Queen: Hungarian Rhapsody - Live in Budapest

Overview

Fans of the hard-rock group Queen will be delighted to discover this well-produced concert video, featuring the foursome in their July 27, 1986 performance in Budapest. Aside from an overview of the stadium they are to perform in and shots of them being deliriously received by fans, the vast bulk of the film is devoted to the performance of their best-known songs. The cameramen and producers are evidently fans, as reviewers noted that they fell in skillfully with the band's performance. Though there are no interviews, the film does include some brief shots of each of the band members as they play the tourist in the town.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2012
UPC:	0801213058990
Original Release:	1986
Source:	Eagle Rock Ent
Language:	English
Sales rank:	17,191

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Freddie Mercury	Performer
Queen	Primary Artist,Performer
Brian May	Performer
Roger Taylor	Performer
John Deacon	Performer

Technical Credits

Editorial Reviews

Recorded during the band's foray into what was referred to as "the happiest barrack," Queen brings rock to the Eastern bloc on their live album/concert film, Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest. Though the set they rip through is more or less the same as the one captured on the legendary band's Live at Wembley '86 album, the historical significance of the performance makes it an event worth documenting. Performed in Budapest in 1986, the show feels like a portent of things to come for Eastern Europe. Though Hungary's (albeit liberal) communist regime would be in place for another three years, the arrival of a band with the kind of indulgent grandeur that Queen cultivated shows the early signs of the weakening of the Iron Curtain. Politics aside, the performance is a ripping one, with the band touching on hits old and new with a set spanning from "Seven Seas of Rhye" to "Who Wants to Live Forever," which is introduced by Freddie Mercury as a new song. Outside of the classics, there are some notable diversions, such as Brian May's delay-drenched, seven-minute solo, a scorching rendition of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," and the Jewish-Hungarian folk song "Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt" (which translates to "The Spring Wind Blows the Waters"). While the songs here are, as one would expect, excellent, the real treat with this set is the concert film, which was captured on 35mm film by Hungarian cinematographer Janos Zsombolyai using, according to the liner notes, every film camera in the country at the time. This gives the concert a cinematic feel that matches the larger-than-life sound that's made Queen one of the definitive rock bands of their or any era, and makes Hungarian Rhapsody a live set that fans won't want to miss out on. ~ Gregory Heaney