The Grand Budapest Hotel

Good movie, even though despite the name the movie was almost entirely shot in Germany. A man travels to the Grand Budapest Hotel which had once been a posh hotel, but is now rather run down and in dire need of some refurbishment. When he saves a man's life in the lobby, it proofs to be the owner of the hotel, M. Zero Moustafa. He gets invited by him for Dinner and learns the story of Moustafa and how he came about owning this hotel. In 1932 in the golden age of the Hotel Zero was an immigrant lobby boy, who, like all the other hotel staff, worked under eccentric concierge M. Gustave H. When one of Gustave's favourite regular guests, wealthy Madame D. dies under mysterious circumstances, M. Gustave H. and Zero join a gathering where the inheritance of Madame D. is settled. Gustave himself was a favourite of the old lady and vice versa, so in her will she stated that Gustave was to receive her priceless renaissance painting "Boy with apple", much to the dislike of Madame D.'s greedy son Dimitri who wants to prevent this at all costs. Secretly Gustave and lobby boy Zero sneak up to one of the rooms and steal the valuable piece of artwork. The Madame's family falsely accuse Gustave of killing her and the concierge is imprisoned. Gustave, Zero and Zero's girlfriend, a talented baker assistant Agatha now must prove the concierge's innocence and get him out of prison. With a cunning plan and the help with some fellow convicts Gustave tries to escape and set facts about the lady's death. Zero becomes one of his closest and most trusted friends during this time, but the old lady's greedy sun Dimitri is on hot pursuit to get the painting back... Despite being called "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and with many Hungarian names in it, it is set in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka. The movie was almost entirely shot in Germany (due to the old buildings fitting in well to the era the movie is set in).

I really enjoyed this despite disliking period drama. Maybe Ralph Fienes playing a major role turned my head.

The movie was released in 2014, just to make things clear. 100% best cinema from me, having seen most of Wes Anderson's work. The movie is so symbolic and that's why it is so popular and widely understood and appreciated. The symbols of by- gone eras, the many nations' symbols and even loyalty becomes a symbol because it is so set in stone. Love, once found, also gets set in stone and is represented by many objects or places... which become symbolic as the plot unravels. The cast,superb , makes it easy to follow a fascinating plot and enjoy the humour. It's an action movie once we learn a bit about the writer's job in this story. Emotions are seen in action, there is no time for their development, so enjoy the roller coaster !

This is a beautiful and very entertaining film with a truly remarkable all star cast. Everybody who is anybody in the world of contemporary screen acting seems to be in this. But however enticing it is to see all those big names in the same film, the concept is not without its problems. Apart from Ralph Fiennes, the then practically unknown Tony Revolory and possibly Saoirse Ronan, the stars don't really get as much screen time as they deserve and I was left wanting to see more of most of them. Much more. Because the acting is flawless throughout. Down to the smallest supporting parts, everybody is on top of their game. And they all look absolutely fabulous in those amazing costumes. Like the costumes, the sets are stunningly beautiful. Everything is so highly stylized as to be exaggerated - befitting for the setting inside a luxury hotel, a place where reality is suspended the moment you enter. Visually, the film is a masterpiece. Every frame is composed down to the last detail. It's a joy to watch. The story is fun, especially the more whimsical moments, but I must admit that I couldn't get emotionally invested in the fate of the characters. For me, this one is style over substance. Great entertainment, I enjoyed watching it, enjoyed Ralph Fiennes' amazing performance, loved the music, but the thing I remember most are the sets and costumes. The DVD is lovely. It has English subtitles for those who may need them. Also included are the following extra features: - Mendl's Secret Recipe - Promotional Featurettes (Cast, Wes Anderson) - Stills Gallery - Theatrical Trailer

That was how a friend described it, anyway, and it's perfectly true. One moment, Ralph Fiennes is smooth, almost to point of unctuousness, and louche; the next he's swearing like a trooper with almost no change of facial expression. Which is rather startling. As is the film. And extraordinarily funny. The official blurb above tells you all you need to know about it, the rest of the cast do a terrific job of supporting Fiennes (especially the grotesquely villainous Willem Dafoe), and the sets, production, and score are equally good (I'm not surprised it won 4 Oscars under those three headings). Even the several varied accents present in the film work in its favour. I took it as read that the fictional Central European state of Zubrowka was a remnant of the polyglot Austria-Hungary (the bulk of the film is set in the early 1930's). It's no surprise it won a bucket load of awards. And I paid less than a fiver for my copy. Buy it, it's brilliant. And totally hatstand!

