Multi-award winning Hungarian film director and screenwriter Miklos Jancso has died at the age of 92. He won best director award at the 1972 Cannes film festival for the Red Psalm, and in 1979 Cannes bestowed on him a lifetime achievement award.
Jancsó, considered one of the film greats of the 1960s and 1970s, was known for his unusually long shots panning huge spaces. His films tended to centre on the relationship between individuals or small communities and a central power.
'Mr. Jancso, whose full name is pronounced MEE-klosh YAWN-cho, directed films for more than 50 years, earning his international reputation early in his career with a handful of films distinct for both style and substance. He became known for his long takes and complex camera movements resulting in beautiful but cool and distant visual effects, which often made scenes of violent or degrading oppression especially chilling.'
Full article on The New York Times.
'At the 1966 Cannes film festival, a movie whose title sounded like a western – but was actually Hungarian – caused a sensation and launched its director into the international cinematic scene, where he was to remain for a decade. The film of hypnotic beauty and daring technique was The Round-Up (Szegénylegények, literally translated as The Outlaws) and the director was Miklós Jancsó, who has died aged 92.'
Full article on The Guardian.
'In the 1960s, critics ranked Jancso alongside great directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman. However, it was his use of scantily clad women, symbolizing defenselessness, which drew big audiences in prudish communist Hungary.'
Full article on The Hollywood Reporter.

Miklos Jancso
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