Product Details

• Actors: Pieczka Franciszek, Pal Hetenyi, Sandor Gaspar
• Directors: Judit Elek
• Format: Color, Full length, Subtitled, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• VHS Release Date: January 15, 1997
• Run Time: 147 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B00004TSYG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,121 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing docudrama about a nearly-forgotten "murder" case., March 25, 2005

By 

Casper Melick (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Memoirs Of A River [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a stark, scary, emotionally draining piece of work that shows how hysteria similar to that of the "Witch Trials" of medieval Europe or 17th-century America can crop up even in a relatively modern, civilized society.

The "Tisza-Eszlar Affair," which this film documents, was an historically important murder trial that has been almost forgotten: a landmark case in forensic science. It took place in a backwater of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1882, and revolved around the "blood libel": the long-standing rumor that Jews commit ritual murder of Christians. This film is a bit heavy-handed, but appears to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the "crime," the investigation, and the trial (with perhaps a bit of historic license taken). There's some terrific characterization. The villainous Constable Vay is an Hungarian version of the stock character of many American films: the brutal good-ol-boy Sheriff. Defense attorney Eötovös is brilliantly underplayed; Rabbi Scharf presents pathos without undue histrionics. It's in Hungarian and Yiddish, with subtitles, but very easy to understand. Terrific cinematography, too. Highly recommended.