Forty years after Queen made history by becoming the first Western rock band to perform behind the Iron Curtain, that landmark concert is coming to the big screen with a little technological assist from Sir Peter Jackson.
Sony Music Vision has announced that Queen Budapest — the band’s July 27, 1986 performance at Budapest’s Népstadion — will open in theaters and IMAX worldwide beginning Oct. 7 via Trafalgar Releasing. The project also marks Sony Music Vision’s first official release with Queen following Sony Music’s new partnership with the band’s catalog.
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Meticulously restored in 4K from the original 35 mm film by Jackson’s Park Road Post Production in New Zealand, the concert film also features newly remixed audio from the original multitrack recordings. Captured during Queen’s Magic tour, the Budapest show drew 80,000 fans inside the stadium, while another estimated 45,000 gathered outside to listen. Fans traveled from as far away as Russia and Poland, and the Hungarian government approved an unprecedented production involving 17 cameras, 25 miles of film and the country’s top cinematographers — a first for a Communist state.
The concert ultimately became an even more significant piece of rock history. Queen would perform just five more shows before ending its touring career with Freddie Mercury, whose final concert with the band came at England’s Knebworth Park on Aug. 9, 1986. As a result, Queen Budapest stands as the last professionally filmed live performance featuring the legendary frontman, who died of AIDS complications in 1991.
The restored film captures Queen at full strength, performing classics including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Under Pressure,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Who Wants To Live Forever,” along with a rendition of the Hungarian folk song “Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt.”
“For years, fans behind the Iron Curtain had been able to listen to Queen music only on illegal cassettes,” guitarist Brian May said. “To see them play in a live show would have been unthinkable. This concert, when they could finally come and see us live in person and interact with us, was a huge emotional moment for them and also for us.”
Drummer Roger Taylor echoed that sentiment, recalling the crowd’s response when Mercury performed the Hungarian folk song. “When the audience just started singing, we realized, wow, music really can be a great cause,” he said. May also praised the restoration work, saying Jackson’s team had delivered “the highest resolution ever” from the original footage. “In IMAX and movie theatres, it’s going to be definitively the most real experience ever of us, Queen, in our glory days,” he said.
Jackson called the project “a rare privilege to breathe new life into such an iconic moment in music history,” adding that a new generation of fans will be able to experience the band’s final filmed live performance.
Queen Budapest will receive its world premiere Sept. 15 at the Budapest Classics Film Marathon before a London premiere on Sept. 30. A companion soundtrack and home-video release — including the concert’s first-ever 3LP vinyl edition — arrives Oct. 30.
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