Béla Lugosi, Hungary's 'Ageless' Dracula Turns 140

image via Wikipedia Commons

Halloween and All Souls Night are both coming up fast, and with that in mind, we want to remind you that not only was the film and book of Dracula based in Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, but the actor who originated the role of Dracula, Béla Lugosi, was also Hungarian. And, as it happens, the allegedly late actor recently turned 140 years old. Still a household name, Lugosi is far and away the best-remembered Dracula, the benchmark for all vampires to come. In his honour, we’ve collected some lesser-known bits of Dracula trivia.

1) The first film based on Bram Stoker’s book, The Death of Dracula, was made in Budapest. It’s true. Even film buffs typically credit Nosferatu as being the first adaptation, but in 1921, The Death of Dracula was released, starring a mostly Hungarian cast, and directed Károly Lajhay and co-written by Michael Curtiz, of Casablanca fame. This is considered to be a ‘lost film,’ with no reels known to be in existence.

2) Vlad the Impaler, the Wallachian ruler who was the influence for Dracula, spent many years under house arrest in Budapest, when he was considered to be a liability to the Hungarian monarchy. Don’t feel too bad for him, as the house was the Buda Castle, where his jailor, King Mattias Corvinus, resided.

3) 1978 saw the release of the B horror film Zoltan, Hound of Dracula. Zoltan, for those who don’t know, is a traditional Hungarian name, allegedly left over from Ottoman times. The film starred Michael Pataki – the actor’s last name also speaks of Hungarian ancestry.

Image via Wikipedia Commons

4) Bram Stoker never visited Transylvania, but rather relied on library books, travelogues, and lectures to recreate the mystical area, which seems fitting, because Vlad the Impaler was not originally from Transylvania either. Wallachia gets the distinction of being the birth place of this sadistic stick in the mud.

5) Béla Lugosi couldn’t speak English when he was cast in the Hollywood version of Dracula. He wasn’t even the first choice for the part; that would have been Lon Cheney, who couldn’t take the role due other obligations (like his funeral, he died shortly before the filming commenced). Lugosi had to learn his lines phonetically, not knowing what the words meant, which is just as well, because audiences mostly remembered his accent anyway.

We hope you were enlightened by this little lesson on the original blood-sucker. Much of the information comes from the book Just A Bite: A Transylvania Expert’s Short History of the Undead.

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.

Empress of Austria 'Sisi', Makes A Cinematic Comeback

VICKY KRIEPS IN CORSAGE FELIX VRATNY/Film AG

If the 19th Century had a figure that was beguiling and curiosity-inspiring as Princess Diana, it would have to be Elisabeth, Empress of Austria. An iconoclast who shunned the spotlight, she found a way into the public’s heart with her distinct personality and idiosyncratic habits. Moreover, she was and remains very popular in Hungary, a place she considered a second home.

Elisabeth, known by her nickname ‘Sisi,’ cut such an individualistic path, it’s hard to know where to start. A proto-hipster, she had a tattoo and dabbled in cocaine use. She drank wine with breakfast and worked out on the rings multiple times a day. She refused to let herself be photographed after age 30, and spent much of her time outside her native Austria.

One of the places she adopted as home away from home is Hungary, primarily staying at her country retreat, now known as the Gödölló Palace, just outside of Budapest. Here, Sisi distinguished herself by actually learning Hungarian, and sticking up for Hungary’s interest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

125 years later, her story is told through the Netflix series The Empress. Staring Devrim Langnau as Sisi, the series was released in late September to strong reviews. IMDB summarises the 6-part series with the logline: Two young people meet. A fateful encounter - the proverbial love at first sight. He is Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, she is Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, Princess of Bavaria and the sister of the woman Franz is to marry.

It’s worth pointing out that The Empress isn’t the only Sissi project around. This year also saw the feature film The Corsage debut at the Cannes Film Festival. By writer/director Marie Kreutzer, IMDB describes it like this: A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.

“Her image is one you can reimagine and reinterpret and fill with your own imagination, because we have a lot of stories about her, but you don’t know if they’re true,” Kreutzer recently told the New York Times.

True or not, it’s inarguable that Sisi is making a comeback in the public imagination. It’s questionable, however, if she ever left. Below find the trailer to Corsage, in German with English subtitles. However, the trained ear will also pick up a little Hungarian. Can you spot it?

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.

Culture Check-In: 2022 Global Chess Festival Kicks Off in Budapest

via the Global Chess Festival official site

Hungary has a long and illustrious history with chess. When world champion Bobby Fischer retreated from the world (and hid from American authorities) he did so in Budapest, home to a vibrant chess culture and players eager to learn. Among them were the Polgar sisters, Judit, Zsófia, and Zsuzsa. Trained by their father, and later coached by Fischer himself, Judit went on to become ranked 8th in the world, and a grandmaster at the game. Zsuzsa became the women’s world champion.

