Film Director
In the US, after the necessary difficult time of assimilation (new language, collaborators, family, everything new ), Mr Magyar continued his film making career by writing and producing some major studio films and writing and directing some critically acclaimed independent films.
The Agitators 1971 ‘Agitátorok’
After the World War I, enthusiastic young people found the intellectual group of Hungarian Communist Party. Their aim is to propagate the communist ideology to the people and get the workers on their side. They have fierce discussions on the new ideas, though their movement is not very successful. They clash with their opposition, attempt to lead people to the Red Army, but without success.
“The major discovery of AFI Film Festival is Dezso Magyar’s brilliant, hurtling portrayal of the abortive 1919 Hungarian Revolution.”
“The films were long banned in its own country, though, now, it is considered there, a classic. Magyar seized the past through a contemporary ‘60s prism; his young revolutionaries fulminate and rage caught by Magyar’s restless camera and his slashing, propulsive editing. Presented at the Festival with Magyar’s equally brilliant 1971 short feature, Punitive Expedition.”
Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
Punitive Expedition
The Monarchy leads a repressive campaign against a Serb village, where an Austrian officer was killed.
Rappaccini’s Daughter
Set in 18th Century Italy, RAPPACCINI’S DAUGHTER is the tale of a young scholar named Giovanni (Kristoffer Tabori) who falls in love with a beautiful, yet forbidden, girl who tends her father’s poison garden. However, the strange and unearthly beauty of Beatrice (Kathleen Beller) masks a terrifying curse which Giovanni must tragically discover. Her father, the mysterious Dr. Rappaccini, has made her the subject of a diabolical experiment. In Giovanni’s attempt to free Beatrice from the control of her father and to escape the poisonous effect she begins to have on him, he unwittingly destroys her. From the short story of master American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, two quintessential Hawthorne themes are explored: the sins of interfering with another’s soul and the futility of trying to tamper with nature.
“Dezso Magyar’s remarkable directing evokes the story’s mystery, foreboding and poetic at the same time…with the cinematographer, Michael Fash, he takes us into the lush world conjured up by Nathanael Hawthorne.”
John O’Connor, The New York Times
King of America
Hot-tempered Greek immigrant Andreas arrives in America in 1915. He finds work on a railroad, but soon gives his corrupt foreman Mekakis a savage beating. Making his way west across the country, Andreas eventually comes upon another railroad looking for workers. It turns out Mekakis has gone westward, too. He offers Andreas the only job suitable for him, a “mountain mover” on the suicide squad: He must grapple down the face of a cliff, position sticks of dynamite and then climb back up again before the lit fuses reach the explosive.
“More significantly, Dezso Magyar, the director has captured and maintained a powerful sense of time and place. He neatly balances the sentimental idealism with harsh realities. He moves easily and convincingly from violence to Greek dancing, with the all-male chorus line dancing to the impressionistic eclecticism of the composer Elizabeth Swados. The directing of Mr. Magyar, in short, makes ‘King of America’ very much worth watching.”
John O’Connor, The New York Times
“The film that followed in the second week of the series was superb – ‘King of America’ a study of Greek immigrants working on the railroads in the early days of the century and ceaselessly exploited by their fellow countrymen. It was directed with a fine vitality and exuberant spirit by Dezso Magyar – who understands immigrants; he is a refuge from Hungary.”
Cecil Smith, Los Angelos Times
No Secrets
Three childhood girlfriends reunite at the parents’ remote cottage where they try and come to grips with their separate development and diverging interests. Then a man with a secret shows up and lies his way into their situation. They take turns falling in love with him and then suspecting he is not being level with them, which causes a strain in their already strained relationship. Eventually they must make a decision on whether to get rid of him or flee.
“Perfectly acted, sharply photographed, intelligently written and directed by Dezso Magyar, the low-budget teen-age suspense drama ‘No Secrets’ (at the UA Egyptian) is a real sleeper. Movies that cost 10 times as much should be half as good.
Magyar has already made a couple of American films, including the adaptation of Hawthorne’s “Rappacchini’s’ Daughter and King of America and he doesn’t take too many chances. The cinematic language is something he seems to understand intuitively. Simple, clear, consummately crafted, ‘No Secret’s’ is a prime example of first-class film story telling.”
Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
“Most Eastern Bloc film makers carry a lot of existentialist baggage when they land on this country’s cinematic shores. ‘No Secrets’ is an odd, and unexpected transferal of these foreign ideals.
But, Magyar reaches a powerful understanding and resolution of characters that seemed impossible at the outset. ‘No Secrets’ is all about going for conventions and smashing them in return, a neatly constructed film that teases with sex and rewards with poignancy.”
Daniel Schweiger, The Village View
