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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Silence and Cry")

 

directed by Miklós Jancsó

Hungary 1969

 

An elliptical, claustrophobic drama shot in the brilliant, breathtaking long takes that are Jancsó s trademark, Silence and Cry is set after the fall of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919. A young Red soldier, fleeing the anti-Communist manhunt, takes refuge at the isolated farm of a peasant family, who are already under police scrutiny for being politically suspect...

Working on a more intimate canvas, following the epic The Round-Up and The Red and the White (of which this film forms the final part of an unofficial trilogy ) Hungarian master Jancsó's film is still very much concerned with the terrible, tyrannical impact of power, politics and history.

***

Silence and Cry aka Csend és kiáltás Hungary, 1967, black and white, 76 mins Both made and set in the same year as The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonák) – 1967 and 1919 respectively – Silence and Cry returns to the puszta – that great flat Hungarian plain stretching out to infinity – that Miklós Jancsó made such an indelible part of The Round-Up (Szegénylegények, 1965). Although much more of a chamber piece than its two immediate predecessors (there’s just one primary location, and only a handful of characters), it nonetheless pushes Jancsó’s fascination with landscape and long, sustained takes to new extremes, even to the point of replacing his regular cameraman Tamás Somló with János Kende, because the latter was more willing to attempt logistically complex 360-degree pans.

Excerpt from Michael Brooke's Article

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 14th, 1968

Reviews                                                               More Reviews                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Second Run - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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Distribution

Second Run

Region FREE - Blu-ray

Runtime 1:16:49.375
Video

Disc Size: 24,049,374,717 bytes

Feature Size: 15,892,279,296 bytes

Average Bitrate: 23.97 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio

LPCM Audio Hungarian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles English (SDH), none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Second Run

 

Disc Size: 24,049,374,717 bytes

Feature Size: 15,892,279,296 bytes

Average Bitrate: 23.97 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• 
Jelenlét (Presence) (1965, 8:04 min)
• Második Jelenlét (Second Presence) (1978, 10:14min)
• Harmadik Jelenlét (Third Presence) (1986, 13:56 min)

Essay by Tony Rayns

Blu-ray Release Date: February 26th, 2018
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Second Run's Blu-ray is described as "Silence and Cry (1968) presented from a brand new 2K restoration of the film by the Hungarian Digital Archive and Film Institute, supervised by the film's cinematographer János Kende. World premiere home video presentation of Miklós Jancsó's three renowned but rarely seen Jelenlét series of short films (1965-86) Original Hungarian soundtrack in Dual Mono 24-bit LPCM audio Booklet featuring a new essay on the film by critic and film historian Tony Rayns."

It is single-layered and has a supportive bitrate for the 1 1/4 hour feature.  This new 1080P image is thick and film-like in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and has some minor incontinency but generally looks pleasing with frequent depth. There may be a touch of gloss and with the very kinetic camerawork the image can appear less sharp in-motion. Contrast is well-layered and adds greatly to the HD presentation. An older DVD-R (Gary showed me briefly) is quite inferior to the 2K restoration and fans of Jancsó should be immensely pleased to see it looking as good as it does. The textures are also appreciated. Overall I am positive on the appearance.

 

The audio is transferred via the option of  linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original Hungarian. The video is fairly flat without a credited score. Michael Brooke states: "On the soundtrack, Jancsó’s characteristic birdsong can still be heard, but it’s often usurped by the harsher sounds of crows and cockerels, and also by a near-ubiquitous wind, which serves to chill even occasional romantic encounters to the marrow - though the word ‘romantic’ seems singularly inappropriate when applied to the scene where István is passed from Teréz to Anna, and finally neglected as the two find greater intimacy with each other. The fact that it takes place in the open air shows their essential contempt for Károly’s opinion.". It sounds strong via the uncompressed transfer. Second Run add optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

 

The extras consistent of three Jancsó shorts, part of a trilogy, spanning 21 years. Jelenlét (Presence) was made in 1965, and runs just over 8-minitues and has János Kende as cinematographer focusing on a decaying synagogue. Második Jelenlét (Second Presence) is from 1978 and runs 10-minutes following a similar theme. Harmadik Jelenlét (Third Presence) is from 1986, and runs 14-minutes. It deals more with the resilience of the Jewish community showing a Rabbi, and others. The package also has a liner note leaflet with an essay by Tony Rayns.

 

Silence and Cry really took me by surprise. Miklós Jancsó followed up his incredible, The Round-Up and The Red and the White, with this intense look at the aftermath of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Though no history lesson is truly needed to feel the strange otherworldliness of the picture. Beginning and ending with two very different acts of violence, the film holds your gaze throughout. I look forward to watching this film for a second time, possibly even without subtitles, so that I can take in the hypnotizing camerawork (the long-shots routinely involve characters moving in and out of frame and circling other characters while the camera swoops in, out, and all around.) Second Run have, once again, given us a desirable transfer and worthy extras, including Jancsó's short-film trilogy. Unusual for me, but my favorite extra is perhaps the essay written by Tony Rayns. Rayns is able to succinctly describe the intentions of the director and this film. This package is very strongly recommended! 

 - Colin Zavitz


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution

Second Run

Region FREE - Blu-ray

 



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