I remember seeing a poster of this movie in my local cinema and what attracted to this movie was the cast. Most of them were my favourites so I went home and researched this movie and watched the trailer and it looked great! And when I went to see it, the film did not disappoint. I remember in the cinema it was only me and a friend that went to watch it and I left thinking that it was underrated and that it deserved so much more recognition. It was this film that got me into some of Wes Anderson's other movies and soon I became a fan of his films. I definitely would say he's one of my favourite directors. Anyway, this film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is about Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) who is a hotel concierge and his lobby boy, Zero (Tony Revolori) and after one of Gustave's mistresses passes away, he becomes a suspect and he and Zero are forced to run away and are lead on a very grand adventure. I definitely would say to anyone who is unsure of this to go and watch it, it might exceed your expectations. Overall, a great film with great actors.

This was a film that offered the promise that is all too seldom kept; an ensemble cast , a picturesque location, a peculiar plot. Normally such films, such as those by Gilliam, fail to deliver this promise. This may have succeeded. It take place in a fictional central European state called Zubrowka, which is Polish word meaning ‘bison grass’ or ‘sweet grass’; and is also the name of a vodka, flavoured with the same . The style of the film represents an old vision of central Europe; the Austro-Hungarian uniforms, the architecture, and the sub-alpine scenery. The names are a mixture of Slavic, German, French, Italian, Yiddish and Ottoman. The story unfolds in a series of images and ideas calculated to speak of the passing of time. Nostalgia, poignancy, grief, loss, death, and destruction leave the survivors weathered and changed by the processes of time. The initial image is a monument covered with tokens of faith. The next is an old shabby hotel, with faded, dated, shabby looking furnishings, obviously imposed anachronistically over an even more ancient style of building, equally or even more shabby in the old traces of its former splendour. A vast building, it is almost empty, emphasising just how neglected it is, with its handful of solitary visitors and scarce staff. As the young author goes about, the incongruity of the outdated style of the bath house with its communal baths clashes with the faded upholstery, displaying how just how time has changed customs and habits and expectations. The narrative is about the concierge whose talent is not just to manage the front of desk for the hotel, but in particular to charm and it transpires, to seduce, wealthy dowagers, and thus ensure their faithful patronage. He reassures them of their past glories, of their remaining beauty and status, and so cultivates their affections. It is presented partly as a practical way for him to get laid, and partly as an act of altruism, of compassion to the aging, the lonely, and the insecure; of a connoisseur of humanity appreciating the finer points and subtle nuances of society. It is all consistently a work of hospitality; the perfect host putting his guests at ease, accommodating them, and showing them joy. He is the perfect host; perceptive, conscientious, discrete. The new lobby boy, Zero, turns out to be a refugee, from the killing of his family and the destruction of his village, and this pattern is repeated throughout; it is a motif that all the characters, and thus we, are like refuges from the destructions of our pasts. The Crossed Keys society of concierges therefore helps one another out in the mission to aid refugees in their flight from destruction, and their comfort in the present, and their plans for the journey ahead. The concierges are the perfect facilitators, helping, abetting, aiding, invisibly, convinced of the purpose of their unknown missions, the anonymous requests that come to them. Throughout there is this sense of purpose of people helping each other, openly or clandestinely, legally or illegally, and pervading all, the love stories; friendship, romance, marriage, comradeship, patronage, fidelity, which motivate and sustain and resource and empathise with each story of help. Human life is described a series of loves and helps, which give purpose and meaning and relish and colour to life. Without them, life dies, losing its meaning. But all these things pass, and what we are left with the memory. The wise will remember with humility, gratitude and good humour, hence the comedy, but also the aching poignancy of the film. All things pass, and we remain, for God has put eternity into our hearts, but none can understand what he has done from beginning to end.

There is a lot to love in this film, and 60% of it is jaw-droppingly awesome. Unfortunately, the other 40% is self-indulgent tosh. There is no question that this film is visually stunning. No question at all. Even the worst moments are worth looking at, and listening to. If you have an HD TV, surround sound and Blue Ray player, then get it. If not, don't bother. However, there are serious weaknesses in the story. Not the plot, but the story. There is a lot of Downton Abbey in this film, and that's the part it does best. There is also a lot of art-house pretension, some sub-James Bond capers and several times the film wrenches from comedy to rather sick horror/tragedy. If you like films, and haven't seen this one, then go for it.

“It is nice to see that Wes Anderson” gives us a twenty-fist century movie, that feels like the old, but good, “Charlie Chaplin” movies of yesteryear, like the scene of the jail door, you see the door then it shift to the smaller door, this was so brilliant, even the motorcycle chase was hilarious, can’t forget the sleds, skis, and trains, how many more ways can they disguise “Tilda Swinton” the woman is that good, (Snowpiercer) “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is probable Wes Anderson best to date, it’s like he took a whole lot of scenes from movies an made one, that’s so funny, it’s down right funnier than Fun, the jail break, chipping away with little knife and spoons, (Shawshank Redemption) the pulling of the trolley car with the chain, I just love this, right down to Adrien Brody” (Dmitri) the look of anger on his face is priceless, and then we have “Willem Dafoe” how in the hell can you go wrong, see what I said about paintings, it’s a deadly hobby to pick up, but (Gustave) Ralph Fiennes” was at is best, “Harvey Keitel” I don’t know how many more times I can love this guy, the guy is something else, even in his smallest role he’s good, with the slap to the face of “Tony Revolori” (Zero) before he leaves, I just can’t help myself I absolutely love it, word of note, it tells you to leave your screen at 16x9, because it’s in Widescreen 2.40:1 Not The 1.85:1 that’s on the back cover of this case, then it changes to 4.3. it goes back an forth, but stays in 4.3 most of the time, Runtime 100 Min. English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Someone Said Anderson’s Films Are Too Precious For Some. I Concur.

