György Szomjas’s first feature—made after a decade of short documentaries—is a bold attempt at a goulash western, set on the puszta, or Great Hungarian Plain, in 1837. Mixing Miklós Jancsó imagery and a Sergio Leone narrative, this ballad-like saga opens with image of a lone horseman on the empty plain, riding past a rude gallows. The film concerns the vengeful return of a legendary betyár (outlaw), briefly a hero to the local herdsmen who oppose the state building a canal across their grazing land. Although Szomjas works from ethnographic records and archival material, it is hardly surprising that this violent, primitivist film would be more popular with Hungarian audiences than critics. Replete with young guns, crooked sheriffs, tavern brawlers and hardbitten plug-uglies, this widescreen film is strikingly shot by Elémer Ragályi (cinematographer for most of Gyula Gazdag’s films)—a feast of loamy, autumnal colors.
Credits
The Wind Is Whistling Under Their Feet Cast
The Wind Is Whistling Under Their Feet Crew
| Name |
Department |
|
Elemér Ragályi as Director of Photography. He was 37 (now 85) years old
|
Camera |
|
Zsuzsa Vicze as Costume Design. She was 45 (52) years old when She died
|
Costume & Make-Up |
|
Éva Kármentõ as Editor. She was 38 (now 85) years old
|
Editing |
|
Sebő Ferenc as Original Music Composer. He was 29 (now 77) years old
|
Sound |
|
György Szomjas as Director. He was 35 (now 83) years old
|
Directing |
|
György Szomjas as Writer. He was 35 (now 83) years old
|
Writing |
|
Péter Zimre as Writer. He was 38 (67) years old when He died
|
Writing |