It was Judit who took the initiative to create the Global Chess Festival, an international festival based in Budapest. According to their mission statement: All day entertaining programs await visitors at the Global Chess Festival every year, including professional chess tournaments, simultaneous chess games, art shows, educational conferences and various entertaining programs for all ages. The Global Chess Festival has become a prestigious event in the past ten years - offering a full-day family experience built around the mystical board game.

Though the festival itself takes place in Budapest, events are held world-wide, in the effort to raise the profile of chess internationally and connect players. Indeed, the festival’s motto is ‘Chess Connects Us.’ Last year saw events taking places in as far flung locations as China, Cyprus, India, and Mexico, using chess as an international language.

This year’s program, held in the Hungarian National Gallery, will feature such events as “Women in Chess / Women in Science,” “Lego Robot Programming,” and of course, a tournament.

Below find a recap of last year’s Global Chess Festival, one of the most exciting festival initiatives of late.

Oh, and much of the festival can be seen live, with links on the official festival site, found here. Enjoy.

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.

Blockade Hungary's Nomination for 2022 Oscars

Image via the Hungarian National Film Institute site

It was announced last week that Hungary’s official nomination for the Best International Film category of the 2022 Academy Awards will be the yet-to-be-released political drama Blockade, by director Ádám Tősér and written by Norbert Köbli. The announcement was made on the Hungarian National Film Institute’s website, after the deliberations of the Hungarian Oscar Selection Committee, which included Péter Bergendy, the director who was nominated last year for his film Post Mortem.

The Film Institute offers the following synopsis: “A true story of the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, József Antall, from his freedom fighter days in 1956 to the infamous 1990 taxi blockade that shook the nation.

József Antall, only six months after his induction as Prime Minister of the first democratic government following the 1989 change of the Communist regime, faces the most difficult test of his life.

Taxi drivers protest against the drastic rise in petrol prices by the House of the National Assembly. Quickly disillusioned with democracy, they blockade the city of Budapest, and soon after the whole country. The opposition sides with them and prompt them to start a revolution. The reserved and thoughtful Antall goes head to head with the ever so popular President Árpád Göncz about how they think the situation can be resolved, and their personalities and opinions collide. Both the press and public opinion sympathize with the taxi drivers, and the police force abandons the government, now unpopular due to their disposition.

József Antall, former participant of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, finds himself on the other side of the barricade. Left alone, newly operated, in a hospital ward, he starts remembering his life as a young history teacher turned revolutionary, and the way he met his wife in the process.

Back in the present, Antall has to make a decision what he should do. He manages to use all the resources he possibly can without hurting the values of the systemic change that just happened in the country, and finds a solution.

Blockade is not only the chronicle of the four days of the taxi blockade: it shows the battles and bargains behind the scenes, and the private life of a Prime Minister dealing with crisis, fighting for democracy.”

Tősér’s last film was 2021’s well-received Kittenberger – The Last Hunt, about the famous Hungarian natural historian and biologist Kálmán Kittenberger. Blockade, which will be released in Hungary on October 20, looks to be both political and personal, not to mention riveting, as the below trailer evinces.

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.

Something Old, Something Nyugati: Budapest Train Station now European Film Landmark

via Wikipedia Commons

Budapest’s most central and ornate train station, Nyugati (Western) station may already be familiar to film buffs, as it is one of the most popular locations for foreign productions filming in the city. It can be seen in such diverse offerings as Munich, Lords of Chaos, Spy Game, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The 25th Hour, not to mention countless Hungarian productions, most prominently perhaps István Szabó’s Sunshine.

The landmark was recently honoured with its inclusion on the European Film Academy’s European Heritage list. According to Screendaily.com, “The Treasures is the Academy’s list of places of a symbolic nature for European cinema that it argues need to be maintained and protected. They include London’s Freemason’s Hall, which has appeared in films such as Spectre, Sherlock Holmes and The Death Of Stalin, and The Notting Hill Bookshop, which featured in Richard Curtis’s Notting Hill. Other locations selected include Rome’s Trevi Fountain (La Dolce Vita), Quilter Street in Bethnal Green, London (Secrets and Lies), Scotland’s Lochailort Church (Breaking The Waves), Warsaw’s Inflancka Housing Complex (Dekalogue), Madrid’s Circulo de Bellas Artes (Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother) and Paris’ Café des Deux Moulins (Amelie).”

Nyugati station is part of local culture and our urban landscape, but did you know that it was designed by one of France’s most famous architectural firms? We are talking about Eiffel firm architect August de Serres. That it has not achieved the iconic status of the Eiffel Tower makes it only the more unique in its ability to stand in for a grand railway station in most any large city in Europe. Completed in 1877, the 66,000 square foot space has gone through recent renovations. The current interior of Nyugati station resonates with elegance and utility. The iron and glass design allows for a bright space that still feels moody and romantic: just right for that railway station farewell. May there be many more to come.

For a complete list of locations on the European Heritage list of locations, look here.

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.

