The Gay Hussar: The Story of the Most Famous Hungarian Restaurant Abroad

The Gay Hussar via Carcharoth / Wikipedia commons

While Hungarian cuisine has had some vocal champions abroad, notably George Lang in New York, it has yet to really catch on beyond the cliches of gulash and paprika. But for many years, even decades, one of the hottest eateries in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cites, was Hungarian.

The Gay Hussar was opened in London in the 1950s. One would think it the project of a Hungarian immigrant, but indeed it was founded by Victor Sassie, child of a Swiss sailor, and Welsh mother. His love for Hungary was engendered early in life, however, when at age 17 he interned at the world-famous Budapest restaurant Gundel. He stayed on for a full seven years, soaking up all he could about Hungarian cuisine, before returning to London to open the restaurant Budapest. This would transform into the Gay Hussar, which like so many Budapest coffee houses, became popular with writers and artists, not to mention left-wing politicians who went there to trade gossip and make off-the-record deals (so many that their circle was dubbed the ‘Tokay Trots’). It was the type of place TS Eliot would mix with Downing Street elites. According the the Guardian: “Since it opened in 1953 it has been a haunt and popular watering hole of politicians, writers and artists. Devoted regulars have included the Labour grandees Roy Hattersley and Michael Foot – who celebrated his 90th birthday there – and more recently Gordon Brown. Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams had a regular table on the first floor, where he would bellow out whispered titbits from his informants. Election victories have been celebrated there and sorrows and defeats drowned with copious amounts of Bull’s Blood.”

via Gay Hussar Facebook page

But as other, less fattening, and more eclectic cuisines rose to prominence, and long boozy lunches became looked down on, the Gay Hussar fell out of fashion, and was set to close in 2018. Plans to save the restaurant came to naught, until at the last minute, two London restaurateurs stepped in to keep the joint alive, albeit under a new name: Noble Rot. This of course refers to the Botrytis cinerea mould that makes sweet Hungarian Tokay dessert wine so delectable. So, while the new incarnation can hardly be called Hungarian, there are Hungarian influences throughout, particularly on the wine list, where some of Tokay’s boutique vineyards get showcased. And if there’s one thing that keeps the Hussars happy, it’s internationally sought-after dessert wine from Hungary.

via Gay Hussar Facebook page

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Filmed in Budapest: the Rookies

Budapest, Hungary, has quickly accumulated the reputation as the go-to place for top-quality film production in Europe. The list of big-budget movies shot here includes Blade Runner 2049, Red Sparrow, Gemini Man, Black Widow, and so many more. The latest to join this list is the Milla Jovovitch-starring espionage film, the Rookies. What makes this film special, is that it didn’t originate in Hollywood, but in China.

Written and Directed by Alan Yuen (Firestorm), filming took place in both China and Hungary, and co-stars popular Taiwanese actor Wang Talu. Film site Rotten Tomatoes, which found the film not the freshest piece of produce, summarises the plot like this: An extreme sports athlete joins a mysterious special agent and her ragtag team of recruits to battle a group of deadly terrorists. A film that mixes spy elements with the daredevilry of extreme sport parkour, is a natural fit for Budapest, with its diverse settings and architecture.

While critics took the film to task over plotting and dialogue, there was almost universal praise for the use of Budapest as a setting. This from Daily Variety: “Technical aspects are clean and crisp, with some snazzy animations giving the film a much-needed boost. Hungary’s tourism authorities are sure to be delighted by ravishing photography of Budapest’s most beautiful sights.”

It helps that Budapest, in this case, is not being used as a stand-in for another city, but is the actual location it depicts, as a wealthy Hungarian who has somehow acquired the Holy Grail plays into the script. With elements of Mission Impossible and The Di Vinci Code, some critics wondered if the film bit off more than it could chew. Other critics have made a lot — good and bad — of the travelogue-like feeling to some sequences, that seem to be showcasing the city as much as the characters. Those who found the film itself lacking, gave high praise to the scenery.

While the Rookies didn’t exactly go pro at the box office, it did hi-light the growing interest from Asian countries like China in exploring Budapest as a filming location. Of course South Korean forays into Hungary have already been noted on this blog. It’s a trend we only hope will continue.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Goodbye Lennon: The Life of A Hungarian Art Star

Sam Havadtoy

The latest great somewhat hi-brow Netflix series is the just-released The Andy Warhol Diaries. And while we haven’t made if far enough in to clock any Hungarian fingerprints, we do know enough about that scene to recall that there was a Hungarian prominently situated in the mix, in the form of gallerist and artist Sam Havadtoy.

