Queen: the film about the historic Budapest concert is coming to theaters

Forty years on from one of the most celebrated concerts of their career, Queen are bringing "Queen Budapest" back to the big screen, the film documenting the historic live show of July 27, 1986 at the Népstadion in the Hungarian capital. Restored in 4K from the original 35mm negatives, with a new audio mix drawn from the multitrack recordings of the era, the film will hit cinemas and IMAX screens worldwide from October 7. In Italy it will be distributed by Nexo Studios from October 7 to 11.
In the heart of the Eighties, bringing rock to the other side of the Iron Curtain was next to impossible. And yet, on July 27, 1986, Queen pulled it off, during The Magic Tour, becoming the first major Western band to play a stadium show beyond the Iron Curtain. More than 80,000 paying spectators attended the event, while an estimated further 45,000 people followed the show from outside the venue, turning it into one of the most significant musical happenings of the era.

Directed by János Zsombolyai, the film doesn't simply document the concert, but intercuts the live performances with footage of the band and their fans, as well as sequences shot in the five days beforehand showing Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon exploring some of Budapest's landmark sights.
The setlist features many of Queen's classics, including "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "A Kind Of Magic", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Under Pressure", "Who Wants To Live Forever", "Radio Ga Ga" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". One of the most moving moments, though, remains the acoustic rendition of the traditional Hungarian folk song "Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt", specially prepared for that evening.
"For years, fans living behind the Iron Curtain had only been able to hear Queen's music through bootleg cassettes," Brian May recalled. "Listening to rock bands like ours was forbidden, so seeing us perform live would have been unthinkable. That concert was a moment of enormous emotional intensity for them, and it was for us too. You could feel an incredible energy in the air. There will never be another event like it. Perhaps the most memorable moment of all was performing that beautiful Hungarian folk song, which Freddie and I had learned specially for the occasion."

The film's release will be followed, on October 30, by the release of the official soundtrack, remixed by Queen's studio team from the original concert tapes.
Ahead of its theatrical run, the 4K restoration will have its world premiere on September 15 at the Budapest Classics Film Marathon, while the UK premiere is set for September 30 in London.

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