The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, Oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.
A seasoned FBI agent pursues Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully forged millions of dollars' worth of checks while posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a legal prosecutor.
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Tom Hanks,
Christopher Walken
GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, 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 back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.Written by
Fox Searchlight Pictures
The fictional town of Nebelsbad (home of the Grand Hotel Budapest) is based upon the spa town of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) in the Czech Republic. 3 minutes into the film, people can be seen using an elevator to reach the statue of a deer (or stag) on a rocky outcrop. This is almost an exact copy of the deer at Jeleni skok (Deer Jump), a famous landmark overlooking Karlovy Vary. In the film, Nebelsbad is in the Alpine Sudetenwaltz and Karlovy Vary lies in what was, prior to WW2, the Sudetenland. Karlovy Vary has its own 'Grand Hotel'; the Grandhotel Pupp, which has appeared in many films, including Casino Royale and Last Holiday. Although the hotel is not connected to a funicular, there is one in Karlovy Vary which allows people to visit the statue at Deer Jump. See more »
Goofs
In the beginning of the movie, during the author's conversation with the concierge, Monsieur Jean runs to a guest who is choking and uses the Heimlich maneuver, squeezing the guest's chest from behind. Dr. Henry Heimlich first described the Heimlich Maneuver in Journal of the American Medical Association in 1974. See more »
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:
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
Near the end of the closing credits, an animated Russian figure does a traditional dance. See more »
The 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 See more »
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
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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