RÉV REVIEWS, Marcell Rév Wins Emmy

The good news in the film community this week is that Marcell Rév, a Hungarian cinematographer (who now resides in Los Angeles), won a technical Emmy for the series Euphoria — in the "Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)" category. Rév had already received accolades his work on the series, but it was with the episode entitled "The Theater and its Double” that he brought home the award, having been nominated for the first time last year for his work.

The cinematographer came out ahead in a tough field of competition, beating out his contemporaries from lauded projects like Squid Game and Loki.

Rév is also an accomplished photographer, and recently local news site Telex published a series of his photographs. The stills evince his keen visual talent, in addition to a sensitivity to the human condition. The photos are also key to his process in creating his distinct cinematographic look. According to Telex: “Before he begins work on a project, he always goes to these photos first, and then he creates a separate collection of photos for the specific project. If there’s enough room, he puts the photos on the wall, to see them all as a whole, and then saves these collections created for the specific task. Once the visual essence of the film, the whole concept is ready, he sets out to build the whole film scene by scene.”

Now highly sought after for his skills, Rév has made his home, along with his family, in Los Angeles. While he did return to Hungary not too long ago to work on director Ildikó Enyedi’s most recent film The Story of My Wife, his opportunities primarily lie in Hollywood. With Season 3 of Euphoria on its way in 2023, we have to support that decision, and look forward to more of his visual wonders on the small screen.

For a breakdown on Euphoria’s distinctive look, and the philosophies behind it, have a peek at the video below, which goes into depth about its aesthetic and cinematography.

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 Roots: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

The news flew a bit under the radar locally, but back in 2019 an Academy Award went to an American film-maker of Hungarian extraction. The award was Best Documentary Feature, and the recipient was Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. You don’t have to look too deeply to find the Hungarian connection, as vasarhely transliterates from Hungarian to English as ‘marketplace’ and is likely the shortened form of the town name, Hódmezővásárhely, or, ‘beaver field market place.’ One should get an award for just being able to say it.

Along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, Vasarhelyi directed the daring documentary Free Solo, which profiled rock climber and alpinist Alex Honnold on his historic free solo climb of the El Capitan peak in 2017. Just to make clear what the topic of the film was, the El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park in the state of California is 3,000 feet (914 m) high, and its sheer face is a magnate for climbers, though few dare to go ‘free solo’ which means without the support of a partner or safety ropes.

Of the film Free Solo, Jeannette Catsoulis in The New York Times said, it’s "an engaging study of a perfect match between passion and personality.” Rogerbert.com wrote, “Chin and Vasarhelyi have done such a good job laying out some of El Capitan’s specific challenges for the viewer that they become resonant beats in a mini-story arc. It’s scary and exhilarating stuff.'“

Though Vasarhelyi was not born in Hungary, her father was a Hungarian immigrant. One of her first professional jobs was as an assistant director to Hollywood legend Mike Nichols on the film Closer. From there, she worked with Emmy-Award-winning cinematographer Scott Duncan documenting the Dakar Rally, and stayed with the setting of Senegal to work on such subjects as the elections.

With several more documentaries completed since her Oscar win, including The Rescue and Return to Space, Vasarhelyi is currently finishing a documentary about 64-year-old marathon swimmer, Diana Nyad, and her attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida. As for Free Solo, we’ve included the riveting trailer 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.

"SPY" Reveals Not-So-Secret Side to Budapest

One wants to title this post ‘The Spy Who Kém in from the Cold.’ But that would alienate readers who don’t know that ‘kém’ is the Hungarian word for ‘spy,’ not to mention confusing non-John-le Carre fans. So, we’ll just leave it that we could have, and move on.

While we did a more in-depth post on Melissa McCarthy’s feature comedy, Spy, a while back, we missed this gem of an interview with the director, Paul Feig, and a few words from the star as well. Feig, also known for the films Bridesmaids, the Ghostbusters reboot, and the much-loved but swiftly canceled TV series Freaks and Geeks, found himself enamoured with Budapest after scouting it as a location that would take the place of Paris, Rome, and possibly, Capri. So instead of taking the Spy production all across Europe, as the script demanded, he decided to shoot the entire movie here, relocating the action to Budapest and allowing the city — as it has been known to do — to serve as a stand-in for marquee name cities like, in this case, Paris and Rome.

As he states very clearly in the interview, “Anywhere you point a camera in Budapest, you’ve got an amazing shot.” This is hard to argue with, as more and more large productions arrive in Budapest and Hungary to take advantage of its cost-effectiveness and natural and man-made beauty. Later in the video, Spy star Melissa McCarthy gushes about the catacombs under Budapest’s castle, and the variety of amazing locations.

Have a look at Feig and McCarthy here, delivering a love letter in video form. Seems like they ‘kém’ away pleased.

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.

Filming in Hungary: Rise of the Raven

via Orbital Strangers Project

The competition for viewers on streaming services and television broadcasting has never been greater, but local talents are going big by betting on Rise of the Raven, a small-screen series that recounts the life and heroics of Hungarian warrior János Hunyadi, a name well known inside Hungary, but less so outside Central Europe.

