Les Temps héroïques

Dalias Idok is an Hungarian 1984 animated feature directed by József Gémes about chivalry. Hungarian animations are a world aside from many countries and have different approaches and themes from the majority of the counties (for example see "Habfürdö' from 1980).

This is also the case with this animation that have an painting graphic style that resemble an oil panting. It is It is an adaptation of the Toldi trilogy, a 19th-century epic poem in three parts by János Arany (1817 - 1882) written in 1800, inspired by the legendary Miklós Toldi, who served in the Hungarian King Louis the Great's army in the 13th century. The trilogy recounted the medieval stories of Toldi as the king's champion.

Miklós Toldi (c. 1320 - November 22, 1390) was a Hungarian nobleman from Bihar County of the Kingdom of Hungary, who is remembered as a legendary strong hero in Hungarian folklore, long thought of being a legend but later fund to be a real man.

You have all the features from a classic chivalry story here, from heroic acts to tragedy, lost loves, battles and a bitter end.

I watched the restaurated work from the original negative and magnetic tapes, in 4K made in Hungary in 2022, for the National Film Institute - Film Archive and Lab of the country.

My score: a 8.5 out of 10.0 / A - .

This is an unique paint-animation (it means that nearly all the frames are individual paintings)from Hungary. Directed by József Gémes (his more known works are Willy the Sparrow and The Princess and the Goblin) It tales the story of Miklós Toldi, an original character by the famous author János Arany (1817-1882). He is a tragic hero who has inhuman strength, that coses some serious trouble, but also this and his iron will makes him a legend. The movie is also narrated by him.

The movie itself is very interesting for the fans of animation, because of its unique technique. Just a handful of man dealing with paint-animation in the whole world (maybe the most famous among them is Aleksandr Petrov the Russian genius). The sound and music is not that grateful, but its OK for its time.

The one thing that I cannot understand about this piece of art, why its so unknown? Even in Hungary nobody knows about it, I never seen it on TV programs, or in art-cinemas. When I studied animation (in the same studio where it has been made), I had a chance to watch it, but its an other story...

All in all, if you are interested in rare animation treasures, and have a chance to watch it, do it without hesitation!

No pun intended - I reckon if Marvel (or DC or whoever) ever takes this approach it will be interesting to watch I reckon ... we are talking about animation that is based on a painting technique that you either love or be annoyed by. And take that and ask yourself if you are ready for a movie like this.

I kind of feel I was not in the right mind set - still and while trying to take this into account ... this was really tough to swallow. I never had heard the poem either - and while it is short (just over 80 minutes) the 3 parter (poem once again), felt incredibly long to say the least! The movie feels like it drags ... and is long and goes on forever ... it might still be playing - I am just kidding ... I think.

The story is sort of intriguing overall and the movie looks good ... looks arty so to speak... is this enough for you? You decide ...