• Mephisto (1981), Colonel Redl (1985) and Hanussen (1988) presented from 4K restorations by the National Film Institute Hungary - Film Archive, supervised and approved by cinematographer Lajos Koltai.

• Four of István Szabó's acclaimed but rarely seen short film works, newly remastered in HD by the National Film Institute Hungary - Film Archive:
- Variations on a Theme (Variációk egy témára, 1961)
- You (Te, 1963)
- Concert (Koncert, 1963)
- City Map (Várostérkép, 1977).

• István Szabó - The Director Answers: A filmed interview with the award-winning filmmaker.

• Remembrance of József Romvári:
Filmmaker Sophy Romvari's tribute to her grandfather, the production designer József Romvári, with narration by Szabó.

• Szabó’s Central Europe: A look at Szabó's Hungarian films.

• Trailers

• Individual booklets each with new writing by Hungarian cinema experts John Cunningham, Peter Hames and Catherine Portuges, plus journalist Stephen Lemons on the real-life Erik Jan Hanussen.

• Hungarian and German audio options.

• New and improved English subtitle translations.

• UK premieres on Blu-ray.

• Region-free Blu-rays (A/B/C).

“Szabó emerged from the Hungarian New Wave of the 1960s with a series of deeply moral works”
Senses of Cinema

“Szabó’s importance as a filmmaker lies not so much in his attention to film’s formal elements, but for his deep and ongoing engagement with some of the most urgent ethical and existential questions of our time”
Susan Rubin Suleiman, István Szabó: Filmmaker and Philosopher

“In a career spanning over five decades Szabo has relentlessly examined the place of the individual in European history, particularly those caught up in the turbulent events of Central Europe and his own native Hungary”
John Cunningham, The Cinema of István Szabó: Visions of Europe

MEPHISTO
1981 Cannes Film Festival / Winner: FIRESCI Prize
1981 Cannes Film Festival / Winner: Best Screenplay
1982 Academy Awards® / Winner: Best Foreign Language Film
1982 National Board of Review, USA /
Winner: Best Foreign Language Film
1982 London Critics Circle Film Awards /
Winner: Best Foreign Language Film

“Mephisto is one of the most important films of our day. Where does its resounding power come from? On the one hand, the adaptation of the novel is hugely successful, and on the other hand, the total and absolute commitment towards the relationship between art and authority shown by the actor and the director is clearly evident... This film is a work of art. The film transmits its messages so forcefully that no one can remain unaffected” Ingmar Bergman

“There has been precious little incisive appraisal of the precise seductive allure of fascism, and certainly none to match that offered by Szabó's remarkable film” Paul Taylor, Time Out

“Few have dared what Brandauer accomplishes: showing us a good actor responding to the same neurotic drive for the center of the stage, the immortalizing role. His is a great performance, nothing less” Richard Schickel, Time Magazine

COLONEL REDL
1985 Cannes Film Festival / Winner: Jury Prize
1986 BAFTA Awards / Winner: Best Foreign Language Film
1986 Academy Awards® /
Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
1986 Golden Globes /
Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film

“Visually magnificent... Szabó gives an extraordinary, chilling, complex account of a man's betrayal of himself” Time Out

“[Brandauer's] performance is a thing of wonder. He conveys every turn of the coat by Redl with a subtle shift of demeanour. If Szabó has given Brandauer all the canvas an actor could want, Brandauer has responded by delivering a beautiful performance of sympathetic villainy – not a white cat in sight. Szabó’s film is undoubtedly a masterpiece and Brandauer is one of the key reasons why” Steve Morrissey

“An unmissable work of genius, a tale of moral corruption, deceit and ultimate heartache” Eye for Film

HANUSSEN
1988 Cannes Film Festival / Official Selection
1989 Academy Awards®/
Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
1989 Golden Globes /
Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film

“Brandauer's dominating screen presence is perfectly suited to the role of the charismatic seducer, whose abilities to transfer his will and to control respondents serve as a not so subtle metaphor for the rise of Fascism. Szabó heightens the mysticism with a pervading sense of menace which, together with Koltai's exquisite visuals, captivates attention throughout” Time Out

“A beautifully shot and brilliantly executed portrait of mounting doom […] Lajos Koltai’s photography and Szabó’s expert eye for period detail perfectly capture the essence of the post-war zeitgeist” Senses of Cinema

“The third of director-co-writer István Szabó’s meditations on influence, free will and corruptibility, and possibly the most mature and subtle of the trio. [...] Hanussen glows with a delicate, soft-edge light, the particular result of the director’s longtime collaboration with cinematographer Lajos Koltai. It is also impeccably performed, by Brandauer, by Eperjes and the great Josephson in particular. All told, it forms a thoughtful conclusion to a singular and memorable trio of stories”
LA Times