A bad copy of a great Hungarian film

Rating: 6/10 (4 October 2001)

When this film came out everyone I know was showering praises on it. I am a fan of John Huston but my appreciation of this great man plummeted when I saw that there was no mention in the credits of the original work in Hungarian "Két félidö a pokolban" or "Two half times in hell."
I was lucky to have been invited to visit Hungary in 1981 as an Indian film critic to interview the director of the Hungarian film, the late Zoltan Fabri, who I had come to adore after viewing his "The Fifth Seal." With remorse Fabri had told me that all that he expected was a mention of his work--nothing more--among the credits of Huston's film. Hollywood and John Huston had thrown modern day Intellectual Property Rights to the wind.
Huston's film is good, but the Hungarian original is far superior. Fabri was a gentleman and a great director. Huston would have stood taller had he acknowledged the original work of the then unknown Fabri.