Reisenbüchler, Sándor
Entry updated 16 March 2026. Tagged: Film, People.
(1935-2004) Hungarian director, writer and animator. Reisenbüchler obtained a degree in directing from the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, but was a self-taught artist. He spent most of his career working for Hungary's Pannónia Studio and in 1993 received his country's Kossuth Prize, their most prestigious cultural award. Reisenbüchler's animation influences included Zoltán Huszárik and János Tóth from Poland, whilst inspiration for his use of collage include the works of fellow Hungarian György Kovásznai, such as The Monologue (1963).
Reisenbüchler's first film of note was A Nap és a Hold elrablása (1968; vt Kidnapping of the Sun and the Moon), 11 minutes, based on Ferenc Juhász's 1952 poem of that name, inspired by Polish folk tales. Here we open on a landscape: idyllic, surreal and brightly coloured, a mixture of wilderness and farm land with settlements, above which the Sun and Moon travel on their daily routine. A giant seven-headed dragon appears, black with white markings suggesting the emptiness of a night sky; it causes destruction – buildings are flattened and horses burn – before the Sun, Moon and stars are swallowed, with darkness descending. The initial panic is followed by quiet as the living perish. But a sparkling torch appears: a man lifts it aloft and from its flame a horse emerges, which he rides to the castle where the dragon now dwells. The torch transforms into a sword and they fight; the beast is killed and all it swallowed emerges from the mouths of the decapitated heads. The landscape and sky are restored and there is rejoicing.
Holdmese (1975; vt Moon Flight), 12 minutes, begins by mentioning Tibetan and Slavic legends suggesting the Moon did not exist before humanity's appearance, then references the Vasin-Shcherbakov Theory – sometimes called the Spaceship Moon Theory – based on a 1970 article by the two Russian Scientists titled "Is the Moon the Creation of Alien Intelligence?". We now see Aliens building and launching artificial moons (see World Ships); one passes through a radiation belt, killing those inside. The dead moon wanders for millions of years before being caught by Earth's Gravity; tidal effects of its arrival cause the biblical flood (see Disaster; Religion). The film then suggests that should the Sun die, our descendants might relaunch the Moon to colonize another solar system (see Colonization of Other Worlds).
Panik (1978; vt Panic), 9 minutes, has US astronauts in flying saucers abducting three aquatic aliens from another world and subjecting them to various experiments on Earth, including Rays which turn them into giant Monsters. They duly escape: two are quickly killed, but the third rampages through a City before entering the sea. Later it stands on a rocky island and the sun's rays restore its normal appearance. Inspirations may include Kaiju movies and conceivably Karel Čapek's Vàlka s Mloky (1935 Lidove noviny; 1936; trans M and R Weatherall as War with the Newts 1937).
Békéltető expedíció a Mars bolygóra (1983; vt A Peacemaking Expedition), 11 minutes, has an Earth expedition travelling to Mars with the intent of civilizing the natives: Jules Verne seems to have been an influence and Imperialism is mocked. Boldog világvége (1999; vt Merry Apocalypse), 8 minutes, opens with a look at romance and Sex before a UFO descends upon a house, transforming it and the family inside, who are then given a "refreshing fish shower". An attack by giant Mutant insects ("guests from Tchernobyl", ie. Chernobyl) follows; then Earth is battered by extreme weather ("El Nino is fed up!") (see Climate Change). Shocked by all this, watching Aliens intervene, transforming the planet (see Terraforming) and providing new fauna (chimeras created from cut-up images, making it unclear whether these are the old inhabitants refurbished or brand new creations). Befitting the English title, the film is a succession of fast cut scenes/images, set to a jaunty soundtrack.
Reisenbüchler's other films (only the first three seen for this entry) include the following. Barbárok Ideje (1971; vt Time of Barbarians), 10 minutes, is a fast-moving collage of images (some sf-related) reflecting the horrors and ironies of the then modern world. The historical Az 1812-es év (1972; vt The Year of 1812), 11 minutes, concerns Napoleon's invasion of Russia and his defeat by the forces led by Mikhail Kutuzov. Isten veled, kis sziget! (1987; vt Farewell, Little Island), 13 minutes, has a pastoral Island destroyed in the flooding of the region for a hydraulic dam . Allegro vivace (1990), 5 minutes, might have genre elements as one online comment refers to "flying insect people". Zöld intelmek minden napra (1992; vt Green Warnings for Every Day), 5 minutes, continues Reisenbüchler's Ecological interests, here focusing on species' extinction. Ecotópia (1995), 5 minutes, dedicated to Fritz Lang, also has an environmental message, comparing the Pastoral with modern civilization, to the detriment of the latter. His final film was A fény pillanata (2002; vt The Advent of Light), 10 minutes, a collage which seems to voice similar concerns to Barbárok Ideje, but now despairing of civilization at the beginning of the new millennium.
Reisenbüchler favoured traditional animation which looked psychedelic, somewhat in the style of Yellow Submarine (1968), and collages made of cut-out images – to western eyes recalling Terry Gilliam's work for Monty Python's Flying Circus – with the balance varying between films. The former is often both attractive and surreal, the latter – though it could be effective, as in Barbárok Ideje – impresses less, though this might be a matter of taste. The animation is very limited, favouring camera movements (panning, zooming, etc.) and short loops, doubtless the result of a limited budget (hence also the use of collage); but the actual artwork is often beautiful, as in Isten veled, kis sziget! His ecological and Political concerns (he was impressed by neither capitalism nor communism) were reflected in his works, the best being A Nap és a Hold elrablása and Holdmese; but Panik, Boldog világvége, Barbárok Ideje and Isten veled, kis sziget! are also good. [SP]
Sándor Reisenbüchler
born Budapest, Hungary: 16 February 1935
died Budapest, Hungary: 1 April 2004
links
- Internet Movie Database
- Internet Movie Database – Barbárok Ideje
- Internet Movie Database – Holdmese
- Internet Movie Database – The Kidnapping of the Sun and the Moon
- Internet Movie Database – Panik
- Internet Movie Database – Isten veled, kis sziget!
- Internet Movie Database – Boldog világvége
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