--- title: "The Red and the White" year: 1967 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-red-and-the-white" fi1m_id: "the-red-and-the-white" imdb_id: "tt0061537" tmdb_id: 52885 wikidata_id: "Q873313" fi1m_score: 78 critics_reviews: 1 published: "2026-09-26T16:22:10.250593+00:00" updated: "2026-09-26T16:22:10.816669+00:00" region: "ES" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Red and the White (1967) Directed by Miklós Jancsó · 1h 30m · War, Drama ## Identity The Red and the White - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-red-and-the-white - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-red-and-the-white - **IMDb ID:** tt0061537 - **TMDB ID:** 52885 - **Wikidata ID:** Q873313 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061537/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/52885, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q873313 **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics: 1 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Ninety minutes of war, and the camera seems determined that nobody should sit comfortably > Miklós Jancsó’s war drama builds considerable tension through a camera that keeps moving. Its severity can keep the people at a distance, but the sustained unease makes it worth the effort. ## Synopsis *The Red and the White* brings together a Hungarian Commander (József Madaras), Andras (Tibor Molnár) and Laszlo (András Kozák). Its military figures also include Captain Chelpanov (Anatoli Yabbarov), a Cossack Officer (Sergey Nikonenko) and a White Officer (Nikita Mikhalkov), while Tatyana Konyukhova plays Yelizaveta the Matron and Krystyna Mikołajewska plays Olga. Miklós Jancsó’s 90-minute war drama concentrates on life and death, using continuous camera movement and changes within the frame to sustain tension. It offers little of the spectacle associated with battlefield adventure. ## Review Miklós Jancsó’s *The Red and the White* is a tense, demanding war film, worth the effort if conventional excitement is not the attraction. There is little stirring spectacle to make its concern with life and death easier to take. The sustained pressure is the reason to watch, though the severity can become tiring. This is concentrated work, running 90 minutes. Tamás Somló’s cinematography provides the strongest reason to watch closely. Continuous camera movement shifts the composition within a shot, giving the eye new work without the release of a cut. We felt uneasy watching those sustained movements, because there was no settled view in which to feel comfortable. The tension depends on our continuing to look, and on the image continuing to change. That requires patience, but it also rewards attention to what happens across the frame. Zoltán Farkas is the editor, and the distinction between editing and movement matters here. Much of what cutting would ordinarily do is accomplished inside the shot, as the camera redirects our attention. The film benefits from that continuity: tension has time to accumulate instead of being repeatedly announced. It also creates a difficulty, since a method this insistent eventually becomes something we anticipate, and our awareness of the technique can interrupt our involvement. Boris Chebotaryov, Ferenc Kopp and Anatoli Burdo share the production design credit, and this is a film that makes us attend to space. With the camera continually moving, the surroundings have to hold our attention alongside the people. The approach works when it makes us examine the whole frame for something that might matter. At other times we become too conscious of how the image is organised, and start studying the arrangement when we would rather be caught up in the drama. József Madaras plays the Hungarian Commander, Sergey Nikonenko the Cossack Officer and Nikita Mikhalkov the White Officer. Even the character names insist on military position, which is a useful warning against expecting an intimate account of a single soldier. Andras (Tibor Molnár) and Laszlo (András Kozák) have personal names, but our attention is still drawn towards how the film manages tension. That leaves less room for the pleasure of following an individual performance, and it is a limitation worth acknowledging. In a war drama, refusing to provide much stirring spectacle is a defensible choice. We do not need a rousing passage simply because there are officers in the cast, and the lack of easy release contributes directly to the unease. The difficulty comes when the restraint makes successive stretches feel emotionally similar. The camera’s persistent movement usually prevents that sameness from becoming dull, but the film gives us few chances to feel anything except apprehension. That is the caveat to a firm recommendation for anyone drawn to severe war films. We think the tension is substantial enough to justify the demands being made, even when the people seem frustratingly remote. Its coldness need not be a fault, though we would understand finding it an obstacle. Choose it on an evening when you can give it your full attention. *Fi1m score 78, published 26 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is The Red and the White worth watching?