Béla Tarr (1955-2026)

[Calvin]

I posted mostly because I was enthusiastic about Tarr´s earlier films being restored.

Indeed! Damnation is already on schedule from Arbelos as well. I'm surprised they didn't do Werckmeister Harmonies first but I suspect it won't be too far behind.

[FrauBlucher]

I saw it suggested on another forum that Werckmeister Harmonies being held up for rights issues. Is that possible?

[FrauBlucher]

A recent 2 hour interview with Bela Tarr

I wonder if this could be a supplement to the Werckmeister Harmonies Criterion release

[DeprongMori]

Discussion of Béla Tarr | A Curzon Collection - 8 Blu-Ray Limited Edition is here

[agnamaracs]

Béla Tarr

[domino harvey]

Only 70, damn

[ryannichols7]

kinda felt it was coming soon given the retirement, resurgence in popularity/disc releases, and he still maintained he was gonna be retired. not everyday we lose someone who made a few of my favorite movies of all time - I attribute Werckmeister Harmonies to being a serious world opener for me, and getting to see The Turin Horse in theatres during its initial run is something I value more than ever. a treasure of cinema around the world, and his hilarious interviews made me even more a fan over the years

[MichaelB]

He’s the only filmmaker for whom I’ve systematically adjusted my body clock for an entire week prior to tackling an all-nighter of Sátántangó at the BFI IMAX (which was easily worth it).

(Thankfully, I’m a freelancer with clients in multiple time zones so this was easy enough to facilitate.)

[bearcuborg]

Got to meet him at Lincoln Center many years ago (pre iPhone?) and he was so friendly and approachable…I’ll never forget it.

[Zot!]

all-nighter of Sátántangó at the BFI IMAX (which was easily worth it).

Wow, that sounds like quite a momentous screening. Saw him speak once at Facets in Chicago to introduce the same. He was very intense, but it alluded that a personal issue had come up for him. Definitely one of a kind.

[Buttery Jeb]

Bela Tarr

[hearthesilence]

Got to meet him at Lincoln Center many years ago (pre iPhone?) and he was so friendly and approachable…I’ll never forget it.

I think I posted this before, but the difference between seeing him at Lincoln Center in 2011 vs 2023 was quite startling. In 2011, he was at the NYFF to present his final film, and he gave this free talk (with Richard Peña) before the screening. It was a gorgeous, unseasonably warm October afternoon, and when he strode out onstage for the screening, with the shades over his forehead, he said "what are you doing here? It's beautiful outside!" 12 years later, he looked frail and physically unsteady, hunched over with a cane. I would've guessed he was easily in his 70s, possibly in his 80s, but he was a month shy of 69. Wouldn't be surprised if it was from hard living - he was still smoking quite a bit.

Loved his films before, they've only grown in power, partly because they seem to reflect more and more the world-at-large as well as the country and era they came from. He may have stopped making films, but he continued to be an invaluable mentor to so many.

[FrauBlucher]

Oh no. Sorry to hear this. You're right hearthesilence, he didn't look healthy in recent years. He seemed much older than his age. RIP.

[jbeall]

NY Times obituary for Tarr (gift article link)

[hearthesilence]

Tracy Letts at tonight's New York Film Critics Circle Awards: "I had a bit where I was going to take 20 minutes to acknowledge the passing of the great Béla Tarr..."

[Noiretirc]

Oh Man. Only 70? Satantango fucking changed my life.

[hearthesilence]

Some nice tributes on social media from filmmakers and others who considered him a friend: Tsai Ming Liang, Gael García Bernal, Gary Lucas, Jonathan Rosenbaum, James Benning (who had some interesting comments on his - he apologized for nearly getting a student at Tarr's school deported), etc.

[Noiretirc]

Tracy Letts at tonight's New York Film Critics Circle Awards: "I had a bit where I was going to take 20 minutes to acknowledge the passing of the great Béla Tarr..."

The drunken accordion ditty from Satantango needs to play at his funeral, surely? I can never unhear that.

All joking aside, I'm sad.

[Peacock]

Sad that I’m not seeing Ágnes Hranitzky mentioned in many of these articles or social media posts. My thoughts are with her.

[alacal2]

Such a sad start to 2026. Only slightly uplifted by Radiance's Rozier boxset.

[aox]

A little late, but even though he was 70 and not working (making movies), this one really hit hard.

[MichaelB]

Impressively speedily, as I only submitted it this morning, ArtReview has published my eulogy to Béla Tarr.

[Roger Ryan]

Impressively speedily, as I only submitted it this morning, ArtReview has published my eulogy to Béla Tarr.

A lovely appreciation.

[Soy Cuba]

Impressively speedily, as I only submitted it this morning, ArtReview has published my eulogy to Béla Tarr.

That is a fitting piece.

[hearthesilence]

FYI, MoMA is screening its own archival 35mm print of Béla Tarr's Almanac of Fall one more time on Thursday evening, and if you love this movie, I highly recommend catching it because the print looks pretty amazing and it rarely gets shown.

I haven't kept track of every screening in recent years, but the last time I remember a 35mm print being used was at Lincoln Center, and they had a disclaimer that said the print was "missing the first few minutes. The missing footage does not contain any information that is crucial to understanding the plot. Its use has been approved by the director."

(It's obvious the MoMA print is complete - the opening will have credits superimposed over the images.)