I Love Budapest - Hurray, a Hungarian DVD!! (1 Viewer)

[Steve O]

Being a lover of foreign films and also a Hungarian-American, I was very excited to see this film being released on DVD. It received pretty good reviews from several sources, so I was quick to order it. :star:
Unfortunately, it wouldn't play in three different DVD players (from three different manufacturers). All three players gave me a "failed to read disc" error. One got to the menu (with lots of pixelation) before giving the same error. It is indeed a Region 1 DVD, so it shouldn't be a compatibility issue.
Has anyone else purchased I Love Budapest on DVD? If so, have you experienced any of the same problems? Amazon.com is sending me a replacement DVD. I'm hoping it's just a bad disc and not a problem with the DVD authoring.
What do you think are my chances that the second disc is going to have the same problems?
:frowning:

 

[Steve O]

FYI - The replacement disc is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday (1-7-03). I'll let you know if it works, ... and if so, I'll post a review!

If any of you foreign film lovers out there have seen this one, let me know how you liked it. Hungarian films are hard to come by!

 

[Aurel Savin]

Szia Steve ...
Where do I find more info about this disc? Is this a movie or a documentary about Budapest?
Sose lehet tudni hogy kicsoda jarkal az HTF-en?

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Aurel,
Sounds like a soft-core porno film to me:
http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium....c?OpenDocument
"more naked Hungarian chicks than any other film I've ever seen"

 

[Aurel Savin]

"more naked Hungarian chicks than any other film I've ever seen"

This is not surprising ... Hungary is the biggest exporter of porn in the last few years ... no joke!

Actually the movie sounds interesting. SOmething that is pretty timely for what is going on there.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Steve O]

Ok, I finally received a watchable DVD of this film from Amazon.com. There's still some pixelation in a few parts, but I'm able to watch the movie all the way through now (except for the fact that you see the same scene pop up every few minutes - then it goes back to the movie).
Just some thoughts, ...
1. One of the absolute worst jobs at DVD authoring that I've ever seen. Although it could be shoddy manufacturing, similar problems appeared on both discs. I own over 150 DVDs (about 30 of them foreign films) and I've never had such recurrent problems. :frowning:
2. A very poor movie. It wasn't much of a story, the dialogue was poorly written, and the film didn't make much sense. I'd like the hour and a half of my life back, please.
As for the statement that it was "soft porn," it definitely wasn't. In the States it would be R-rated (for nudity and one sex scene), but it wasn't even close to porn. Just a bad film.
Does anyone know of any good Hungarian (OSL) films?
I've been looking a long time, and there seem to be very few of them. A couple have some Hungarian (like Memphisto), but are predominantly German. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hendrik]

"...Does anyone know of any good Hungarian (OSL) films?..."
...have you tried looking here...?...
. . . . . .

 

[Aurel Savin]

Steve ..

Great ... nice to know the movie will be s**t, especially since it is on the way already to me from Digital Eyes.

Anyway, will give it a chance as I have not seen a Hungarian movie on DVD ... ever.

There is a Hungarian Movie distributor in LA that I used to get a catalog from once in a while. Will try to remember what the name of the place is and post it

 

[Steve O]

Hendrik and Aurel --

Thanks for your help! Since I don't have a region-free player (ok, ... I probably should get one), I'm especially looking for Region 1 or Region 0 (not encoded) DVDs. Also, I'm very interested in films in which Hungarian is the original spoken language - rather than just having a Hungarian language track.

There seems to be a great shortage of filmmakers and films out of Hungary. I would love to see a good example of Hungarian life and culture.

In any case, thanks again. I'm excited about the catalog that you referenced (Aurel) and any recommendations that you may have.

- Steve

 

[Aurel Savin]

So I recevied the film from Digital Eyes and have not experienced any of the problems you mentioned Steve.

No pixelation or errors.

The transfer is God awful and looks like VHS. I know that it could have been better as the trailer on the DVD is much better quality, so I know it is not the source material.

The movie ... well the story was not that bad, but it is more a TV movie rather than a feature and the ending was ludicrous. I cannot believe that this is the best we can get from Hungary on DVD. The subtitles cannot be turned off which was ridiculous but the translation was pretty accurate.

I was expecting some great shots of Budapest, since the city was in the title, but this is not the case. There are no shots in there that you could say .. that is Budapest in all its glory.

Throughout the movie I felt the mood was very much like KILLING ZOE, with the cinematography , the techno soundtrack and the underworld story. Very much reminded me of it, but make no mistake KILLING ZOE was a far superior film. This looks like a student film, surprisingly made by an older woman.

Not sure I can recommend this, but I had a good time watching it nevertheless. Only if you are into obscure foreign films.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Budapest in all its glory

And the beautiful blue Danube too.

 

[Karl F]

Thanks for your help! Since I don't have a region-free player (ok, ... I probably should get one), I'm especially looking for Region 1 or Region 0 (not encoded) DVDs. Also, I'm very interested in films in which Hungarian is the original spoken language - rather than just having a Hungarian language track.

I haven't seen it, but The Red and the White (Csillagosok, katonák) is supposed to be quite good. It's about Hungarians in Russia during the Bolsheviek coup. Kino has a DVD version out and Amazon.com carries it. (I've got a VHS copy here in the store, but I haven't gotten to it yet.)
--K

 

[Pascal A]

The Red and the White is a brilliantly executed and visually breathtaking film, but be aware there's not a lot of dialogue, action, or conventional plot to the film. Miklos Jancso is known primarily for his long sweeping pans and very fluid tracking shots. The film is essentially a series of advances and retreats by both sides along the borderless countryside, with the respective "sides" remaining anonymous to reflect the senselessness of war. Jancso was a big influence on another great Hungarian filmmaker, Bela Tarr, and his influence can be seen in Tarr's long, seamless tracking shots as well (especially his later films like Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies).

 

[Aurel Savin]

Thanks gentlemen, I have to check out THE RED AND THE WHITE
Here is as promised some links to Hungarian movie distributors in the US. But they mostly have VHS movies:
http://www.hungarian-imports.comhttp://www.hungarian-imports.com
http://www.net.hu/evd/
http://www.blue-danube.com/d.cgi?video
I heard great things about SOSE HALUNK MEG (We Never Die) a comedy from 1992 that has become a classic in Hungarian Cinema. Anybody seen it?

 

[Aurel Savin]

double post

 

[Zoltan]

Sose halunk meg - It is now available on DVD. It is a Region 2 disc so you have to have a region-free player.
Anamorphic widescreen, DD 2.0 (Hungarian), subtitles in English.
The movie itself is good. Róbert Koltay plays very well. The story is nostalgic, bitter-sweet.
Link to on-line shop