The 15th Century army commander Hunyadi repelled invading Ottoman troops in the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. Budapest Reporter summarises the plot of the 10-hour series as such: “While Hunyadi‘s life is troubled by scandals, political power plays and conspiracies between the noble families of Warsaw, Rome, Belgrade, Vienna and Prague, his strongest allies are women: his wife Erzsébet Szilágyi, who stood by him in his battles, and his first love, Mara Brankovics, who became a leading concubine at the court of Sultan Murad. When the Ottoman Empire mobilizes an army of unprecedented size to march West to conquer the Vatican, and Europe as a whole, Hunyadi – against all odds- wins a decisive victory at the Battle of Nándorfehérvár, putting an end to the Ottoman invasion and transforming the history of Europe.”

Budapest-born Canadian film producer Robert Lantos (Sunshine, Johnny Mnemonic), is one of the prime movers of the project, which is being called “the most epic Central European television production of all time.” Adapted from Bán Mór’s bestselling novels, principle photography is currently underway in Hungary, with experienced Hungarian directors Attila Száz (Tall Tales, Eternal Winter ) and Orsi Nagypal (Open) helming, under guidance of Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Robert Dornhelm (The Children of Theater Street, Maria Theresa, War and Peace).

With 29 million dollars coming from the Hungarian Film Fund, this represents a huge investment for the fund’s entrance into the international television market. “I think it would be nice to achieve a level that people around the world can marvel at what Hungarian filmmakers are capable of,” director Szász told Variety. “We have this amazing historical story…and it would be very nice to let them know about this story in a way that’s unique and equally high quality. That’s what we are aiming for.”

Filming for Rise of the Raven is expected to continue until June of next year.

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.

From the Archives: A Lesson on Heroism, Hungarian Style

With so much political upheaval and unrest around the world, it is easy to forget that Budapest was once in the global spotlight when in a brazen display of bravery Hungarian freedom fighters drove the Soviets from the city in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The fighters, male and female alike, retook the city for just over two weeks until Soviet forces invaded Hungary and occupied Budapest using superior numbers and firepower. Through surviving photos we can see just how perilous the situation on the city streets was. Budapest itself became a hot-spot as soldiers moved from building to building, waging bloody battles for each bit of territory.

Though some of the events of that time have been recalled in different ways by different sources, it is mostly believed the uprising was initiated in the city's Republic Square when Hungarian insurgents tried to take the building of the Soviet-controlled Budapest Committee of the ruling Hungarian Workers’ Party. The soldiers fired on the insurgents, killing many, after which they called in tanks for for re-enforcement. When the tanks arrived, however, it is believed that instead of protecting the ruling party, the Hungarian-manned tanks sided with the insurgents. The insurgents eventually took the building, and a revolution began.

Later, after the soviets occupied Budapest again, the citizenry endured some of the bloodiest fighting the city has ever seen, with over 2,000 Hungarians killed, and countless more detained and tortured. It would be more than thirty years until the Soviets relinquished grip on Hungary, this time peacefully.

These days a memorial to those who died in the fighting stands by the Hungarian Parliament–  in the form of bullet-holes filled in with bronze. For a dramatization of the revolution, have a look at the film Szabadság, Szerelem (Children of Glory) from 2006 in which a team of Hungarian water polo players live through the 1956 Revolution to take on to beat the Soviet water polo team in that year’s Melbourne Olympic Games.

A stroll in almost any direction in downtown Budapest will reveal pock-marks on the edifices of older buildings left by gun-fire, evidence of an embattled past. Over the centuries, Budapest has been occupied my many foreign armies, including Russians, Turks, and Germans. But none came without fierce fighting and resistance. Though many of the bullet marks are today being filled in as downtown apartment houses are renovated, there are still plenty of paces where Budapest’s difficult history is evident. 

Hungarians in History: Sir George Solti

By PDXdj at English Wikipedia, Wiki Commons

We don’t know how many born-Hungarians have been made a knight or dame under the power of the United Kingdom, but we are sure the list is very short. To achieve this distinction any such Hungarian must have become a British citizen, as well as be at the absolute top tier of their field. Not many answer to this description.

These words, however, do describe the late Sir George Solti. A Hungarian by birth, he was an eminent conductor of symphony orchestras in Europe and America. Born in Budapest with the name György Stern, in October of 1912, due to anti-Jewish laws he adopted the name Solti, which derives from the small town of Solt in central Hungary. His upbringing on the Buda side included training under innovative Hungarian genius composer Béla Bartók.

A rising star at the Hungarian State Opera, his trajectory was interrupted by WWII’s Nazi threat. Solti was one of the lucky ones, having the foresight to escape to England, and then Switzerland, where he earned his living as a pianist. After the war, the conductor actually moved to West Germany to head the Bavarian State Opera. It wasn’t until 1961 that he moved to England to direct the Covent Garden Opera company. It was there that his talents as a conductor were fully realized. Finally, in 1972, Solti become a British citizen, and in that same year, a knight, now called ‘Sir’ George Solti.