Je länger ich keinen wirklich guten Film mehr gesehen habe, umso mehr drängt sich mir beim Anschauen irgendwelcher dieser zu unserer Zeit in schieren Unmengen produzierten Streifen der Eindruck auf, ich verstünde nichts von guten Filmen, da es doch unmöglich sein kann, dass unter zwanzig, dreißig und sogar vierzig Kino-Filmen nicht wenigstens statistisch gesehen ein einziges wahrhaft vortreffliches Werk dabei sein sollte? Leider scheint das filmische mit zahlreichen merkantilen Geburtsfehlern behaftete Mittelmaß ubiquitär den Kosmos auszufüllen wie eine schwere, dunkle Masse, welche der 'Planet Film' unaufhörlich anzieht und sich dabei behäbig um sich selbst dreht. So lässt es sich für den Filmfreund leider nicht vermeiden, bis sich in diesen Massen an Schutt irgendwann mal wieder eine wahre Perle finde, warten zu können, viel Geduld zu haben und unterdessen auch so manchen schlechten Geschmack über sich ergehen zu lassen. Der Film: "Grand Budapest Hotel" ist eine solche Perle und beruft sich auf einen Meister der deutschen Literatur, den von den Nazis seiner jüdischen Herkunft wegen gehassten Stefan Zweig. Etliche von Zweigs Werken erfuhren die große Ehre, in Göbbels Bücherfeuer auf dem Opernplatz in Berlin zu brennen. Allein schon das qualifiziert sie, bedenkenlos weiterempfohlen zu werden. Am 23. Februar 1942 schied der überzeugte Pazifist Stefan Zweig "aus freiem Willen und mit klaren Sinnen" aus dem Leben. Wie sich seinem Abschiedsbrief entnehmen lässt, traute der 61-Jährige seiner des Umherirrens in der vom Krieg zerwühlten Welt müden Seele einen Neuanfang im brasilianischen Exil nicht mehr zu. Seine hinterbliebene junge Frau Lotte folgte ihm, wohl nach etwas Zögern, schließlich nach. Über ein Leben zu urteilen steht nur Gott zu und so blieb Zweigs Tod seither für alle, die seine Werke liebten und lieben, so traurig wie unverständlich. Eigentlich hat Zweig einen Roman mit dem Titel: "Die Gesellschaft der gekreuzten Schlüssel" nie geschrieben. Unter diesem Titel ist lediglich eine Anthologie seiner Novellen auf Englisch erschienen. Doch lieferte diese Veröffentlichung im Entstehungsprozess des Films: "Grand Budapest Hotel" wohl hier und da die nötige Inspiration, die jedes gute Werk braucht. Schließlich erscheint als Resultat eine ebenso liebenswerte wie melancholische Hommage an die durchaus tragische Figur Stefan Zweigs, was sich durch die skurril-poetische Welt des Grand Budapest Hotels und ihres Protagonisten Signore Gustav organisch wie von selbst ergibt. Die Welt der Luxus-Hotels war dem großbürgerlichen Stefan Zweig im Übrigen wohlbekannt und diente ihm, wenn man so will, als zweite Heimat. Das pittoresk aufgeführte Drama um den Concierge 'Gustave', von seinem Lehrling 'Zero' aus der Erinnerung einem am "Schreiberlingsfieber" leidenden Literaten erzählt, ist in so vielerlei Hinsicht bemerkenswert, sodass ich auf Details weder eingehen kann noch will. Die Bilder, die Musik, die Szenenfolgen, auch die "konditorischen" Details, diese irren, fast schon cartoonhaften Typen und vor allem die Farben, die Farben! Man schwelge in Violett, in Rosa, Weiß und Grün, in Hellblau und Orange. Ein Meisterwerk, das ich mir bereits zweimal angesehen habe und nicht eine Sekunde fiel mich das gelangweilte Gefühl an, etwas schon zu kennen. Wirklich alles an dem Werk ist frei erfunden. Von dieser Welt sind nur die Schauspieler, die Kulissen (sofern nicht gemalt) und zahlreiche historische Anspielungen und Stile. Der Plot ist hinreißend und wird so altmodisch aufgeführt, wie ich es von den Lesereisen meiner Jugend her kenne. An der Arbeit der Schauspieler haftet nicht das geringste Stäublein irgendeines Zweifels und das mache ich nicht nur an dem bekannten Nebendarsteller Bill Murray fest, sondern an allen beteiligten Mimen und herausragend hier an Ralph Fiennes als Gustave und seinem Lobby-Boy Zéro Moustafa, gespielt von Tony Revolori, die man einfach beide unbedingt ins Herz schließen muss. Was hat mir nun am besten gefallen? Ich habe mich für den Bilderraub entschieden, weil die Grafik, welche die beiden gewitzten Hoteldiener - unter Zeitnot unschuldig - als Ersatz für das Ölbild vom holden Knaben mit dem Apfel hinhängten, derart obzön ist und ich davon geschockt laut lachen musste!

No sé qué version les llegó a algunos, pero a mí fue precisamente la de la foto del artículo, es decir la importada lanzada el 17 de Junio del 2014, lo digo porque sí viene doblaje español latino, soy de México, de hecho el europeo no figura, y eso que maneja varios doblajes que no se mencionan en la parte trasera de la caja, estaba resignado entonces a tratar de disfrutarla como viniera y mi sorpresa fue mucha =) lo curioso es que en la cartulina del código de descarga digital aparece el año 2021 Movies Anywhere, en fin. Llegó sin slipcover aunque la verdad ni lo esperaba. 5 estrellas.

C'est un film complètement à part. Un conte drolatique et fantastique mélant humour noir et situations absurdes. J'ai acheté la vidéo pour pouvoir prendre le temps d'apprécier l'esthétique exceptionnelle des décors et de la mise en scène. Qu'on aime ou pas Wes Anderson, il a réalisé là un petit chef d'oeuvre. Chaque scène est littéralement un tableau animé. De ce point de vue, "The Grand Budapest Hôtel" est à comparer au "Casanova de Fellini", au "Portrait de la Jeune fille en feu" de Céline Siamma, à "Danish Girl" de Tom Hooper, aux premiers films de Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Prenez le temps de voir et surtout revoir encore et encore ce film drôle, ce drôle de film.

Wes Anderson può piacere o meno ma la sua genialità nell'organizzare le scene (frutto di uno studio attento e maniacale) e i personaggi che crea e sviluppa, beh solo questo vale l'acquisto. Tutti da vedere e rivedere, ad ogni visione si colgono particolari e nuovi dettagli. Consiglio sempre le versioni con più contenuti speciali possibile, sempre interessanti per apprezzare il lavoro del regista.