I quite enjoyed Steven Spielberg's new film "Munich" - about an Israeli hit squad tasked with killing people who planned the 1972 Munich murder of Israeli athletes. It's a bit of a dark film with a fairly obvious message about terrorism, and if the analogy with America's recent experience is lost on you, you'll get it in the very last shot in the movie. Beyond the message - ignore what the critics are saying either way, it's just a well-made, intense movie.

While I was in Budapest last fall, I was struck by how much Andrássy út reminded me of Paris, and then I saw that in "Munich" it stands in for Paris a couple of times! There are several shots that appear to be near the Budapest Opera House. A friend of mine who was in Budapest while Spielberg was filming there earlier this year says the locals were quite annoyed by all the disruption the filming caused there - but she had given me a "heads up" about the Budapest locales in the movie, so I knew to look for them.

So, if you see the film and have been to Budapest, see if you can pick out the shots of it in the film (but try not to get too distracted from the movie itself!).

Andrew

Thanks for the review, I hope to see this movie ASAP. I'll keep an eye out for familiar sites in Budapest.

speaking of Budapest and films - scenes in Evita were filmed on Andrassy Ut also.

That last shot really got me, Andrew ~

I had no idea that scenes were shot in Budapest~
But then, as you say, I was intensely involved in the film..

"the locals were quite annoyed by all the disruption the filming caused there"

Were they annoyed at the $$$$ the movie pumped into the local economy?

Last time I was in Budapest a lot of it was in dire need of either sand blasting or a coat of paint!

The $$$$ couldn't hurt.

My cynicism about post-communist corruption in the former Eastern Bloc makes me wonder WHO actually benefited from Spielberg's filming in Budapest...

Andrew