Okay folks, I would like to ask for your help please, if I may.
There's a superb Hungarian comedy/thriller called KONTROLL from director Nimrod Antal, that I've been a big fan of for a few years now. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to get a decent copy of it. And by decent, I mean a film in a 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen print, with properly translated and accurate English subtitles, plus some solid, meaty extras.
Outside of Hungary, English fans are unlikely to be able to get a decent version of this film, which is criminal, because this film is genuinely fantastic. Set amongst the daily lives of a bunch of misfit Hungarian Metro (Underground Railway) staff, we follow them as they deal with ignorant, bitter, and angry passengers, constantly looking for any and every way to not pay for tickets. During their travels, they encounter a mysterious woman dressed as a bear, a shadowy, hooded figure that is secretly bumping-off the passengers, and a teenage antagonist who loves nothing more than making the Metro staff's lives a misery.
As Bulcsu, the leader of the Metro Staff gang that we follow, actor Sándor Csányi gives a great performance as man trying to come to terms with his life and where it is going. When he meets the mysterious woman in the bear suit, he falls in love, but it soon transpires that not everything is quite as it seems.
Part comedy, part thriller, part existential drama, this is a jaw-dropping piece of cinema. Including a stellar synth score by Neo, this film occasionally shows-up on late-night Channel 4 or Film4 here in the UK. Sadly, most DVD releases have been appalling. Incorrect ratios, poorly-translated (or mistranslated) subtitles, no or minimal extras.
Why not just import the Hungarian DVD or Blu-Ray releases, I here you ask?
Well, I would do, but have you tried obtaining films from Hungary via the internet? Unless you are fluent in Hungarian, then it's a bit of a nightmare. To make matters worse, the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD release is impossible to get hold of, and appears to have been made a Limited Release of just 1000 copies. It rarely gets sold on places like eBay, and every site I've tried, has comeback telling me they can't get it. Worse still, although the DVD release contained English subtitles, the new Hungarian Blu-Ray release of the film, in a brand-new, remastered 1080p HD print, has decided that the Blu-Ray will only contain a Hungarian soundtrack with removeable Hungarian subtitles!
Well, I want more people to see this film, and I want UK audiences to be given an English release that is worthy of the film's awesomeness! So please, click here and sign a petition I've started. I've already contacted a couple of UK film distributors to see if they will consider the film also, but I know that the more people I can gain to prove that a UK Blu-Ray release will be worth their time, the better the chances of us actually seeing it released here.
The US Trailer is shown below...
... which I hope gives you a reasonable example of what it's all about. But for one of the best examples, watch the sequence below... (WARNING: The clip contains very strong language, so it's not really safe for work, or for viewing by under-15's!)
This clip was NOT uploaded by me, but I hope that the clip will be acceptable as a "fair use" clip under the UK Copyright, Designs And Patents Act 1988, and will not result in any breach of copyright. So enjoy these clips, then please go and sign the petition, because this film deserves to be seen by so many more people, in the English-speaking World!
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