The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Stefan Zweig (inspired by the writings of), Wes Anderson (screenplay)

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric

Top Rated Movies #187 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 130 wins & 226 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	M. Gustave
F. Murray Abraham	...	Mr. Moustafa
Mathieu Amalric	...	Serge X.
Adrien Brody	...	Dmitri
Willem Dafoe	...	Jopling
Jeff Goldblum	...	Deputy Kovacs
Harvey Keitel	...	Ludwig
Jude Law	...	Young Writer
Bill Murray	...	M. Ivan
Edward Norton	...	Henckels
Saoirse Ronan	...	Agatha
Jason Schwartzman	...	M. Jean
Léa Seydoux	...	Clotilde
Tilda Swinton	...	Madame D.
Tom Wilkinson	...	Author

Storyline

This movie recounts the adventures of M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune - all against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing continent.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | lobby boy | prison escape | first person narration | painting | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second movie with Tom Wilkinson involving the stealing of a painting. The other being RocknRolla (2008).

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Goofs

Zero grabs his hotel trousers and hat as he leaves Agatha while he is still in his underwear. When he's on the roof moments later, he's wearing the trousers and hat. He could not have put on his trousers while on the roof.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Author: It is an extremely common mistake. People think the writer's imagination is always at work, that he's constantly inventing an endless supply of incidents and episodes; that he simply dreams up his stories out of thin air. In point of fact, the opposite is true. Once the public knows you're a writer, they bring the characters and events to you. And as long as you maintain your ability to look, and to carefully listen, these stories will continue to...
Author's Grandson: [...]

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Crazy Credits

The traditional Twentieth Century Fox fanfare is not heard in the film's opening titles.

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Connections

Referenced in Flecos (2015)

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Soundtracks

Concerto for Lute and Plucked Strings I. Moderato
Written by Antonio Vivaldi
Performed by Siegfried Behrend and DZO Chamber Orchestra
Courtesy of Fonoteam GmbH

User Reviews

A hotel well worth revisiting more than once

That it was directed by Wes Anderson (who has a unique style that really fascinates, but admittedly not everybody will like or warm to his style) and that the cast is so stellar were reasons enough to see 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' in the first place, as well as its many accolades and critical acclaim.

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

28 March 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Filming Locations:

Görlitz, Saxony, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$811,166, 9 March 2014

Gross USA:

$59,301,324

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$172,940,180

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsberg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1