Restored in 4K from the original 35mm footage, Queen’s concert at the Népstadion returns to cinemas from 7 October
On 27 July 1986, at the Népstadion in Budapest, eighty thousand people gathered to attend a concert destined to push the boundaries of music. Queen were in the midst of Magic Tour: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon brought a show of strength and precision to the stage, just five concerts before the band’s last performance with Mercury. That evening was also Queen’s last live performance with Freddie to be filmed.
What made the event exceptional was the location, as well as its scale. In a Europe divided by the Iron Curtain, i Queen were the first Western rock band to perform in Hungary. The stadium audience was joined by an estimated 45,000 people who remained outside, close enough to hear the music. Some fans arrived from Russia and Poland: a journey to a concert which, for many, also meant getting closer to a world that had until then been distant.
The scale of the undertaking is reflected in its documentation. The concert was filmed in 35 mm by the best Hungarian cinematographers, with 17 cameras and approximately 40 kilometers of film. The operation was approved by the Hungarian government: an unprecedented event for a communist state. The result was a rare visual testimony, which conveys both the energy of the show and the historical weight of that evening.
Now Queen Budapest returns to the big screen in a new version restored in 4K, created from the original footage at Park Road Post Production, Peter Jackson’s New Zealand studio. The sound has also been renewed thanks to the original multitrack recordings. In the film, directed by János Zsombolyai and distributed by Sony Music Vision, Brian May and Roger Taylor look back on the concert and its lasting cultural impact. The two musicians also attended the London premiere.
The setlist runs through some of Queen’s most beloved songs, from “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” to “Under Pressure” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Among the most singular moments, the acoustic arrangement of “Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt”, a Hungarian folk song which, that evening, brought the band closer to the culture of the country that hosted them.
From October 7th Queen Budapest will be in cinemas and IMAX theaters around the world, with distribution by Trafalgar Releasing. In Italy the film will be exclusive from 7 to 11 October. Tickets are available on nexostudios.it.
The soundtrack will also be released on November 6, remixed by the Queen studio team from the original multitrack recordings. Released internationally by Legacy Recordings and in the United States and Canada by Hollywood Records, it will be available digitally, as a double CD and, for the first time, in a 3LP box set. The Blu-ray and DVD editions will also arrive on the same date.
