A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.
- Won 4 Oscars
- 135 wins & 226 nominations total
Wes Anderson Films as Ranked by IMDb Rating
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene in which Ludwig (Harvey Keitel) says "Good luck, kid!" before slapping Zero (Tony Revolori) across the face was shot forty-two times until Wes Anderson was satisfied. Keitel actually slapped Revolori each time.
- GoofsWhen the concierges are pulled away from their important duties, one concierge is administering modern CPR, which was invented in the 1960s. Promotion for non-medical professionals started in the 1970s.
- Quotes
M. Gustave: You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it.
- Crazy creditsNear the end of the closing credits, an animated Russian figure does a traditional dance.
- ConnectionsEdited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
- SoundtracksThe Linden Tree
Written by Pavel Vasilevich Kulikov
Performed by Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra, Vitaly Gnutov
Courtesy of Natalya Abramyan and National Music Publishers
Courtesy of Universal International Music B.V. Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
While it isn't quite flawless, and it is easy to see why a number of people don't like or will not like it (due to a lot of the cast's roles being pretty short, only Gustave and Zero being fully fleshed out of the characters and those who have a problem with Anderson's style), 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is a visually stunning, hugely entertaining, wonderfully weird and impeccably cast and acted film.
It really stuns visually, with cinematography that is not only clever in technique but also gorgeous in aesthetic and tight, fluid editing. The costumes, production design and hair and make-up richly deserved their Oscar/Academy Award wins, the costume and production design have a lusciously colourful fairy-tale feel while also given substance by the bleakly atmospheric quality that reflects the crime drama aspect of the story brilliantly.
Alexandre Desplat also received an Oscar, and with its hauntingly hypnotic and entrancing tones it richly deserved it as to me it was by far the best score of those nominated. Anderson directs superbly, the story balances darkness and quirkiness to great effect (the prison scene is unforgettable) and it's never too simplistic or convoluted (though of course the visuals, dialogue and performances make much more of an impact) and the screenplay is a sublime mixture of the dark, the quirky, the witty and the subtle delivered with rapid-fire.
'The Grand Budapest Hotel' boasts an impeccable cast and pretty much everybody does a splendid job, though many of the roles are short. My only criticism of the film is that Harvey Keitel and Saoirse Ronan are underused and just get lost amongst everything else, an unrecognisable Tilda Swinton also has little to do but still gives a bat-out-of-hell performance.
Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson give very entertaining performances, while Edward Norton is delightfully droll and Adrien Brody and especially Willem Dafoe bring sinister foreboding to the film. Some may say that Tony Revolori is overshadowed by the more experienced cast members (being the only newcomer in a large cast of big names), but to me he more than holds his own and effectively plays it straight. The film belongs to Ralph Fiennes, in what is essentially the heart of the film, while he has always been a fine actor he has not given a performance this brilliant in years, never knew he could be so riotously funny.
In conclusion, a wonderful film and a hotel well worth revisiting more than once if to one's taste. 9/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 4, 2016
- Permalink
24 Frames From Wes Anderson Films
24 Frames From Wes Anderson Films
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- El gran hotel Budapest
- Filming locations
- Görlitz, Saxony, Germany(Historical Art Nouveau Department store, formerly "Karstadt")
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $59,301,324
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $811,166
- Mar 9, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $174,567,384
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix