Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky

Werckmeister Harmonies

Werckmeister Harmonies

This mesmeric parable of societal collapse is an enigma of transcendent visual, philosophical, and mystical resonance. Adapted from a novel by László Krasznahorkai, Werckmeister Harmonies unfolds in an unknown time in an unnamed village, where, one day, a mysterious circuscomplete with an enormous stuffed whale and a shadowy, demagogue-like figure known as the Princearrives and appears to awaken a kind of madness in the citizens that builds inexorably toward violence. In thirty-nine hypnotic long takes engraved in ghostly black and white, auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky conjure an apocalyptic vision of dreamlike dread and fathomless beauty.

Film Info

  • Hungary
  • 2000
  • 145 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.66:1
  • Hungarian
  • Spine #1215

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Béla Tarr, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Family Nest (1979), Tarr’s first feature film
  • New interview with Tarr by film critic Scott Foundas
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim

    New cover by Polly Dedman

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Béla Tarr, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Family Nest (1979), Tarr’s first feature film
  • New interview with Tarr by film critic Scott Foundas
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim

    New cover by Polly Dedman
Werckmeister Harmonies
Cast
Lars Rudolph
János Valuska
Peter Fitz
György Eszter
Hanna Schygulla
Tünde Eszter
János Derzsi
Man in the broadcloth coat
Djoko Rossich
Man in Western boots
Tamás Wichmann
Man in the sailor cap
Péter Dobai
Police captain
Ferenc Kállai
Director
Mihály Kormos
Factotum
Dr. Putyi Horváth
Porter
Éva Almássy Albert
Aunt Piri
Irén Szajki
Mrs. Harrer
Alfréd Járai
Lajos Harrer
György Barkó
Mr. Nadabán
Lajos Dobák
Mr. Volent
András Fekete
Mr. Árgyelán
Sandor Bese
The prince
Credits
Director
Béla Tarr
Director
Ágnes Hranitzky
Associate producer
Béla Tarr
Editor
Ágnes Hranitzky
Screenplay
László Krasznahorkai
Screenplay
Béla Tarr
Additional dialogue
Péter Dobai
Additional dialogue
Gyuri Dósa Kiss
Additional dialogue
György Fehér
Associate producer
Ralph E. Cotta
Associate producer
András Vágvölgyi B.
Producer
Franz Goëss
Producer
Paul Saadoun
Producer
Miklós Szita
Producer
Joachim von Vietinghoff
Composer
Mihály Víg
Director of photography
Gábor Medvigy
Cinematographer
Patrick de Ranter
Cinematographer
Miklós Gurbán
Cinematographer
Erwin Lanzensberger
Cinematographer
Emil Novák
Cinematographer
Rob Tregenza
Steadicam operator
Jörg Widmer
Set designer
Sándor Katona
Set designer
Zsuzsa Mihalek
Set designer
Béla Zsolt Tóth
Costume designer
János Breckl
Production manager
Lajos Gerhardt
Production manager
Gábor Téni
Unit manager
Gábor Koncz
Assistant director
Jeroen Frantzen
Assistant director
Sebestyén Kodolányi
Assistant director
Roland Vranik
Second assistant director
Csaba Bagossy
Sculptor
Éva Karczag
Sculptor
András Rose
Whale mock-up designer
Iván Pohárnok
Special-effects technician
Péter Pozsonyi
Script supervisor
Orsolya Vercz

Current

Werckmeister Harmonies: Dark Side of the Earth
Werckmeister Harmonies: Dark Side of the Earth

Unfolding in elaborately choreographed long takes, this sublime adaptation of László Krasznahorkai’s novel The Melancholy of Resistance captures the weight of time and the mood of fascism with a haunting palpability.

By Dennis Lim