Born to Hungarians in London in 1952, his family made the daring choice of returning to Hungarian soil a few years later. It wouldn’t be until 1971 that Havadtoy was able to depart the Bloc for London, via Yugoslavia. He eventually emigrated to the States, where he would found the influential Sam Havadtoy Gallery. It was there that he mixed with the likes of Warhol and Keith Haring, with John Lennon and his wife coming in to buy a pair of chairs. In time he would engage with Yoko Ono in a relationship that would last 20 years, and bring the singer/artist to Budapest on many extended occasions.

Sam Havadtoy, 18

Of his relationship with Ono, Havardoy told the New York Times, “Being with Yoko was like going through an extensive university course of life. And I was the only student. I may have taken too long. Maybe I failed at many courses, but finally I graduated and came into my own. Like going to university, it’s a period that you would never replace with anything else, but there’s no point in going back to it, it’s done.”

Of Havadtoy, Yoko Ono said, “An artist is born. I am touched by the magnificence of his work. He has dipped into the old Hungarian spirit and culture and created a work that is very now. It is Hungarian, very Sam Havadtoy and it’s beautiful.”

As an artist in his own right, Havadtoy contributed to some late works of Keith Haring, and showed his own work worldwide, including at Budapest’s Hungarian National Theatre and the Ludwig Museum. His work is playful and draws heavily on Disney iconography and political references, prefiguring Jeffrey Koons. After returning to Hungary to live, Havadtoy opened the gallery Gallery 56, and was able to introduce prominent international artists like Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Kiki Smith to a Budapest audience.

Havadtoy now splits his time between Hungary, where he has a studio in the artist enclave of Szentendre, and Liguria, Italy.

Lace duck by Sam Havadtoy

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Border Ties: Hungary Steps Up to Support Ukrainian Refugees

Photo by Elekes Andor, via Wikipedia Commons

The news over the past week has been devastating to everybody. But in Hungary, the direct effects of the war in Ukraine can be seen in the form of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing across the border our two countries share. While some have ethnic Hungarian blood, we also see Indian, African students who are transiting to their home countries. But the vast majority are everyday Ukrainians: mothers, children, and elderly.

Unsurprisingly, as a country no stranger to foreign aggression, the people of Hungary are responding with unprecedented support. This is mostly coming from individual Hungarians who are co-ordinating food and accommodation efforts at the border and in Budapest, as well as charitable organizations — most notably the The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service — and churches and religious organizations.

At the border town of Záhony, the first way station for many refugees, the Church Times in an article by writer Alex Faludy, reports: “While the local government has set up a small overnight facility at Záhony, Hungarian Baptist Aid (Hungary’s largest relief agency) has also created a reception facility, with sleeping accommodation, in the Rákóczi Ferenc Reformed Church High School in the village of Tiszabecs, a road and foot crossing 90km away from Záhony. The senior co-ordinator is an experienced aid worker and Baptist pastor, the Revd Lajos Révész.”

“People are volunteering here not only from the local Reformed Church, but from no church at all — this matters to everyone,” the article quoted the pastor as saying.

Volunteers from the border report such an abundance of material donations, that they are able to deliver good to the needy within Ukraine itself.

Photo by Pakkin Leung@Rice Post via Wikipedia Commons

The Hungarian government, in addition to aid and relief efforts, decreed that refugees from Ukraine are entitled to free travel on trains and busses throughout the country.

In Hungary, where politics are divisive as any place, the common goal of support for neighbours in need has broad support across all sections of society, economical and cultural. But as the Church Times posits, it is still early days, and such solidarity may be put to the test before long: “To date, the refugee situation in Hungary appears to be challenging, but manageable. There are worries, however, about the future. A particular concern is how things may worsen should the present line of Russian advance cut off escape routes over the long Polish and Romanian frontiers east of the Carpathians. This would leave the Subcarpathian region as the only safe corridor, and risk extraordinary pressure on its crossing, creating a humanitarian bottleneck.”

