A Pál utcai fiúk, 1968, Hungary, Language: Hungarian, Subtitles: English (110’); Screening: 09.07, 12.00, Toldi Cinema, Kisterem

Despite the superiority of the red shirts, general Boka and his little troop are cleverly defending the ‘sweet lot’. They would not have been able to win unless little Private Nemecsek, branded a traitor, had not revealed the treason of rich Geréb, who in turn must undergo the humiliation of cold baths. After a banned script, the great director Zoltán Fábri was given the chance to direct The Boys of Paul Street with British child actors. He had to fight hard in order to persuade the Hungarian born American producer Endre Bohem, who owned the rights to the filming of Molnár’s works, to allow Ernő Nemecsek to die instead of turning the film into a Hungarian Robin Hood story. Fábri moulded the eternal theme of heroism and adolescent cruelty into a warm-hearted film faithful to the novel. Thanks to the great performance by Anthony Kemp and others, and to the spectacular shots, the film was nominated for an Oscar in 1969. The cinematographer Nyika Jancsó, who played the younger Pásztor, participated in the complete 4K digital restoration of the film in 2017.

Directed by: Fábri Zoltán
Written by: Molnár Ferenc (novel)
Screenplay by: Fábri Zoltán
Director of photography: Illés György
Music by: Petrovics Emil
Cast: Mari Törőcsik, Sándor Pécsi, László Kozák, Anthony Kemp, William Burleigh, John Moulder-Brown
Genre: youth film, adaptation
Production: Boghross Film, Mafilm, Stúdió 1
Format: colour, 1:2.35, 4K restored

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