75
An operatic rarity worth catching even if you don't happen to be an opera fan.
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What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
L.A. Weekly by Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
Where Káel stumbles is in having his stars lip-synch, sometimes poorly, to a recording. It's a devil's bargain that allows for more natural staging, but that fails to convey that an opera's power lies less in cinematic shadings of character than in raw emotions refined by the spectacular art of a rigorously trained human voice.
70
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
It would take an opera expert to judge the merits of Bánk Bán and its renowned singers. But to the layman Erkel's music soars, and the singers' voices sound glorious.
70
While it creaks along at times, director Csaba Kael's new film version of a Hungarian opera masterpiece, Ferenc Erkel's Bank Ban, is ultimately an invaluable entry in the opera-on-film library.
80
Erkel's folk-flavored music sounds a lot like middle-period Verdi, but many of the melodies are ravishing.