Cinema of Hungary
| Cinema of Hungary | |
|---|---|
A Cinema in Dunaújváros
|
|
| No. of screens | 411 (2011) |
| • Per capita | 4.5 per 100,000 (2011) |
| Main distributors |
Intercom 18.0% Forum Hungary 12.0% Cirko Gejzír 10.0% |
| Produced feature films (2010) | |
| Fictional | 5 (20.8%) |
| Animated | 15 (62.5%) |
| Documentary | 3 (12.5%) |
| Number of admissions (2010) | |
| Total | 9,286,319 |
| • Per capita | 0.95 (2012) |
| National films | 388,439 (4.2%) |
| Gross box office (2010) | |
| Total | HUF 10.6 billion |
| National films | HUF 372 million (3.5%) |
Hungary has had a notable cinema industry from the beginning of the 20th century, with Hungarians who affected the world of motion picture both inside and outside the borders. The former could be characterised by directors István Szabó, Béla Tarr, or Miklós Jancsó, the latter by William Fox, who founded Fox Studios, Alexander Korda, playing a leading role in start of Britain's film industry, or Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures. Examples of successful Hungarian films include Merry-go-round, Mephisto, Werckmeister Harmonies, and Kontroll.
The story of the Hungarian Cinema begins in 1896, when the first screening of the films of the Lumiére brothers was held at 10 May in the cafe of the Royal Hotel of Budapest. In June of the same year, Arnold and Zsigmond Sziklai opened the first Hungarian movie theatre at the 41. Andrássy street, named the Okonograph, where they screened Lumiére films using French machinery. The inhabitants of the elite neighborhood despised this new form of entertainment, and the theatre soon closed. But film screenings in cafés, the centers of Budapest's public life, were becoming more and more widespread, and by 1911, over 100 movie theater operated in the capital.
The first film shooting took place also in 1896, recording the festivities of the Millennium Celebration. Employees of the Lumiéres recorded the march at the Buda Castle. The first Hungarian cameraman was Zsigmond Sziklai.
The first consciously made Hungarian film was 'A tánc' (The Dance) directed by Béla Zsitkovszky, which came to life as an illustration to one of the shows of the Uránia Scientific Theatre. Gyula Pekár asked for a moving picture from Béla Zsitovszky, the projectionist of the Uránia. Zsitovszky, originally an optician, shot the picture on the roof terrace of the theatre with renowned actors and ballerinas of the Operaház theatre. The 24 cinematographic short-films were premiered on 30 April 1901.
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Wikipedia