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Postcards from the Past: Fortepan Archive Receives Thousands of Historical Photos

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan, a searchable archive of free-to-use photographs of Hungary though (photographable) history, has become something of a national treasure. With 162,615 photos to search from, the archive, founded in 2010, continues to grow as more private and public collections are made available.

The recent additions are described by the site as such: “Selected from the archive of FŐMTERV (Municipal Civil Engineering Design Company). The grand construction projects of the Kádár Era. Over-and underpasses in Budafok, Pesterzsébet, the streets of Zugló, markets, bus depots and blocs soon to be demolished. The archive of a large construction company, preserved in an exemplary manner.”

In more basic terms, this is a huge cache of photos from the 1950s - late 1970s, depicting daily life in and around Budapest, taken by , Endre Domonkos, a photographer for the above-mentioned construction company. The full collection comprises some 50,000 photos, and spans 40 years. As of now, 3000 have been donated to the Fortepan archive, with potentially more to come.

So, what you will see from these highlights is primarily construction-oriented, but there is still a richness and humanity evinced in the photographer’s subjects. To browse the entirety of the new acquisitions, have a look at the Fortepan page here.

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Fortepan / FŐMTERV

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Hungarian Vibes: The Hungarian House of Music Opens in Budapest

Photo via ©LIGET-BUDAPEST_Palkó-György

Rising from Várósliget, Budapest’s grand City Park, is a structure that appears at once modern and in harmony with the greenery of its natural surroundings. Indeed, trees shoot through the airy roof of the slightly mushroom shaped building. This was part of the vision of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, who won the competition to design the Hungarian House of Music, the construction of which was completed only a few months ago. With an open air stage, interactive educational exhibits, and a pleasingly warm appearance, the project has been called an ‘instant landmark’.

But what is the purpose of this unique institution? In the Hungarian House of Music’s own words: It is our mission to promote music so that it would play a defining role in the lives of every family, child and young adult. We hope to achieve this through the nurturing and experience-based presentation of the values of Hungarian folk music, classical music, popular music and other genres of global music. We regard it as our task to build a community and cater to communal experiences. While nurturing traditions, we seek to create an institution distinguished by a progressive approach coupled with the spirit of experimentation and discovery, providing outstanding quality in every respect.

photo via ©LIGET-BUDAPEST_Mohai-Balázs

photo via magyarzenehaza.com

photo via ©LIGET-BUDAPEST_Palkó-György

Under the auspices of the Liget Budapest Project, which is bringing multiple museums, and other renovations to the beloved City Park, the House of Music is the first of the cultural institutions to open. The project is already generating international buzz, with Culture Trip naming the Hungarian House of Music one of the ‘Greatest Travel Experiences’ to anticipate in 2022.

Have a look at the promotional video, which features shots of the structure and architect Sou Fugimoto discussing the project, giving an international take on the distinctly Hungarian project.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

The Theatrical Appeal of Ignác Semmelweis, Renegade Scientist

The story of Hungarian doctor Ignác (or Ignáz) Semmelweis is one that has been long overdue in the telling. A tragic visionary, the doctor’s name has been in the news in these past few years, as he was the first scientist to suggest invisible bacteria and viruses are responsible for deaths during surgery, and doctors should sanitise their skin before performing operations. Basically, every time you sanitise your hands, you can thank Semmelweis for his insights into how dangerous germs are spread.

Writer/actor Mark Rylance, winner of the 2015 Best Actor Award for his role in Bridge of Spies, decided to get his hands dirty and open up the subject of the doctor’s life at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre, in Bristol England. His musical play—written with Stephen Brown—now running, has been an enormous success. An article by Hungarian news-site Telex reports that his work about Semmelweis—simply entitled Dr. Semmelweis—is currently enjoying a sold out four-week run, with Rylance also in the lead role.

The writers gave themselves a lot to work with, in terms of drama and tragedy. Like many reformers and great thinkers, Semmelweis was far enough ahead of his time that nobody took his greatest theories seriously. Refusing to back down in the face of the academy, and suffering from minor undiagnosed ailments, the great doctor found himself a patient in an insane asylum, where he died — from an infection, ironically — at age 47. When Louis Pasteur proved Semmelweis correct, the term ‘Semmelweis Reflex’, which Wikipedia defines as “a metaphor for a certain type of human behavior characterized by reflex-like rejection of new knowledge because it contradicts entrenched norms, beliefs or paradigms,” was coined. Of course, now it is a given that doctors wash their hands and sterilize equipment. But those notions were soundly rejected on the basis that the infecting agent was not visible to the human eye.

