Sir Brian May has announced an exciting new project following the remix of Queen’s Queen II album and the recent digitally remastered Queen Rock Montreal concert film, which screened in IMAX and cinemas two years ago.
Historic Hungarian Rhapsody Live Release
The upcoming remastered version of Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest captures the band’s Magic Tour performance at Budapest’s Néplstadion on July 27, 1986. This show marked one of Freddie Mercury’s final live appearances with Queen and stood out as one of the few Western rock concerts permitted behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
While previously available on physical media, the new edition features enhanced audio and visuals. May’s team is refining the original stereo mix for superior sound quality, with cinematography that surpasses the clarity of Queen Rock Montreal by a factor of ten.
Advanced Restoration Techniques
Sir Brian May shared details on the restoration process: “We have used Peter Jackson’s people to help us restore some of that footage. The original cut does contain some backstage footage and some off-stage interaction with Hungary. It’s a lovely piece of work. In my opinion, it’s probably the best testament of us live that there is. Apart from maybe Live Aid, which has its faults, but is special.”
He continued: “So, we’re working on Budapest right now and I think it will be pristine, beautifully restored and you will see us as human beings, as well as on stage. But the on-stage stuff is so beautifully captured. All the best Hungarian cinematographers were on that team and they were the best at the time, so the quality is wonderful. It’s on 35mm film and with the technology we have now, you can grab all the incredible detail. So it’s going to be quite stupendous!”
A release date remains to be confirmed, but a cinematic rollout appears likely.
