The Grand Budapest Hotel
Funny As Hell
•
1h 39m
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson, which explores tragedy, war, fascism, nostalgia, friendship, and loyalty. Ralph Fiennes leads a seventeen-actor ensemble cast as Monsieur Gustave H., famed concierge of a mountainside resort in the fictional country of Zubrowka. When Gustave is framed for the murder of a wealthy dowager (Tilda Swinton), he and his recently befriended protégé Zero (Tony Revolori) embark on a quest for fortune and a priceless Renaissance painting against the backdrop of encroaching pandemonium. Anderson's American Empirical Pictures produced the film in association with Studio Babelsberg and Indian Paintbrush's Scott Rudin and Steven Rales, and Fox Searchlight Pictures handled its commercial distribution. The Grand Budapest Hotel was financed by Indian Paintbrush and a German government-funded rebate program.
Anderson and longtime collaborator Hugo Guinness conceived The Grand Budapest Hotel as a fragmented tale following a character inspired by a mutual friend. They initially struggled to develop their idea further, but their experience touring Europe and researching the literature of Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig shaped their ambitions for the film. The Grand Budapest Hotel draws visually from Europe-set mid-century Hollywood films and the Library of Congress's photocrom print collection of alpine resorts. Principal photography took place in eastern Germany over a ten-week period from January to March 2013. French composer Alexandre Desplat crafted the symphonic, Russian folk-inspired score, which expanded on his early work with Anderson.
The Grand Budapest Hotel premiered in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on February 6, 2014. The French theatrical release on February 26 preceded the film's global rollout, followed by releases in Germany, North America, and the United Kingdom on March 6–7. It was well received by critics for its craftsmanship, though the film's approach to the subject matter, fragmented storytelling, and characterization drew occasional disapproval. The BBC chose The Grand Budapest Hotel as one of the greatest films of the twenty-first century. The film earned US$172.9 million in box office revenue worldwide, making it Anderson's highest grossing feature to date. It led the 87th Academy Awards season with nine nominations (winning four), and earned several other honors chiefly for writing and technical achievement.
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