He made his debut in Cannes with the film The Round-Up (Szegénylegények) in 1966 after which he directed masterpieces of modern cinema like The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonák), Red Psalm (Még kér a nép) for which he won the Best Director Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972. His unique and original film language is in complete harmony with the message of the movies. In his works the art seeks to find the springs of action of historical traumas. His genius influenced great figures of cinema like Martin Scorsese, Béla Tarr and Bernardo Bertolucci.