Colonel Redl

A real life scandal from the pre-World War I era, involving an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, is brought to life by director Istvan Szabo, and his brilliant star, Klaus Maria Brandauer. Hungarian director Istvan Szabo is most famous for his excellent 1981 film, and surprise international hit, Mephisto, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer, and this is understandable. But I would like to draw your attention to another film by Szabo starring the same actor, and made in 1985. It’s called Colonel Redl, and in it Brandauer plays Alfred Redl, a young Ukrainian of humble background, who at the turn of…