Rylance told Telex of how he discovered Semmelwies’s gripping story: It all started when I came across a book about the life of Semmelweis by Céline (French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline). It's a very, very angry book, that painted Semmelweis as a kind of martyr, done in by the medical world he failed to persuade. And then when we started to work on the play, Stephen (Stephen Brown, co-writer of Dr Semmelweis) brought in a book written by an American surgeon called Sherwin B. Nuland, and this was a much more objective historical account. That was where we realised that it wasn't just the authorities who were the problem, but that Semmelweis himself would get very angry and offensive when people didn't understand what he was saying. So these two books were our starting point.

In the extensive interview, he reports that despite the pandemic-influenced short run of the play, there is interest in mounting it for a longer run in London, and, not surprisingly, at the National Theatre in Budapest. How refreshing it would be to see the life of a darkhorse national hero come to life through the eyes of a an Englishman, who rolled up his sleeves and no doubt, washed his hands, before getting to work on what looks to be a dramatic and entertaining telling of Semmelweis’s life.

Semmelweis via Wikipedia Commons

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Retro Nostalgia: Hungarian Film Csinibaba Turns Twenty-five

Twenty-five years ago, a small film was released in Hungary that was unlike much that came before it, and is still celebrated as a cornerstone of local film history. Csinibaba, which was shown elsewhere with the awkward translation of Dollybirds, was an instant classic, and while it never got a fair shot at an international audience, is much beloved by devoted Hungarian and non-Hungarian audiences.

A musical that showcases the kitschy side of 1962 Socialist Budapest, Csinibaba tells the story of a down-and-out band trying to make it to the West by winning a showcase. But really the story is secondary to the hilarious set-pieces that take advantage of Budapest’s very particular Socialist style, in its ‘presszo’ cafes, dance halls, and public spaces. It is a film that precociously utilises a nostalgia for a recent era, when bananas were a delicacy and Western styles were trendy and subversive.

Directed by Péter Timár and written by Gyula Márton, the film was a critical and commercial success locally upon release. Shot with the camera running at half speed, the actors had to slow down their action, which gave them their particular marionette-like movements on screen. It’s hard to parse whether the unique tone to Csinibaba is satire, parody, or in line with more traditional 1960s musicals. One critic put it like this, “Csinibaba is a musical film, a parody of the ‘still popular’ musical films of the sixties, but also a satire of the nineties dating back to the sixties”. That may sound complicated, but the film is anything but. In short: it’s a simple delight.

You don’t need to speak Hungarian to appreciate the humor and style of Csinibaba, now happily 25 years old. Just have a look at the clip, and it will all make sense.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Bambi and the Unlikely Hungarian Origins of a Film Classic

‘Children’s literature’ is not one of the first phrases that comes to mind when thinking of Hungary’s cultural impact on the world. But one of the last century’s most enduring films, was based on a children’s book written by a Hungarian. Everybody knows the story of Bambi. Few in the Western world grew up without having seen the Walt Disney animated feature film at one point in their childhood. Bambi is one of the highest grossing animated film in history, and a cultural touchstone. Few know, however, that the source material, the book Bambi, Bambi: the Story of a Life in the Forest, was written by a man named Felix Salten, born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Salzmann’s parents moved to Vienna, which precipitated the name change, when the writer was quite young. Salten showed early talent for writing, and was part of the Young Vienna movement, publishing his first collection of short stories in 1901. Sometime later, in 1923, he would write Bambi, originally intended as a parable of the dangers Jews faced throughout Europe. Indeed, Hitler would have the book banned in 1936. That was three years after the film rights were sold, first to American film director Sidney Franklin, then on to Walt Disney, who would release the film at the height of World War Two.

That wasn’t the end of Salten’s relationship with Hollywood. His stories were also source material for he films Perri (1957) and The Shaggy Dog (1959). His sequel to Bambi, Bambi’s Children: The Story of a Forrest Family, has yet to be adapted to film, though last year a ‘photorealistic computer-animated remake’ of the original Bambi was announced to be in the works.

Bambi — in both print and film form — continues to be a cultural touchstone around the world, with its universal themes of loss and perseverance. In times of intolerance, and divide, the timeless parable continues to be as relevant as is was when it was written so long ago.

