The Witness (1969 Hungarian film)

A tanú
DVD cover
Directed byPéter Bacsó
Written byPéter Bacsó
János Újhegyi
StarringFerenc Kállai
Lajos Őze
Béla Both
Lili Monori
CinematographyJános Zsombolyai
Edited bySándor Boronkay
Music byGyörgy Vukán
Distributed byMafilm
Release date
  • June 6, 1979 (1979-06-06) (Hungary)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryHungary
LanguageHungarian

The Witness (Hungarian: A tanú, also known as Without a Trace), is a 1969 Hungarian political satire comedy film directed by Péter Bacsó, co-written by Bacsó and János Újhegyi, and starring Ferenc Kállai, Lajos Őze, Béla Both, and Lili Monori.

Created in a tense political climate at a time when talking about the early 1950s and the 1956 Revolution was still taboo, the production was financed and allowed to be made by the communist authorities. It was subsequently banned from release and grew a cult following. It screened at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. A sequel was produced in 1994 named Megint tanú (Witness Again).

In April 2019, a restoration was selected to be shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.