The Lost Talisman
Colour historical film, directed by Zoltán Várkonyi, 1968. The novel by Géza Gárdonyi was not only outright winner of the ‘Big Read’ series but the adaptation for cinema still ranks as the most popular historical film to this day. The country voted on the actors even before filming started and a whole army of extras took part in the ‘Eger castle’ battle at Pilisborosjenő.
Várkonyi also found a way – within the picturesque adventure film set in the 16th century – of giving a human angle to the lives of the Hungarian border fortress captains, their heroic battles against the Ottomans and Austrians, while emphasizing the life and love of Gergely Bornemissza in particular.
Produced by Maflm 4. Játékfilmstúdió, Directed by Zoltán Várkonyi, Written by Géza Gárdonyi, Screenplay by István Nemeskürty, Cast: István Kovács, Vera Venczel, Imre Sinkovits, György Bárd, Ferenc Bessenyei, Éva Ruttkai, Gábor Agárdi, Tibor Bitskey, Gábor Koncz, Gábor Mádi Szabó, Rudolf Somogyvári, Director of Photography Ferenc Szécsényi, Music by Ferenc Farkas, Sound by János Arató, Set Designer Endre Szász, Tamás Vayer, Costume Designer Fanni Kemenes, Rudolf Láng, Edited by Ferencné Szécsényi
Language: Hungarian
Audio: colour
Subtitles: English
Format: cinemascope 2.35:1
Running Time: 147'
Bonus feature:
Newsreel footage of the filming of Egri csillagok/The Lost Talisman, Hungarian Newsreel, 1968/29
Report on The Lost Talisman, werkfilm 1968, director: Gyula Rémiás
Published and distributed by Hungarian National Film Fund – Film Archive, 2019