Felix Salten via Wikipedia Commons

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Budapest 1916: Memories in Colour

We may think of our phone cameras and readily available media as a symptom of the modern era, but people from a century ago were also interested in recording the sundry happenings of the day. We are lucky in that there are a number of old tourist films of Budapest, showing life in the city, and letting the 21st century viewer see what’s changed, and what hasn’t.

Below, we have an old film of Budapest (from the Hungarian National Film Archive) with an added treat: it’s colorized. The 1916 clip, which has been making its way around social media as of late, features shots of the grand Parliament, Fisherman’s Bastian, and a wonderfully chaotic Oktogon junction, where trams seem to be running off the tracks, and there’s not a traffic light to be seen.

The biggest surprise here is actually to discover how little the cityscape has changed. Much of the 100-plus year old scenery is now as it was then. Though World Wars One and Two decimated parts of the city, it’s hard to tell from this footage. The first bridge you see: Margit Bridge, would be destroyed twice, and rebuilt, at least once with material recovered from the bottom of the Danube. The second bridge: the Chain Bridge, would also be destroyed in WWII, but rebuilt soon-thereafter.

The video gives a whole new — or old — slant to film production in Budapest. So enjoy this little TikTok from the days of yore, which confirms the adage: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Filmed in Hungary: Escape Room, Tournament of Champions

Though some credit the phenomena of the ‘escape room,’ (where a group needs to solve clues to escape an enclosed space) with Hungarian origin, the first concept of the escape room surfaced in the US, to be followed soon thereafter by more sophisticated rooms in Japan. It is true, however, that Hungary was an early adapter, and brought the escape room to Europe. Budapest even hosted the Escape Room World Championship in 2017 due to the popularity and variety of the escape rooms in the country. These days, Budapest seems to have an escape room on each block.

It’s no surprise that the concept spawned a horror film franchise, and — with the amount of film production in Budapest — also no surprise that at least a portion of one of the Escape Room movies was filmed in Hungary. The first Escape Room was filmed in South Africa, and was a hit for Columbia Pictures. The sequel, however, was in part filmed at the sound stages of Origo Studios, just outside of Budapest, the place where films such as Dune, Gemini Man, and Mars also were filmed. Taking advantage of Origo’s 10 stages (8 soundstages, 2 VFX/multimedia stages) and state-of-the-art equipment, the 15 million dollar Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, went on to gross over 50 million dollars worldwide.

But don’t expect to see any of Budapest in the film. New York subways, an ornate hotel lobby, and even a beach, were recreated by expert crews and technicians. Time will tell if a third instalment will be shot, and if Buapest will play an expanded role in the production. Until then, there is no shortage of escape rooms to keep us occupied. Maybe we can find a clue in the theatrical trailer to Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, below.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Hungarian Chill: the Secret of Hungarian Ice Wine

Photo by Dominic Rivard via Wikipedia Commons

Few who visit Budapest and Hungary to take advantage of favourable film service production environment leave without sampling a few hard-to-find Hungarian wines. In fact, most Hungarian wines are hard to find, because the majority are produced by small and mid-sized wineries, owned by families rather than corporations.

Perhaps one of the rarest of local tipples is Hungarian ice wine. While Tokaj is famous for its dessert wines, they are at least backed by a long tradition and a world-wide reputation. But in this climate of global warming, it’s ice wine that is more difficult to find.

Just what is ice wine? As its name implies, the beverage is made from grapes that have been pressed while still frozen. Recent years have been particularly lean for the variety, as the grape should be harvested at colder than - 8 degrees Celsius, a temperature Hungary is hitting less and less frequently when the grape is at its best: late November and early December. Countries like Canada and Germany have better climates, and lead the field in ice wine production. It should be noted that the Riesling grape is typically used in Hungary for ice wines, which are known for their clean, sweet flavour.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t excellent ice wine in Hungary. Experts point to the Hajós-Baja wine region as well as the Villány region as sources of outstanding Hungarian ice wine, as well as the traditional areas for Hungarian white wine: Tokaj and north of Lake Balaton.

