Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 7, 2020

Budapest Noir is a film that is long on style and mood courtesy of its evocative location (the titular Hungarian city) and era (circa 1936, just as Nazi influence was overtaking things). It is, however, an homage to a genre which may occasionally come off as being a bit too generic itself, though in that regard, some of the film's hoarier aspects seem to be the filmmakers' attempts to recreate a specific ambience. That's evident from the get go with voiceover by a hard bitten reporter who is in fact only referred to generically as "Mr. Reporter" for quite a few minutes into the film before his name is ultimately revealed to be Zsigmond Gordon (Krisztián Kolovratnik). Gordon's narration features nonstop aphorisms that sound like fortune cookies as written by Dashiell Hammett, and may therefore strike some as being unintentionally funny, but the film also rather deftly establishes some of its underlying plot points in its opening, where, in the wake of the death of Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös (an aspect that can serve as a bit of a history lesson, but which also helps to ground the film in at least a semblance of historical authenticity), Gordon is on the hunt for something more salacious than the death of a Prime Minister from renal failure.

It's here that the first of arguably too many convenient coincidences visit the film. Though it's not initially clear if she's a stranger or someone with a history with Gordon (it turns out to be the former), a mysterious woman (Franciska Törőcsik) shows up at Gordon's table at a cafe, waits for him to light her cigarette, and then apologizes before leaving. A moment later Gordon receives an unexpectedly high bill which is soon explained by the fact that the mystery woman had told the waiter that Gordon was going to pay for her. What seems like it's going to be a "meet cute" actually ends up in tragedy when this very woman is found murdered in an alleyway, in a neighborhood known for its prevalence of "working girls". The fact that this woman has crossed paths with Gordon is of course one of those sleights of hand screenplays often offer, but almost immediately another convenient coincidence occurs when a woman who definitely does have a history with Gordon, a photojournalist named Krisztina (Réka Tenki), shows up back in Budapest at more or less the exact moment that Gordon needs a photographer to document the murder of the mystery lady. That murder unsurprisingly turns out to have a whole convoluted back story that ultimately involves both a culture of corruption in Budapest, but also some simmering anti-Semitism.

If these and a few later revelations seem on the rote side, the film actually has considerable style, though it's really not out to emulate the chiaroscuro proclivities of some classic American noirs. Both nice production design and what look like actual carefully curated location shots help to realistically establish the time and place. There are certain hyperbolic elements at play here that occasionally may come off as a bit ill conceived, as in a late scene when Gordon enlists the aid of a woman at the paper where he works to dig through a slew of archived issues to find a needed clue for the all important "Moishe the Explainer" sequence which of course is quickly thereafter offered. However, when Gordon does find what he's looking for, he just rips the darned thing right out of the archived paper, because that's what you do when you're a hard bitten reporter on the crime beat out to solve the murder of someone you met "by chance" at a restaurant once .

Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Budapest Noir is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Menemsha Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. I haven't been able to find any authoritative technical data on this shoot, but this is a generally very precise and sharp looking presentation that offers secure renderings of the film's very handsome production design. Elements like the natty herringbone pattern on Gordon's overcoat resolve without any issue, and the palette is generally speaking very natural looking, though a few nighttime scenes have been graded toward more of a traditional noir sensibility. There is a very brief moment of banding during the fade in and fade out of the film's main title, but I noticed no other issues.

Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Budapest Noir features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in the original Hungarian, with optional English subtitles. The score may not exactly be vintage 1930s (it has more of a cool jazz 1950s feel, including with muted trumpets and the like), the music is nicely dispersed through the side and rear channels, and a number of scenes, including some urban environments but also a boxing ring Gordon visits, offer good immersion and general background activity that spills into the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.

Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers includes Budapest Noir (1080p; 1:56) along with several other trailers for Menemsha Films releases.

Budapest Noir Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The mystery at the heart of Budapest Noir frankly turns out to be the stuff of any number of other films, but there's still considerable style on display here, and the film's setting in both time and place gives it a kind of instantly distinctive quality. Technical merits are solid, and at least for those who wouldn't mind a somewhat familiar story told in a somewhat unfamiliar way, Budapest Noir comes Recommended.