Béla Balázs

Writing

Béla Balázs

Born August 4, 1884 · Szeged, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]

Died May 17, 1949 · aged 64

No biography available.

Known For

Grand HotelGrand Hotel · 1932
Grand Hotel
7.01932
MovieDramaRomance
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.
It Happened in EuropeIt Happened in Europe · 1947
It Happened in Europe
6.21947
MovieDrama
1944. A band of runaways and orphans of the war scour the countryside in search of food and shelter. They invade and then taken in by a musician and former concert pianist who’s hiding out in a ruined castle. After the initial altercation between them the gang accepts his guidance and he wins their respect by protecting them from the elements.
Sodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah · 1922
Sodom and Gomorrah
6.11922
MovieDrama
Exposed to bad influences since childhood, Mary, a young girl is pushed by her mother to approach an elderly banker by the name of Harber. After almost driving her fiancee to suicide and seducing his mentally-ill son, she realizes through a metaphorical dream the scope of her negligence. Sentenced to prison for incitement to murder Harber, she sees herself as a parallel figure to Lea, Lot's wife in Sodom, where the Angel of the Lord warns the sinful citizens of the city of their impending doom. Lea oppresses the angel and eventually turns it over to the pagan priests when her sexual advances to it are rejected. In another dream sequence, Mary becomes the Queen of Syria, whose oppressed people turn against her and who, in turn, condemns a young man who loves her to death. Finally, her dream returns to the present time and when she awakens, she runs back to her former lover.
Tchaikovsky: Iolanta / Bartók: Bluebeard's CastleTchaikovsky: Iolanta / Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle · 2015
Tchaikovsky: Iolanta / Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle
5.02015
MovieMusic
Valery Gergiev conducts Mariusz Trelinski’s thrilling new production of these rarely heard one-act operas. Anna Netrebko stars as the blind princess of the title in Tchaikovsky’s lyrical work, opposite Piotr Beczala as Vaudémont, the man who wins her love—and wakes her desire to be able to see. Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko are Judith and Bluebeard in Bartók’s gripping psychological thriller about a woman discovering her new husband’s murderous past.
The 3 Penny OperaThe 3 Penny Opera · 1931
The 3 Penny Opera
7.11931
MovieMusicCrime
In London at the turn of the century, underworld kingpin Mack the Knife marries Polly Peachum without the knowledge of her father, the equally enterprising 'king of the beggars'.
The Blue LightThe Blue Light · 1932
The Blue Light
6.91932
MovieDramaAdventure
As sole female Junta is the only one who can climb a dangerous mountain, villagers deem her as a witch.
The Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny Opera · 1931
The Threepenny Opera
6.91931
MovieMusicDrama
The French-language version of the The Threepenny Opera with a different cast from the German version.
Madame Wants No ChildrenMadame Wants No Children · 1926
Madame Wants No Children
10.01926
MovieDrama
Playboy Paul Le Barroy, weds Elyane Parizot because he is ready for children, and his mistress, Louise Bonvin, is not. After the honeymoon, Elyane informs Paul that she doesn’t want children, either. When Paul leaves her, Elyane blames Louise and confronts the ex-mistress with a gun.

Filmography

Sort
Sodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah · 1922
Sodom and Gomorrah
6.11922
MovieDrama
Exposed to bad influences since childhood, Mary, a young girl is pushed by her mother to approach an elderly banker by the name of Harber. After almost driving her fiancee to suicide and seducing his mentally-ill son, she realizes through a metaphorical dream the scope of her negligence. Sentenced to prison for incitement to murder Harber, she sees herself as a parallel figure to Lea, Lot's wife in Sodom, where the Angel of the Lord warns the sinful citizens of the city of their impending doom. Lea oppresses the angel and eventually turns it over to the pagan priests when her sexual advances to it are rejected. In another dream sequence, Mary becomes the Queen of Syria, whose oppressed people turn against her and who, in turn, condemns a young man who loves her to death. Finally, her dream returns to the present time and when she awakens, she runs back to her former lover.

extra

Poulenc's  The Human Voice / Bartók's Bluebeard's CastlePoulenc's The Human Voice / Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle · 2018
Poulenc's The Human Voice / Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle
2018
MovieMusicDrama
Running through Bartók’s disenchanted tale, whose haunting music was initially condemned as unplayable, and the expression of despair in Poulenc’s monologue, the director Krzysztof Warlikowski perceives a shared dramatic thread, a shared feminine consciousness and a shared sense of imprisonment and suffocation: for the woman who penetrates the confines of Bluebeard’s castle and Elle, the woman who clings to a telephone conversation with a man as the only thing worth living for, are condemned to share the same fate. And this man she speaks to, does he really exist? Unless the director has interpreted Cocteau’s words to the letter and the telephone has become a “terrifying weapon that leaves no trace, makes no noise”…

Writer