While this complex dessert wine is hardly Hungaricum, it does fit well on the shelf with classic Tokaj Aszú sweet wines, and particularly welcome when you want something a bit less toothsome. So, here’s to celebrating these winter months, where we make the best with what we’ve got. In this case, excellent grapes and skilled wine makers.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Future Speak: Blade Runner in Hungary, Hungarian in Blade Runner

One of the pre-pandemic’s huge film production successes to be shot in Hungary was the sequel to Blade Runner: Blade Runner 2049. The Ryan Gosling starring film, which utilized local sound stages and locations, took in close to 260 million dollars, and though that figure was disappointing to some, was still strong enough to generate development interest a third instalment. But that’s getting ahead, when what we really want to focus on is the past, and the Blade Runner / Hungarian connection at its origins.

Sharp and astute viewers noticed in the original Blade Runner that when Harrison Ford’s character Rick Deckard is interrupted while eating noodles, the officer who accosts him does so in Hungarian. Strangely, the Chinese noodle chef also understands Hungarian and translates for Deckard that he should follow the detective, as he is under arrest. Edward James Olmos, playing the cop Gaff, throws in a Hungarian curse for good measure, which we won’t repeat here.

It all seems pretty random, until Omlos returns in Blade Runner 2049 to deliver more Hungarian, though this is less out of the blue, as his character lives in Budapest. Allegedly, Hungarian was chosen for the original Blade Runner scene because the film-makers wanted the language to sound futuristic, and secondarily, actor Edward James Omlos has Hungarian roots via Mexico.

Will Blade Runner Three feature more Hungarian? Only time will tell. Until then, enjoy this blast from the past, with Omlos’s shaky but clear command of classic yet futuristic Hungarian language.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

"Gentle" to be First Hungarian Film at Sundance Film Festival

It was announced last week that the feature film Szelíd, or ‘Gentle’, will be screened in competition at the ever-prestigious Sundance Film Festival. This will be the first Hungarian feature length film to be entered in the competition. Gentle was directed by Csuja László — who had a success with his previous film Blossom Valley at Karlovy Vary as well as on Netflix — and Anna Nemes, a doctoral student in painting at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. The film will be screened as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

NFI, the Hungarian National Film Institute, offered the following as a synopsis:

“Edina is a female bodybuilder who lives with her coach, Adam. To win the World Cup, Edina has to make a serious sacrifice. Meanwhile, he comes into a special relationship with a mysterious man. The encounter changes everything the woman believed in until then.

The protagonist of the "body melodrama" is played by bodybuilder Eszter Csonka, a world champion and multiple Hungarian champion. The director’s goal, along with presenting a special life situation, is to get the viewer into the protagonist’s emotions through bodily experience.

The Sundance Film Festival will take place at the end of January, from the 20th to the 30th, both live in Park City Utah, and online. Founded by Robert Redford, it is considered to be the most influential film festival in the US, particularly for independent films. On a side note, Redford is no stranger to film production in Hungary, having starred in Spy Game, which was shot in Budapest back in 2000.

Have a look at the toned but gentle teaser for the film below:

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Getting Around Budapest In High Style: Budapest's Zugliget Chairlift

via the bkv site

One of the truly great things for locals and long-term residents of the city of Budapest, is the feeling that there is always something novel, undiscovered, and new about the place, be it a just-opened ‘ruin pub’ created from a decrepit building, an unofficial apartment restaurant, or unfamiliar arcade packed with cute design shops. The new and the old blend together in a way that allows one to be a tourist in one’s own city.

To boot: did you know you can take a chairlift within city limits? The Zugliget chairlift is just one of the things that is surprising yet well-worn in this fine city. The Zugliget chairlift, which takes one deep into Buda’s János Hill, has been in operation for over fifty years. It was actually in the works for many years previous, since the early 1930s. The execution of the scheme took time, however, because construction was put on hold by more than one war. But in 1969 ground was broke, and a year and a half later — with help from some Austrian technology — the cable-based form of transport was delivering passengers up into Budapest’s wilderness.

via the bkv site

Among the (hilarious) names that were rejected after public tender were (in translation) Hilly-copter, Johnny-copter, Push-Pull, Duo János, János Hill Murr, Hilly Humblebee, Heavenly Cart, Armchair lift, Devil’s Chariot, Fly-seat, and Bumpy hump. The nickname ‘Libegő”, or ‘lift’, is the one that stuck, though Zugliget is the official name.

