The Red and the White
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Miklós Jancsó
József Madaras
Tibor Molnár
András Kozák
Jácint Juhász
Anatoliy Yabbarov
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In Russia in the summer of 1918, a band of Hungarian internationalists and their Red Army comrades take refuge from the White Guards in a deserted hillside monastery. In keeping with the practice of both sides, the Reds force their prisoners to remove their shirts and boots before execution. A short time later, the tide of battle turns as the Whites surround the monastery and take captive the Reds and their Hungarian allies. The Hungarian commander jumps to his death from the bell tower, and a White officer rebukes the Hungarians for interfering in a Russian conflict. The Red prisoners are given 15 minutes to attempt an escape made virtually impossible by White troops surrounding the building. Following the slaughter, a Hungarian sheltered by a Russian peasant woman is shot down by a Cossack, who in turn is executed by a Tsarist officer for attempting to rape a peasant girl. Some of the revolutionaries find shelter in a military field hospital where a dedicated staff of nurses refuses to make distinctions between wounded soldiers. The Whites soon arrive, bent on ferreting out the insurgents, but none will aid them until Olga, a Polish nurse, loses the reason for her silence when the Hungarian she loves is killed. László, a young Hungarian, escapes and brings back Red reinforcements as their comrades are being executed. Nevertheless, the Red commander realizes that his decimated ranks stand little chance against the vast White forces encamped in the vicinity. After lining up the White prisoners and firing into the air, he divides his group, orders one half to remove their shirts, and leads them against the White forces, who have regrouped by a river. As the men march toward certain death singing the "Marseillaise," some in Russian, some in Hungarian, the Whites are duped into believing that this is all that remains of the Red Army. Later, when the second group of revolutionaries, including László, reach the front lines, they pause to salute their fallen comrades.
Director
Miklós Jancsó
Cast
József Madaras
Tibor Molnár
András Kozák
Jácint Juhász
Anatoliy Yabbarov
Sergey Nikonenko
Mikhail Kozakov
Bolot Beyshenaliyev
Tatyana Konyukhova
Krystyna Mikolajewska
Viktor Avdyushko
Gleb Strizhenov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Vladimir Prokofyev
Valentin Bryleyev
Vera Bykova
Ye. Yermolayeva
Vitaliy Konyayev
Valeriy Glebov
K. Karyolskikh
Pyotr Savin
Nikolay Sergeyev
Sándor Szili
Roman Khomyatov
Károly Eizler
Mika Ardova
Vera Berezutskaya
Gabi Dániel
Yelena Kazelkova
Nikolay Parfyonov
Nina Sorina
Natalya Zheromskaya
Julia Coglin
Crew
Mayya Abar-baranovskaya
Tibor Banok
Boris Chebotaryov
István Daubner
Zoltán Farkas
Vladimir Glazkov
Jeno Götz
Ferenc Grunwalski
Gyula Hernádi
Miklós Jancsó
Luca Karall
Valeriy Karen
Liliya Kelshteyn
János Kende
Zsolt Kézdi Kovács
Georgiy Mdivani
András Németh
Yu. Rogozovskiy
M. Shadur
Kirill Siryayev
Tamás Somló
Zoltán Toldy
Gyula Várdai
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Filmed in the Kostroma Region of central Soviet Russia. Hungarian opening: November 1967 as Csillagosok, katonák. Released in the U.S.S.R. in 1968 as Zvyozdy i soldaty; running time: ca70 min. Sources conflict in crediting assistant directors and production managers.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1967
Released in United States May 1968
Released in United States on Video July 6, 1999
Released in United States September 20, 1968
Shown at Cannes Film Festival May 1968.
Shown at New York Film Festival September 20, 1968.
Released in United States 1967
Released in United States May 1968 (Shown at Cannes Film Festival May 1968.)
Released in United States on Video July 6, 1999
Released in United States September 20, 1968 (Shown at New York Film Festival September 20, 1968.)