** *The Red and the White* is worth watching if we want sustained tension rather than battlefield excitement, and we score it 78 out of 100. The continuously moving camera makes its 90 minutes deeply uneasy, though the severe approach can leave the people feeling remote. We recommend it for an evening when concentrated attention feels welcome rather than a chore. **How long is The Red and the White, and what is it rated?** *The Red and the White* runs 1h 30m. It is a war and drama film. **Where can I watch The Red and the White in Spain?** *The Red and the White* is not on any streaming or rental service in Spain at the moment. It is available in 3 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is The Red and the White, and is it suitable for children?** *The Red and the White* has no listed UK or US certificate, but we would not recommend it for children given its sustained apprehension and concern with life and death. Its unsettling effect comes from persistent camera movement and the lack of emotional release, rather than stirring battlefield spectacle. We recommend caution for viewers who find prolonged tension difficult. **How does The Red and the White compare to The Ascent?** *The Red and the White* is the stronger choice for close attention to camera movement, while we favour [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) for painfully immediate moral drama. Jancsó sustains unease through shifting compositions, sometimes keeping the people at a distance; Shepitko follows two partisans into an interrogation room and concentrates on conscience. Neither offers a restful evening. **What should I watch after The Red and the White?** After *The Red and the White*, try [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) (1977, Fi1m 88): Another severe war film that makes moral pressure feel painfully immediate. Then [*The Battle of Algiers*](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers) (1966, Fi1m 93): For political conflict made tense through space, movement and competing claims; and [*Beau Travail*](https://film.one/film/beau-travail) (1999, Fi1m 86): Military discipline and carefully arranged bodies, with desire disturbing the apparent order. ### Reviews we read (1) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a stark, tense meditation on life and death, with little interest in stirring spectacle. It particularly praises the camera’s continuous movement and internal cutting for building tension. [Read](https://variety.com/1966/film/reviews/csillagosok-katonak-1200421399/) ## Details - **Director:** Miklós Jancsó - **Director:** Miklós Jancsó - **Screenplay:** Giorgi Mdivani - **Writer:** Gyula Hernádi, Miklós Jancsó, Luca Karall, Valeriy Karen - **Cinematography:** Tamás Somló - **Editor:** Zoltán Farkas - **Production design:** Anatoli Burdo, Boris Chebotaryov, Ferenc Kopp - **Costume design:** Maya Abar-Baranovskaya, Gyula Várdai - **Producer:** Jenõ Götz, András Németh, Kirill Sirjajev - **Cast:** József Madaras as Hungarian Commander; Tibor Molnár as Andras; András Kozák as Laszlo; Jácint Juhász as Istvan; Anatoli Yabbarov as Captain Chelpanov; Sergey Nikonenko as Cossack Officer; Mikhail Kozakov as Nestor; Tatyana Konyukhova as Yelizaveta the Matron - **Runtime:** 1h 30m - **First release (Hungary):** 3 November 1967 - **Genres:** War, Drama ## Where to watch in Spain Not streaming, renting or buying in Spain at the last check. Also available in: CA, IT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Ascent* (1977), Fi1m 88: Another severe war film that makes moral pressure feel painfully immediate — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ascent.md) - *Fires on the Plain* (1959): A harsher, more bodily account of war, equally resistant to consolation - *The Battle of Algiers* (1966), Fi1m 93: For political conflict made tense through space, movement and competing claims — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers.md) - *Beau Travail* (1999), Fi1m 86: Military discipline and carefully arranged bodies, with desire disturbing the apparent order — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beau-travail.md) - *Son of Saul* (2015), Fi1m 87: For a closer, more claustrophobic camera and another demanding encounter with violence — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/son-of-saul.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-red-and-the-white