The line features 101 double seated hanging chairs, and the ride takes a total of fifteen minutes. The line is routinely renovated, with new parts replaced, including a new cable every ten years. The peak of János Hill is the highest spot in Budapest, making it a popular spot for hikers and skiers. With its lookout tower, the panorama is unparalleled.

The charlift is open year-round, and there are special lit night rides as well. So go ahead, take a seat and ride high. Budapest has never looked so good.

Erzsébet Lookout Tower via bkv site

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Squid Game's Gong Yoo Perks up KANU Signature Ad

Before he became recognisable to audiences worldwide in the juggernaut Netflix series Squid Game, Korean actor Gong Yoo was featured in the campaign of coffee brand KANU Signature, shot in Budapest with Flatpack Films serving as service producer. Shot at the 1871-built Hungarian University of Fine Arts, the setting is very lush indeed, reflecting the premium coffee brand.

Gong Yoo is a popular television and film star in his native Korea. His international breakout role in Squid Game is small but pivotal: the Salesman whose job it is to present offers (and slaps) to potential contestants on the lethal competition. Handsome, slick, while exuding warmth, he puts a human face on the deadly proposition. Yoo’s task representing KANU Signature premium coffee is more straightforward, elegantly embodying the coffee’s profile.

Directed by Kwang Goeng Yu, with Riego Van Wersch serving as Director of Photography, the spot is enjoying an extended life on Youtube, where it has amassed over 4 million views. Speaking of which, you can also enjoy the KANU Signature coffee ad below, after some behind-the-scenes snaps from the shoot.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Location Spotter: Ferenc Liszt Music Academy

You may know him by the more commonly used name Franz Liszt, but he was born Liszt Ferenc in Rajka, Hungary. Composer Liszt Ferenc is a celebrated figure in Budapest, having played a significant role in forming the city’s cultural identity. In central Pest one can find Liszt Ferenc Square, a row of well-touristed restaurants and cafes that border a quiet park. On a prominent corner of the square, you can also find the world-renown Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, or, the Franz Liszt Music Academy.

Founded in 1875, the location serves as both a conservatory and concert hall. Often overlooked in favor of the flashier Hungarian State Opera House, the smaller music academy has plenty to offer those looking for a visually stunning example of classical Central Europe. Keeping with the Hapsburg-era style, the exterior is one of the most striking examples of Art Nouveau in central Pest. The interiors are intricate and warm, decorated with frescoes and Zsolnay ceramics. Done in gilt and green, with statues of Béla Bartók and Frédéric Chopin, the main reception hall has a feeling of Moorish or Ottoman luxury. The building is home to two music halls, one large and one small, and throughout the daylight hours you can hear the music of the conservatory students and concert rehearsals trickle through the windows, making the building of the most charming spots in the city.

Some interesting facts about the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy:

Due to a governmental exchange program with Japan, a number of Japanese musicians study at Liszt Ferenc.

It used to have stained glass windows by famed designer Miksa Róth, though these were destroyed.

Famous alumni include: Béla Bartók, Sir Gerog Solti, Zoltán Kodály, and Georges Cziffra.

The original Liszt Ferenc Academy wasn’t in the grand building, but in Liszt Ferenc’s own apartment. All in all, it’s a rare gem of a building, and cornerstone of Budapest cultural life.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Hungarians in Hollywood: Miklós and Mariska Hargitay

Hargity Family vis Wikipedia Commons

Mariska Hargitay had an auspicious debut in Hollywood, where minions of fans remember her as Donna from the horror/comedy film Ghoulies. Not quite Gremlins, and not quite Goonies, Ghoulies was still a hit, launching the career of Hargitay, who would, over time, become one of Hollywood’s highest paid TV actors.

But, more relevant to this blog, is Hargitay’s lineage. She is the daughter of iconic sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay. It’s body-building Hargitay who gave his daughter her Hungarian genes. He was born Miklós Hargitay in Budapest back in 1926. He moved to the United States in 1947, and won the title of Mr. Universe in 1955 (Hargitay was also an accomplished speed skater, and underground fighter durning WWII). He met Jayne Mansfield in 1956. The two married, resulting in three children, Mariska being the baby of the family. Mickey Hargitay was most famous for playing — not surprisingly — Hercules, in The Loves of Hercules. Hargitay would posthumously be portrayed by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1980’s made for TV film, The Jayne Mansfield Story.