Sir George Solti photo by Allan Warren, via Wikipedia Commons.

He would go to direct symphonies in Paris and Chicago, and be widely acknowledged as the greatest living conductor, receiving a record 31 Grammy awards as a recording artist. That, for the ‘record,’ is three more than Beyonce. According to wikipedia, “Solti's most celebrated recording was Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen made in Vienna, produced by Culshaw, between 1958 and 1965. It has twice been voted the greatest recording ever made, the first poll being among readers of Gramophone magazine in 1999, and the second of professional music critics in 2011, for the BBC's Music Magazine. It is this recording that is heard in the film Apocalypse Now during the helicopter attack scene”

Solti died in his sleep in 1997, and was laid to rest in a state ceremony in Budapest. He was buried next to his mentor, Béla Bartók.

Here is Solti conduction Brahms Symphony No. 1.

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: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Some say Nicholas Cage is having a moment, and some say that moment is his entire career. Transforming from an angry young man in his first films to a dramatic male lead, to multiple iterations of a comic lead, to what is now a meta-take on simply being Nicholas Cage, he is a versatile actor who somehow maintains a strong element of himself through all his performances.

With so many films in so many genres under his belt, it’s no surprise one of his roles eventually brought him to Budapest. While his latest release, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, on the surface looks like it was strictly shot in Los Angeles and the Croatian seaside, many of the interiors were in fact filmed at Budapest’s Origo Studios.

According to the site TheCinemaholic.com, “Filming took place in Origo Studios, a bustling movie production facility at Felsőkert u. 9 in north Budapest. The state-of-the-art production facility features 10 functional stages (with two multimedia stages) and 14 acres of empty backlot to aid productions of various stature. Epic ventures such as ‘Blade Runner 2049‘ and ‘Dune‘ were also filmed in this studio. “

The film’s plot see’s a fictional (or is it?) version of Cage becoming embroiled in a kidnapping as he attempts to pull himself out of debt by taking a role in the film of an arms dealer / aspiring director; all the while working for the CIA. While the plot sounds convoluted, it intentionally borrows from Cage roles and tropes he’s embodied throughout his career. It it a satire? Is it a comedy, or thriller? It’s a bit of all these, filtered through a wink of Cage’s eye.

Critics by-and-large have enjoyed the Tom Gormican-directed film, which is in theatres now. Aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 86 / 100, which is quite high. The New York Times sums it up: “Cage doesn’t need a reason for you to watch him, least of all good material. He’s Nicolas Cage, master of his own universe, maker of strange poetry, breaker of hearts.”

While we can hardly say Budapest is on prominent display in this oddball summer offering, it shows the location of Budapest to be as mercurial as Cage himself. It can play a supporting actor or lead role to any genre you can throw at us. So, have a look at the trailer below, where you can get an idea — and even catch a momentary glimpse of Budapest — of the offbeat genius of Nick Cage.

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.

A Slice of History: World Champion Fencer Áron Szilágyi

By © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0,

Fencing is a sport filled with elegance, dexterity, power, and lightning quick decision-making. Historically, Hungarians have excelled at the art, which also has a local nostalgic aspect to it. For instance, Sunshine, the award-winning drama directed by István Szabó, was about a famous Hungarian fencing family in 20th Century Hungary.

In the 21st century, fencing remains strong in the country. You need look no farther than the most recent Olympics and World Championships as proof, where Hungarian sabre fencer Áron Szilágyi prevailed to win a gold medal (his third). More recently, he had the honer of winning the title of World Champion.

Born in Budapest in 1990, Szilágyi has a strong pedigree. His coach is György Gerevich, whose father, Aladár Gerevich was a seven-time Olympic champion. His first Olympics was in 2008 in Beijing, where he finished 7th in the individual competition. Szilágyi was the only Hungarian male to qualify for the men’s individual sabre event in the 2012 Olympics in London, and went on to win the gold medal. As if all this athletic prowess weren’t enough, he also holds a degree in psychology from an esteemed Budapest university.

While Szilágyi is Hungarian through and through, he seems to be very internationally minded, naming Alaska as his dream trip in an interview. When it comes to music, he likes classics such as Beethoven. Jerry Maguire is his favorite film, and if you look at him closely, you can see there is a touch of Tom Cruise, or at least Daniel Day Lewis, to his appearance. In the Áron Szilágyi film, he might be the best choice to play himself.

Below is an interview with the swarthy fencer, in Hungarian but with English subtitles.

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: Houdini

“Iron will made him famous. Genius made him legendary.” That’s the tag-line for the mini-series Houdini, which was shown on British and American television some years back. The four-hour film was shot in Budapest, which is fitting, as it is a little-known fact that – though typically identified as American – Harry Houdini was in fact Hungarian. More curious, Adrien Brody, who plays the famous magician, is also at least of partial Hungarian extraction, as his mother is the the Budapest-born photographer Sylvia Plachy.

