Product Reviews
Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond were two of the best and most influential cinematographers working in Hollywood in the Sixties and Seventies; between them, they worked with the likes of Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Brian DePalma, John Boorman, Peter Bogdanovich, Hal Ashby, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Paul Mazursky, helping shape the look of some of the most vital films of the decade and showing new ways to balance beauty and realism on screen. Surprisingly, these two master cameramen were not professional rivals, but close friends who came to the United States in 1957, fleeing their native Hungary after Soviet troops rolled into the country to put down a people's revolution (which the young cinematographers helped document with newsreel cameras). After cutting their teeth in the United States shooting a variety of low-budget projects, Kovacs enjoyed a commercial breakthrough when he shot Easy Rider in 1969, and Zsigmond made his name a few years later with McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Deliverance; the two remained close friends and colleagues, and Zsigmond remains active today, while Kovacs stayed in the film business up until his death in 2007. No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos is a documentary which explores the professional and personal lives of these two gifted craftsmen, created with their cooperation; it features interviews with a number of their friends and collaborators, including Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Bob Rafelson, Karen Black, Sharon Stone, Haskell Wexler and Tatum O'Neal. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Product Notes
No Subtitles Necessary is about Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond. With film school equipment, they shoot the Soviet crackdown of the 1956 Hungarian Revolt. As refugees they struggle working in the underbelly of Hollywood, finally breaking into the mainstream with their pivotal contribution to cinema in films like Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Paper Moon, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Scarecrow, Frances, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Deer Hunter. Featuring interviews with Karen Black, Peter Bogdanovich, Sandra Bullock, Richard Donner, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Ellen Kuras, ASC, Tatum O'Neal, Bob Rafelson, Vittorio Storaro, AIC, ASC, Jon Voight, Haskell Wexler, ASC, John Williams and Sharon Stone, their conversations are woven with awe inspiring clips from the memorable films Kovacs and Zsigmond shot. However, their profound friendship forged in adversity is perhaps the greater story. This an intimate portrait of two giants of modern image making and their deep bond of brotherhood that transcended every imaginable boundary. Two heroes. One road.