The event, organised by the Hungarian National Film Archives, started with a screening of Menzel's 1969 film Skylarks on a String, followed by Szabó's 1980 film Mephisto.
After the films, Menzel said when he had first seen Mephisto, he was both happy and sad - sad thinking he would never be able to make such a film and happy because he had the opportunity to see such a valuable film.
Menzel said Mephisto reinforced his belief that instead of trying to differentiate between good and bad films, one should look at what kind of people make them. The most important aspect is the director's personality, which can be projected onto the screen, he said.
Szabó noted that Hungarian audiences had a great fondness for the films of Menzel, whose role at the head of the Czech new wave was helped by his ability to present serious subjects and at the same time make people laugh. Szabó said they would both like to make more films and they would "especially like to remain cheerful".
Szabó turned 70 on February 18. Menzel will turn 70 on February 23.
Gábor Tanner of the national film archives said before the screening that "the definitive films of Hungarian cinema must be maintained in the memory of current generations."
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: Eszter Gordon
