“Queen Budapest“, the band’s final filmed concert, screens at London’s Roundhouse on 3 October before its cinema release.
“Queen Budapest“, the restored film of the last Queen concert ever committed to film, will be shown twice at London’s Roundhouse on 3 October, four days before it reaches cinemas worldwide. Playback Live is staging the event with Sony Music Vision, and tickets are on sale through the venue.
The Roundhouse dates put the film on a large LED screen with full surround sound and lighting synchronised to the performance, with the audience standing rather than seated. Queen memorabilia from the band’s own archive will be on display during a DJ set beforehand, alongside a merchandise pop-up and photo points, with bars open through the evening.
The restored concert includes “We Will Rock You“, “We Are The Champions“, “A Kind Of Magic“, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love“, “Under Pressure“, “Who Wants To Live Forever“, “Hammer To Fall” and “Bohemian Rhapsody“, along with an acoustic reading of the Hungarian folk song “Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt“.
The concert was filmed at the Népstadion in Budapest on “The Magic Tour“, and was the first stadium show a Western rock act had played behind the Iron Curtain. All 80,000 tickets sold, with fans travelling from as far as Russia and Poland, and an estimated 45,000 more listened from outside the ground.
It was also close to the end. Queen played only five further concerts, and the tour finished at Knebworth Park in England on 9 August 1986, 13 days after Budapest. That show was the last Freddie Mercury performed with the band. He died in 1991.
János Zsombolyai directed the original film.
The 4K digitisation of the original negatives was carried out by Hungary’s National Film Institute at its FilmLab in Budapest, where the elements have been held since 1986. The restoration itself was completed at Sir Peter Jackson‘s Park Road Post Production in New Zealand, working from the 35mm footage, with the audio remixed from the original multitracks.
The restoration premieres at the Budapest Classics Film Marathon on 15 September, part of the National Film Institute of Hungary’s programme of restored and rediscovered cinema. A UK premiere follows in London on 30 September, with the Roundhouse screenings on 3 October and the worldwide cinema and IMAX release through Trafalgar Releasing from 7 October, for a limited run.
Physical editions arrive on 30 October through Legacy Recordings, Sony Music‘s catalogue division. The soundtrack, remixed from the original multitracks by the band’s studio team, comes out alongside Blu-ray, DVD, CD and digital versions, and on vinyl as a triple album for the first time.
The project marks the start of Sony Music‘s official partnership with the Queen catalogue, and is Sony Music Vision‘s first release with the band.