Houdini himself came into this world in 1874 as Erik Weisz, also born in Budapest. Though he was considered more of a stunt performer, and made his name by performing daring escapes, his craft fell under the umbrella of magic. It was after emigrating to the United States that he was nicknamed ‘Harry’ by friends, who riffed on his Anglicized name He only acquired the name Houdini after falling under the influence of French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. Houdini was initially something of a disappointment as a magician. He tried his hand at card tricks in the sideshows and cheap nickelodeons of New York, but found little success. It was then that he decided to become more novel, and transform himself into an escape artist. His initial feats of escape brought him a small amount of fame on the Vaudville circuit in America, but his really publicity coup came when he was touring Europe, and was challenged to escape from a pair of Scotland Yard handcuffs. He succeeded, and before long, Houdini was being invited to escape from jails and shackles all across Europe. For much of his career, he was one of the highest paid performers in America, eventually supplementing his career with film roles. Houdini died in 1926 of acute appendicitis, aggravated by several blows to the stomach delivered by a skeptical audience member.

Brody was quoted in the LA Times as saying “I wanted to convey the truth of an illusion, an understanding of the man, the complexity of the motivations behind him, the youthful sincerity he possessed and the cynical exhausted state that he subjected himself to. And make the magic tricks work.” About the location of Budapest, the mini-series producer Gerald W. Abrams said in the New York Post: “ (Budapest) has more turn-of-the-century architecture — that’s the 18th century — than almost any city in Western culture. It’s got a lot of patina.”

We’ll call this return a sort of homecoming for the partially Hungarian actor. It may be just a coincidence, if not ‘magic’. Enjoy the trailer, which contains so many magical filming locations in Budapest.

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.

Walken This Way: Christopher Walken Coming to Budapest

Screenshot from music video “Weapon of Choice”

Though the second part to the Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has been in the works for a while, it was only recently that it was announced that much of the shoot would happen in Budapest in the coming months. This should be no surprise, as the director has a strong relationship with the local industry, having made both Blade Runner 2049 and the first instalment of Dune here.

Equally welcome is the news that icon of odd, Christopher Walken, joined the cast and will also be in the city this summer. While filming will no doubt keep him busy, we’ve put together a short, fun ‘bucket list’ of activities to do in his free time, based on previous roles he’s played.

via the Kerepesi Cemetery website

Gabriel, The Prophesy: Having played a dark angel in this 1995 supernatural thriller, we suggest a visit to the place where dark angels hang out: Kerepesi (or Fiumei) Cemetery. With its ornate and imposing crypts and gothic gravestones, Kerepesi Cemetery is one of the most under-appreciated sites in Budapest. Almost 200 years old, it is the resting home to many of Hungary’s most famous artists, revolutionaries, and scientists. Enthusiasts of romance, poetry and art will love the ambience of the cemetery, fit for a dark angel.

via the Auguszt Cukrászda website

In Catch Me If You Can, Walken’s character makes a famous speech about a mouse who churns cream into butter to save its life. We are thankfully short on mice, but there is butter a’plenty in the delicious pastries at Budapest’s famous bakeries and confectioners. The best that is still considered ‘local’ is perhaps Auguszt Cukrászda, at various locations in Budapest. Pictured is a traditional Hungarian Dobos Torta, made with lots of of chocolate butter-cream.

via the New York Cafe website

In Abel Ferrara’s’ King of New York, Walken plays a Robin Hood-like mafia boss. And a café fit for a royalty, particularly a king of New York, would have to be Budapest’s famous New York Café, with its pristine Italian Renaissance-style interiors. Over 100-years old, the café was once home to the cream of literary society, during turn-of-the-century ‘golden era’ of Hungarian café culture.

Normafa, via the Normafa Park website.

Walken’s darkest role was perhaps the nihilistic American prisoner-of-war in the acclaimed 1970’s film The Deer Hunter. We are only hoping his days as a ‘hunter’ are over and he can explore the wooded areas of Budapest’s outskirts unarmed. For instance, there is the picturesque Normafa Park in deep Buda, a favorite place for long solitary walks among the pines covered hills. A place to immerse yourself in natural surroundings, all the while inside the boundaries of a great modern metropolis: Budapest, only made better by the presence of this iconic actor.

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.

Local Colour: Museum of Ethnography Opens in City Park, Budapest

photo by By Berenyi Mariann via Wikipedia Commons

The renovation of the Városliget — or City Park — in Budapest has been a years-long project and fraught with controversy and delays. But, finally, much of the hard work is coming to fruition, with the new Museum of Ethnography, recently opening to visitors.

Like the nearby, newly-constructed House of Music, the Museum of Ethnography is an impressive, if not striking structure, rising from the park like wings or enormous ramps. Along the sides, the pixilated metalwork appears to be done as embroidery, or brail. The ‘roof’ is covered with Hungarian grasslands, and visitors are encouraged to climb the steps around the edges to take in one of the better views of the city from the peak. It’s a building that took some courage to make, as there’s nothing else like it in the city, or the country for that matter.

