up a steep hill.
The animation is done in black pen on white paper, and there’s no background art whatsoever. Most impressive is Jankovics’s animation: his command of the human form is formidable, and of the suggestion of muscles pushing up an enormous weight absolutely convincing. What’s even more wonderful is that the man is rendered in various variations of abstraction, from quite realistic to only suggestive splashes of ink. The soundtrack, with its very heavy breathing and growning, maybe a little too much, but this short is a wonderful example of the marvelous things animation can do.
Watch ‘Sisyphus’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘Sisyphus’ is available on the Blu-Ray of ‘Son of the White Mare’
Director: Marcell Jankovics
Release date: 1968
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
‘Dreams on Wings’ is an advertising film, but a most beautiful at that.
All the animation is done in watercolor paintings in very bold colors. Moreover, there’s a lot of metamorphosis, with images hardly staying static for more than a few frames. In one sequence, for example, an image of a galloping centaur changes into an arrow, which changes into a jet, which morphs into an airplane, which form the words Air India, etc.
Also the countries Air India flies to are depicted in the most poetic fashion. For example, Switzerland is depicted by mountains made of chocolate, and Egypt by a camel with a pyramid hump. The colorful images never seize to amaze, and the fun is enhanced further by a lively soundtrack by János Gyulai Gaál.
‘Dreams on Wings’ is available on the Blu-Ray of ‘Son of the White Mare’
Director: Marcell Jankovics
Release date: May 3, 1973
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Hungarian director Marcell Jankovics (1941-2021) is most famous for his second animated feature, the mind-blowing masterpiece ‘Fehérlófia’ (Son of the White Mare) from 1981. But his first feature, ‘János Vitéz’ certainly deserves to be equally famous.
‘János Vitéz’ was Hungary’s ever first animated feature ever, but this doesn’t show, at all. The feature is a remarkably mature product that owes nothing to earlier animation films, save George Dunnings’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ from 1968 (and one scene of a devils’ dance, which harks all the way back to Disney’s Silly Symphony ‘The Goddess of Spring’ from 1934). Like Dunning’s film, ‘János Vitéz’ uses very striking visuals in bold colors, and with a genuine contemporary design. In fact, no movie from the seventies looks so enormously ‘seventies’ as this film.
The film was commissioned by the Hungarian government to commemorate the 150st birthday of Hungary’s national poet Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849), whose stature in Hungary is comparable to that of Pushkin in Russia. Petőfi wrote ‘János Vitéz’, a long epic poem in 1844, and despite the strikingly modern visuals, the film follows the poem quite faithfully. János Gyulai-Gaál’s score is unmistaken Hungarian, akin to the music of Zoltán Kodály’s folk opera ‘Háry János’ from 1926 and contributes greatly to the utterly Hungarian character of the movie. There are also a few charming songs, adding to the experience.
The story is pretty nonsensical and more of a tall tale than a classic epic poem. It tells about the hero János Vitéz who is a sheep herder in love with the neighboring Iluska. Unfortunately, Iluska’s stepmother, the witch Mostoha, doesn’t approve of the young lovers’ romance, and makes János Vitéz’ flock of sheep disappear. Banished from his village, János Vitéz first joins a band of robbers, then joins the army, but keeps longing for his beloved Iluska.
The film retains much of Petőfi’s poetic quality: the dialogue is in rhyme, and the images themselves have a lyric quality. For example, the love of Iluska and János Vitéz is shown by associative images, full of flowers and a radiant sun. Moreover, a lot of the story is told through the images, and more by suggestion than by literally showing what’s happening. For example, when János Vitéz is banished this is shown by a street in which every house shuts its shutters when János Vitéz passes by.
The images are as folkloristic as they are psychedelic, and never cease to please or to amaze. The character designs are more of a mixed bag. János Vitéz and Iluska are drawn as rather bland beautiful people, while Mostoha, the robbers and the Turks are very cartoony. These and other characters provide some small gags. Character animation is absent. For example, when János Vitéz mourns for Iluska, this emotion is indicated more than heartfelt. Nevertheless, there is a clever use of metamorphosis and animation cycles, and it’s clear the animation is in service of the graphics and of the story.
In all, ‘János Vitéz’ is a joy to watch from start to end and deserves a much wider audience than it has now.
Watch an excerpt from ‘János Vitéz’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘János Vitéz’ is available on the Blu-Ray of ‘Son of the White Mare’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 