Legendary Hollywood film shootings in the Hungarian capital – Part 2 - English

Budapest, the chameleon-city has satisfied many cinematographic demands over and over again, and even inspired world-famous directors such as Steven Spielberg. It can essentially be transformed into any major European city, from London to Moscow. In the second part of our series, we've looked at legendary Hollywood film shoots in the Hungarian capital from the early 2000s to the present day.

Since the 1990s, Budapest has been home to a myriad of international film productions. This is partly because of relatively low costs and special tax refunds, which can save an American film millions of dollars. On the other hand, Budapest's cityscape is diverse, preserving a slice of the architectural style and atmosphere of many eras, a characteristic that makes it suitable for any large European city. London, Paris, or Moscow? Budapest can embody any of them. In the first part of our series, we delved into filmings that took place here up to the early 2000s. Now, we look at the period that followed.

Being Julia (2004)

'The plates were shaking in the hands of the waiters in a chic Pest restaurant at noon on Thursday. At the table, an Oscar-winning and two Oscar-nominated artists were having lunch: the stars of the European premiere of Being Julia (Hungarian premiere: 18 November) had arrived. Although Jeremy Irons had to cancel his trip due to last-minute filming reschedule (he would have joined as another Oscar winner), Annette Bening, István Szabó, Lajos Koltai, as well as producer Robert Lantos, responsible for several world-famous films, and the other stars of the film - Lucy Punch, Tom Sturridge, and Shaun Evans - were all gathered around the same table.'

– The Playdome portal wrote about the premiere of István Szabó's film in Budapest in 2004. It was also reported that Annette Bening enjoyed the goose crackling (roasted goose fat), the foie gras, and the flódni (a traditional Hungarian Jewish pastry, filled with layers of apple, walnuts, poppy seeds, and plum jam) served for dessert. Being Julia was filmed over forty-two days in Budapest and at the Katona József Theatre in Kecskemét.

The Astoria Hotel was chosen by the crew as the main location, the hotel, elegant inside and out and attracting many international stars and film productions, was transformed into a London location. Annette Bening won a Golden Globe for her performance and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category. The Astoria was also the setting for István Szabó's Mephisto, the 2001 drama Max, and has hosted celebrities such as Susannah York, Wim Wenders, Jiří Menzel, Peter Greenaway, Larry Hagman, and Franco Nero.

Munich (2005)

In Steven Spielberg's film, our capital is transformed into Rome, Paris, London, and the Netherlands in one amazing performance. The Puskás Ferenc Stadium plays the role of the Munich Olympic Stadium, but we can spot the Andrássy út, the Opera House area as Rome and Paris, and the Marriott Hotel as London, as well. The 'Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base' where the rescue attempt took place was located at the airport of Tököl (20 km outside Budapest), which was a military airport at the time. The banks of the Danube provide the scene of a murder in Frankfurt, where before his death, the victim is staring at the Parliament of all places.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

In the opening scene of the 2011 Mission: Impossible movie, the camera races over downtown Budapest, but the American filmmakers also snuck some imaginary buildings into the cityscape. Although the film is set mainly in Prague, the first four scenes were shot in the Hungarian capital, where Tom Cruise's fellow agent Josh Holloway is killed after being chased on the platform of the Keleti Railway Station. The location has been extensively remodelled, with a CGI neo-Renaissance Venetian-style clock tower added as a continuation of an existing building and landscaped greenery replacing the Kerepesi cemetery.

The Rite (2011)

In 2011, Anthony Hopkins was also here, playing Father Lucas, who, possessed by the devil, curses in Hungarian in the film - at least his viciously intoned 'szerelmem, virágom, gyönyörűségem' ('my love, my flower, my beauty') might seem like cursing to foreigners. While The Rite is set in Rome, much of the film was shot in Budapest. Based on a true story, it is about a young Catholic priest (Colin O′Donoghue) who is trained in the Church's school of exorcism by Anthony Hopkins. The real priest on whom the story is based, Father Gary Thomas, also spent a week in Budapest as an expert on the exorcism scenes. In an interview, Colin O′Donoghue shared his experience of filming in Budapest: 'When you're there, you realise that the city has an incredibly colourful history, from Roman times to the Soviet occupation.'

Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

Budapest doubles as Moscow again in this film, and many Hungarian stars such as rapper Zoli Ganxsta, actors Attila Árpa and Iván Kamarás, and wrestler Norbert Növényi also appear on the screen. The story follows the cop from the previous movies, John McClane (Bruce Willis) who travels to Russia because his now-grown son Jack (Jai Courtney) has been captured by the Mafia and a terrorist-friendly general wants to kill the U.S. President who is visiting Moscow. Of course, despite the 'Moscowisation', the locations are recognisable, such as Heroes' Square, which is the square in front of the Moscow courthouse. In total, cameras were rolling at least 40 locations in Budapest, We Love Budapest reported at the time, and the whole city was on fire to catch Bruce Willis for a photo.

Blade Runner (2017)

The sequel to the legendary sci-fi film may also be particularly dear to us, as it was shot primarily in Budapest, at Origo and Korda Studios, starring Ryan Gosling. The exterior shots were taken at the intersection of downtown Szalay and Honvéd utca, from K's apartment and the snowy street where Ryan Gosling walks down. K meets retired policeman E. Gaff (the origami guy played by Edward James Olmos) at the Adria Palace at 16 Szabadság tér in Budapest. Built between 1900 and 1902, the romantically dilapidated building has been featured in several productions, including A Good Day To Die Hard (2013), Atomic Blonde (2017), and more recently Black Widow (2021).

Red Sparrow (2018)

The film, starring Jennifer Lawrence, opens at the Opera House. Heroes' Square is also featured in the film, although many buildings have been added or altered using CGI effects. The luxurious and dazzling Boscolo Budapest Hotel was used as a backdrop for a key scene, and the encounter with Russian gangster Dimitri was also shot in the New York Café, part of the old Boscolo complex (Anantara New York Palace today). Déli Railway Station and the legendary Danubius Hotel Gellért are also featured, while the scene at the American Embassy takes place in the 1976 stained glass mosaic hall of Semmelweis University. And one of the film's key locations, the HalloBar, is also a striptease bar in real life.

Dune (2021)

A few years ago, it was a huge sensation when Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa walked the streets of Budapest. All the scenes in Dune, except the desert scene, were shot in Hungarian locations. Timothée Chalamet was also in Budapest for the second part of Dune (2022), and it was reported that he rented a cinema to watch the sequel to Top Gun with the cast. He allegedly paid a very friendly price of $2 (roughly HUF 700) for a seat.