Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-02-01 / 6. szám
A thorough craftsman, Makay would leam the script by heart before starting to film it. He consequently worked better and faster, and the producers saved money by using him. He filmed a total of 53 feature films, including the first "Socialist" film, in 1948, entitled "Talpalatnyi föld" ("Soil Under Your Feet"). The director of the Hunnia Film Works at the time was a man whose only film experience consisted of showing movies in his village, but he got his job because his brother had become Secretary of the Interior. This director chose the team to make the first film under Communist rule, and Árpád Makay was named to the team. When someone objected that none of them were members of the Communist Party, the director replied: "It doesn't matter, because the first film has to be very good." Two weeks after the premiere of "Talpalatnyi föld", Árpád Makay and his wife left the country, stealthily crossing the border into Austria, and then into Switzerland, where their daughter Csilla had been sent through the Reformed Church's child protection campaign. (That same campaign had sent their son Árpád to Denmark, but he arrived back in Hungary after a three-month stay, just before their escape.) The reunited Makay family stayed in Switzerland for two and a half years, vyhere they were treated very hospitably. Árpád got work in a knife factory, copying logos of the customers. He did get a chance to work in his field when he was asked to make a travelogue for the Swiss Canton of Appenzell. Then the opportunity came to emigrate to the United States, where the Makays arrived in 1952. "The job search in the U.S. was very difficult," recalled Makay. He did find work, but not in filmmaking. Among other jobs, he worked for six years in an experimental ultrasonic dental lab. He enjoyed his work, was well paid, but it had nothing to do with film, which was - and still is- Makay's element, the air he breathes. Through Hungarian acquaintances, he finally came to make a documentary, for the Department of Mines, following the process of mining silver, through the smelting and purification process, to finished objects, such as candelabra and ornamental bowls. The film received a Golden Globe award, which is the equivalent of the Oscar in the film-making industry. The same award, the Golden Globe, was also accorded to his biggest success in America, the feature film "Lies My Father Told Me." (Previously, it had received the Judeo-Christian Christopher Award in Canada.) In 1970, Makay was invited to teach at the School of Visual Arts in NewYork, which he did for five years. "There are no rules, I told my students," related Makay. "The visual presentation of the film is the cameraman's job. He decides with what effects to express the mood of the piece, to charm the audience into total illusion" Working with the director, and preferably with the writer as well, Makay always brought his considerable artistic talents to bear to achieve the desired "illusion" which flowed from the requirements of the story. He did documentaries on the opera singer Beverly Sills, the internationally-known Hungarian artist of the woodcut, József Dómján, and the Hungarian painter Lajos Markos, who made a name for himself painting horses in Texas. Makay did an Army recruiting film entitled "The Decision is Yours"; an educational film for Junior Achievement (a national high school society); a feature film on refugees entitled "Looking Up"; a film on drug addiction "Vulture in my Vein"; a religious film entitled "Meeting Point", shot in London and in the U.S.; an art film, "Brush and Color" for Grumbacher paint products; "Plant Pilferage", an industrial film; "Rexford" (later called "Askari"), a TV pilot film shot in East Africa for a series on wild game poachers; and a Spanish feature film,shot on location, entitled "Boy from Bogota." One of Makay's films, "I Had a Dream", done in the '60's, sought to explain the meaning of nightmares. Not only did it feature Makay's daughter Csilla, her husband, Dr. Balázs Somogyi and Makay's daughter-in-law Johanna Makay, it also gave Robert DeNiro exposure, and his career took off after this film. Without knowing it, many of us have probably seen Árpád Makay's work, as he had filmed over 250 TV commercials, for companies such as Avon, Goodrich Tires, Alpo Dog Food, Alka Seltzer, Minute Maid, Ocean Spray, and so on. In 1990, Makay returned to live in Hungaiy with his second wife, Judit (his first wife died in 1977). There, he was invited to teach at the Iparművészeti Főiskola (School of Applied Arts) in Budapest and to give talks. With enthusiastic energy, he is currently compiling a handbook for youth, "an honest autobiography", as he calls it, which he intends to publish. Makay's life goal, as he explained to this interviewer, was to "raise the standard of cinematography". Through the artistic use of lighting, and the "visual expression of the story's theme", he produced many outstanding movies. In recognition of his Árpád Makay (center) with daughter Csilla and her husband, Dr. Balázs Somogyi many accomplishments, the Hungarian government has repeatedly bestowed on him high honors: called the Cross of the Hungarian Republic's Order of Merit, in recognition of his artistic lifework, in 1993; the Millecentenarian Gold Memorial Medal, in recognition of his artistic career, in 1995; the Golden Butterfly Prize, for his accomplishments in cinematography in Hungaiy and abroad, in 1996; and the Hungarian Film Council's Lifetime Award, for his creative work in Hungarian cinematography, in 1999. As "Variety", the official paper of the American film industry commented: "Makay is the cameraman who can raise the value of a film by the presentation of the spiritual basis of cinematography." And as "Back Stage" wrote in 1971: "Makay concentrates on special lighting and camera work to bolster story mood because, he says, 'This level of expression gives the viewer a moving experience even with the deletion of sound.' His film 'Soil Under Your Feet' is considered a classic in Eastern Europe." Árpád Makay's contribution has vastly enriched the world of Hungarian as well as American film, for which we are all grateful — and which gives us another reason to boast! Available for cultural and social events. Hall, kitchen, bar, stage and ample parking Hungarian Community Club 147 Ward Street, Wallingford, CT P.O.Box 1816; Tel: 203-639-0511 Contact Kati Kovács Page 7