From the Museum’s website: “The new home of the Museum of Ethnography, realised as part of the Liget Budapest Project, opened its doors to the public on 23 May and welcomes visitors with its spectacular exhibitions. The building, designed by Ferencz Marcel (NAPUR Architect) is the first purpose-built facility with its concept tailored to the needs of an ethnographic museum. Now the City Park houses one of Europe’s most modern museum buildings, located on the site of the former Felvonulási Square, where a collection of unrivalled diversity is displayed on a floor space three times larger than in its previous venue on Kossuth Square. The spectacular building with its design evoking a pair of nearly embracing hillsides is distinguished by its unique facade decoration of almost half a million pixels presenting a contemporary adaptation of twenty Hungarian and twenty international ethnographic motifs, as well as by its more than seven-thousand-square-metre roof garden from the highest point of which a stunning panorama opens up. One of the most prestigious competitions of the international property business, the International Property Awards in London, the Museum of Ethnography was selected in 2018 as the world’s best public architecture based on its architectural design alone, and it was also recognised with the Best Architecture main prize.”

In final summation, the new museum is impressive but not imposing, progressive but not avant garde, and at once experimental and traditional. As a location, it’s simply unique. Just what you’d expect from a city that has it all, but still finds room to improve.

Below have a look at the digital rendering of the interior and exterior of the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography.

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.

Made in Hungary: Katinka, The Movie

via the Katinka, The Movie FB page

With the FINA World Championships currently running (or swimming) in Budapest, it seems an appropriate time to look at Hungarian treasure Katinka Hosszú, one of the most decorated athletes in Hungarian history.

For a landlocked nation, Hungary takes competitive water sports very seriously, with perennially highly-ranked water polo teams, and strong showings in competitive swimming. But few in this great nation of swimmers compare to Katinka Hosszú, who earned titles of three-time Olympic champion and nine-time long-course world champion in recent years. She wasn’t given the nickname “Iron Lady” for nothing.

According to Wikipedia, “Hosszú is the current world record holder in 100-meter individual medley, 200-meter individual medley (long course and short course), 400-meter individual medley (long course) and 200-meter backstroke (short course). She was the first swimmer (male or female) to hold world records in all five individual medley events at the same time. She holds two-thirds of the Hungarian national records. Hosszu was named FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, and won SwimSwam's Swammy Award for Female Swimmer of the Year in 2013.”

That’s a lot of accomplishment. But as if that weren’t enough, Hosszú is also the subject of a major big-screen documentary, entitled simply Katinka, the Movie. While critics have taken the film to task for being hagiographic, they also praise the dedication and worthiness of its subject. The documentary was directed by Norbert Pálinkás, best known for directing the highly regarded Hungarian series Taboos WIthout Taboo.

Via the Katinka, The Movie FB page

While a subtitled version has yet to see international release, an intrepid critic from the local site Budapest Reporter had this to say of Katinka: “Katinka’s early ambitions and her introduction to swimming is shown through archive footage recorded by her family and at her schools, and by the end of the movie, we get to see all of her most important defeats and victories over the years on several sport events. Her incredible performance was already impressive on TV screens, and she does a great job at reflecting on her memories as a beginner. Her marriage and long-running coach-athlete relationship with Shane Tusup is quite bravely explored, even if we only see old footage about their days spent with training.”

All in all, Katinka Hosszú’s career is still at its peak, and she has become a vocal spokesperson for Hungarian swimming, as well as continually elevating her reputation as a national, if not international hero. As for Katinka the Movie, we do have a subtitled trailer, so will leave the final score up to you.

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.

Hungaricum Unleashed! Hungary's Wonder Dog, The Mudi.

Blue Merle Mudi, photo by Taru T Torpström via Wikipedia Commons

Excuse the temporary departure from the world of film, but occasionally we like to fill out these pages with posts that show the uniqueness of the city of Budapest and Hungarian culture in general. Cultural artefacts like Tokaj wine, Zsolnay porcelain, and ground paprika from Szeged that are considered uniquely Hungarian, are known as ‘Hungaricum’. Domestic animals and livestock like the Mangalica pig and many Hungarian herding dogs made the list as well, including today’s topic: The Hungarian Mudi.

The Hungarian dog breed Puli became world famous for it Rasta-like dreadlock coat, and the Hungarian Vizsla has also risen to the top of the litter as a highly collectable purebred, beloved by upscale discerning dog enthusiasts. But lately, the breed that has been getting attention is a small hound called the Mudi (pronounced Moody). This diminutive farm dog - originally a herding animal - is increasingly seen on Hungarian city streets, and with good reason.

Like many things Hungarian, there is some intrigue around the Mudi’s origin. While some claim they are a mix of German Spitz dogs and Hungarian wonder breed Puli, there is no definitive answer to when and where in Hungary the Mudi originated. World War Two almost saw the extinction of the breed, but discerning breeding of the few left ensured their survival in the region and beyond.

