I believe Colonel Redl to be Istvan Szabo's best film, a few degrees better than his more celebrated collaboration with the great Brandauer, Mephisto. Redl is in fact the middle part of a trilogy made by Hungarian director Szabo and starring Klaus Maria Brandauer in the title roles. Colonel Redl is a revisionist view of the events surrounding the downfall and eventual suicide of Austro-Hungarian counter-intelligence chief Colonel Redl during the early months of WW-I.
Redl was of mixed Ukrainian-Hungarian stock but rose impressively through the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian despite his Jewish ancestry and non-aristocratic background. Redl revolutionized Austro-Hungarian espionage and was eventually succeeded by his subordinate Maximilian Ronge. Shortly thereafter, in a spy operation worthy of a Hitchcock film, Redl was found to have been secretly spying for the Russians and had given them considerable information on Russian spies, and more damagingly, the plans for the disastrous attack on Serbia. He committed suicide shortly shortly thereafter and it was revealed that he was a homosexual who was being blackmailed by the Russians.
Szabo's film has a revisionist view on the entire affair and its a film steeped in the politics of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Redl comes out as perhaps the most patriotic man left in the Empire who had to be a fall guy to set an example for the army. His homosexuality, while broached, is not the central theme of the film. The first and most noticeable thing about the film is the superb use of locations. A lot of time seems to have been invested in sourcing the best locations and the authenticity of period detail makes this an instant classic.
Then there is Brandauer's performance as Redl. His Redl is similar to Mephisto in his blind ambition and loyalty to self. But there is a great change in the acting. Where in Mephisto he was pure energy and physicality, here he is a restrained Army officer and acts the part perfectly. Brandauer is one of the most talented actors of the twentieth century - the German Olivier - and the DVD extra has an interview with him that is very interesting. His view is that acting on stage requires a lot of ability and understanding. However, a person from any background can act in film because it requires no skill and isn't challenging. That is why he avoids working in films. Only an actor with his obvious ability could have the nerve to say such a thing!
Szabo has obvious strengths in extracting brilliant performances from all actors. He is also very good at handling epic, historic subjects in an intelligent manner, concentrating on the period and political themes rather than cheap spectacle. What I found to be his weakness in this film and Mephisto are a poor background score. The music just doesn't blend well with the action. Also, his narrative is typically choppy and the editing is poor as always. Without these weaknesses, I would certainly have rated Redl 10 out of 10.
NB: There is an autobiographical scene from Szabo's youth towards the beginning of Redl where he saves his own and his best friends skin by informing on fellow cadets. On 26 Jan 2006, the Hungarian weekly 'Life and Literature' revealed that Szabo has worked as an informant of the Communist authorities after the 1956 Hungarian uprising and made reports on classmates in University.
Redl was of mixed Ukrainian-Hungarian stock but rose impressively through the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian despite his Jewish ancestry and non-aristocratic background. Redl revolutionized Austro-Hungarian espionage and was eventually succeeded by his subordinate Maximilian Ronge. Shortly thereafter, in a spy operation worthy of a Hitchcock film, Redl was found to have been secretly spying for the Russians and had given them considerable information on Russian spies, and more damagingly, the plans for the disastrous attack on Serbia. He committed suicide shortly shortly thereafter and it was revealed that he was a homosexual who was being blackmailed by the Russians.
Szabo's film has a revisionist view on the entire affair and its a film steeped in the politics of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Redl comes out as perhaps the most patriotic man left in the Empire who had to be a fall guy to set an example for the army. His homosexuality, while broached, is not the central theme of the film. The first and most noticeable thing about the film is the superb use of locations. A lot of time seems to have been invested in sourcing the best locations and the authenticity of period detail makes this an instant classic.
Then there is Brandauer's performance as Redl. His Redl is similar to Mephisto in his blind ambition and loyalty to self. But there is a great change in the acting. Where in Mephisto he was pure energy and physicality, here he is a restrained Army officer and acts the part perfectly. Brandauer is one of the most talented actors of the twentieth century - the German Olivier - and the DVD extra has an interview with him that is very interesting. His view is that acting on stage requires a lot of ability and understanding. However, a person from any background can act in film because it requires no skill and isn't challenging. That is why he avoids working in films. Only an actor with his obvious ability could have the nerve to say such a thing!
Szabo has obvious strengths in extracting brilliant performances from all actors. He is also very good at handling epic, historic subjects in an intelligent manner, concentrating on the period and political themes rather than cheap spectacle. What I found to be his weakness in this film and Mephisto are a poor background score. The music just doesn't blend well with the action. Also, his narrative is typically choppy and the editing is poor as always. Without these weaknesses, I would certainly have rated Redl 10 out of 10.
NB: There is an autobiographical scene from Szabo's youth towards the beginning of Redl where he saves his own and his best friends skin by informing on fellow cadets. On 26 Jan 2006, the Hungarian weekly 'Life and Literature' revealed that Szabo has worked as an informant of the Communist authorities after the 1956 Hungarian uprising and made reports on classmates in University.