Mariska had big shoes to fill. After limited success on the beauty pageant circuit, she turned her attention to acting. With inevitable comparisons to her mother, it was a slow start, with small parts in television dramas, including Falcon Crest and Baywatch. It wasn’t until 1999’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit debuted, with Hargitay in a lead role, that she came into her own. Thus far, the police procedural has shot 23 seasons, and shows no sign of slowing. Indeed, it is the longest running live action series in the history of English-language television. Mariska Hargitay was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006.

While Mickey Hargitay died in the same year, his daughter continues in her Law and Order role, and has taken an active role in philanthropy. The younger Hargitay was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013, next the star that bears the name of her mother.

Mariska Hargitay via Joella Marano / Wikipedia Commons

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Filmed in Hungary: Jack Ryan

via Budapestreporter.com

Squid Game isn’t the only popular series with a Hungarian connection (details here!). There’s Homeland, which shot several episodes in Budapest, Russian Doll, Witcher, and the forthcoming John Wick spinoff. But it’s the very popular Amazon series Jack Ryan that we look at today.

Jack Ryan — the character — was made famous by late thriller writer Tom Clancy. CIA agent Ryan will no doubt go down as one of literature’s most durable and popular heroes. The series, which has thus far spanned sixteen years, comprises over thirty books, including the blockbuster Hunt for Red October. Ryan’s world of espionage, spies, terrorists, politics, and war have been the mainstay of testosterone-privileged readers since the mid Eighties.

The series draws from the volumes of material Clancy left behind after his death in 2013. Season 3 of Jack Ryan, some of which was shot in Hungary’s Astra Studios, sees actor John Krasinski reprise his role as CIA agent Ryan. Scenes were also shot on location, notably on Budapest’s gorgeous Margit Island, capturing the austere, verdant island in the summer months. Of the locations, co-show-runner Carlton Cuse told locationmanagers.org: “The varied worldwide locations of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan were critical to the storytelling. A great location manager is an essential translator of story into image. We were blessed to have five of them on this project. They worked across the globe to deliver the incredible looks necessary to give the show the critical sense of authenticity. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is as far from a backlot show as possible. It’s a story about Jack Ryan getting out from behind a desk into the world. So we absolutely had to have our actors do the same thing.”

While there is no release date set for Season Three, which will be shown exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, fans and journalists are speculating it will be aired next summer. Super fans, of which there are a lot, will also be pleased to know that Season Four has also been given the green light.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.

Location Spotter: Urania National Filmhouse

Photo via Wikipedia Commons: Thaler - A feltöltő saját munkája,

The history of Hungarian film is almost as old as film itself. Since Adolf Zukor Michael Curtis, and William Fox left Hungary to help build studios and make classic movies in California, the country has remained a fertile ground for innovators and trail-blazers on the international film scene. It is only fitting that one of the grandest, most elegant movie theaters on the planet is situated in the heart of Budapest. The Urania stands as a functioning monument to the great artistic achievements of film and a tribute to audiences who still like to enjoy cinema in a proper movie theater.

The structure housing the Urania was constructed in the 1880s. Its original purpose was actually not film related: nickelodeons had yet to even debut at that point in history. The Urania was what is known as an ‘Orpheum’, which is a kind of cabaret/dance hall. Right before the turn of the century, it was refitted to be a movie theater, in order to first host a Hungarian Scientific Society’s presentation, and then later to accommodate the rush of interest in this new crowd-pleasing medium.

Photo via the Urania National Filmhouse site

The architect, Henrik Schmal – who also contributed designs to a few of Andrássy Avenue’s more regal buildings – incorporated both Moorish and Venetian Gothic styles into his design for the Uriania. You can see how ideal the setting would be for any interior that is intended to invoke old-world European charm. Indeed, one of Hungary’s first locally made films was shot there so long ago.

Photo via Urania National Filmhouse site

The building fell into disrepair in the later part of the 20th century, but was totally renovated in 2005. By renovation, we don’t mean a tacky updating of the interior. No, the Urania was lovingly restored, with all the original fixtures kept intact. It would be impossible to craft such an ornate and opulent cinema today. As a landmark, it serves both as a tourist attraction as well as a venue for popular and art-house Hungarian film. Like the best monuments, it is in use and appreciated by the inhabitants of this city, which has contributed so much to the history of film.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.