Because of their size and intelligence, the Mudi has since been taken off the farm, and given jobs such as search and rescue; and watchdog. Lately they have become a favorite pet, and are seen trotting down across the urban landscapes of Budaepest.

In Hungary, the Hungarian Mudi Association holds herding competitions and other shows to honour the breed. But it’s been a long road for international recognition as a purebred dog: only in this year - 2022 - did the American Kennel Club recognize the breed, thereby increasing interest in the Mudi outside of Hungary. Indeed, the Mudi is becoming popular in Finland, with small populations across Europe in in North America.

It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world sees the value in these shaggy bundles. Until then, the Mudi remains distinctly Hungarian: Hungaricum with a bite.

photo by Lily15 at Hungarian Wikipedia / Wiki 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.

Hu-La-La: French Film Budapest, Filmed in...Budapest!

Most locals in Budapest consider the constant stream of foreign stag parties - who come to the city for a lost weekend - an annoyance at best. But French film-maker Xavier Gens, and writers Manu Payet and Simon Moutairou, took the theme as inspiration. The French film Budapest, released in 2018, follows the adventures of two young French men who drop out of the corporate world to move to Budapest and open a tour company that caters to stag parties.

Wikipedia summarizes the plot as follows: Vincent and Arnaud are two best friends who once studied at the largest French business school. But today, they are very unhappy at their respective workplaces: Vincent works for a multinational corporation where he has no recognition, while Arnaud flounders at a firm run by his wife's father. During their friend's bachelor party, they meet a stripper. The latter tells them about her Hungarian hometown of Budapest, its nightlife, and its countless beautiful women. Lamenting over how their bachelor party should have been held there instead, Arnaud then comes up with the idea of creating a travel agency in partnership with Vincent that would organize getaway trips for French bachelor parties in Budapest: a city filled with oversized nightclubs where alcohol flows freely.

While it’s hard to say that the film goes far beyond pandering to Eastern European stereotypes, it does at least make British stag parties look tame. Along they way, there are some generous shots of Budapest’s great locations, including the Bazilika and Széchenyi thermal baths.

While its sense of humor may be a bit juvenile, the film Budapest does exploit some of the aspects of the city that more serious films pass over: the seedy nightlife, the low-rent tourism of the ‘Party District’ in central Budapest. In this way it’s not much different from films like The Hangover, which are like of like teen comedies for grownups. And to its credit, filmed before the pandemic lockdowns, Budapest may have even captured a kind of contemporary nostalgia.

Available on French Netflix, and on Youtube, Budapest got mixed reviews, but in the end — while not the best cinematic postcard of the city — still reinforces Budapest’s place in the popular imagination: as a location where anything can happen, and you can make your dreams come true. Even if that dream is a weekend of debauchery. The trailer with English language subtitles is watchable 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.

Zsa Zsa Gabor Museum Opens in Budapest

photo via Wikipedia Commons

Despite having lived most of her life in the States, Hungarian actor (though in her day, she was most definitely an actress) and icon Zsa Zsa Gabor, who died in 2016, was laid to rest in her birth city of Budapest, and now has a museum dedicated to her. Opened on the Origo Film Studio as a permanent exhibition, the small museum was dedicated by her last husband, Frederic Prince Von Anhalt. In the museum, you can find memorabilia, including dresses and furniture owned by Gabor. But just who was Zsa Zsa Gabor?

Originally named Sári Gabor, Zsa Zsa was a simple Hungarian girl who became Hollywood royalty. It is fair to say that before there was Paris Hilton, before Angelina Jolie, and other starlets who became obsessions of the American public and media, there was Zsa Zsa.  Born in 1917 in Budapest, which was still part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, it wasn’t until just before World War II that Gabor was able to flee Europe (she would have to, her mother was Jewish).

Before retiring due to health reasons, Zsa Zsa spent over 70 years in the entertainment industry in the USA. Her career stretches far back as the Milton Berle Show, which many consider the first real successful TV comedy show, all the way up to spots on the David Letterman Show. In between there are almost a hundred TV and film credits, from roles on much-loved shows as Bonanza to Mr. Ed, from The Love Boat to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, all the while getting the American ear accustomed to her sultry Hungarian accent.

Gabor’s life was as dramatic as the roles she played. All in all, she was married nine times.  When a reporter asked hew who many husbands she had, she famously said, “You mean other than mine?”  She was first proposed to at the tender age of 15, and indeed took the Turkish diplomat as her first husband. But by 19 she had been crowned Miss Hungary, and it was obvious she was determined to make a career for herself in entertainment. Divorced before the age of 20, Gabor emigrated with her mother the US. Not long after, she met hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, who became her second husband. In 1952 Gabor got her big break in Hollywood, being offered a part in a Fred Astaire movie. The rest, dah-ling, is history.

Though she became an American citizen, Zsa Zsa never fully lost her trademark Hungarian accent, as you can see in the clip 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.