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Historic stadium show scores a crystal clear updateQueen - "Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest"DVD Review (Eagle Rock Entertainment) 4 stars (out of 5 stars) November 29, 2012 |
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Review by Andy Argyrakis In order to experience "Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest" to the maximum capacity, be sure to pick up the deluxe edition Blu-ray/double CD set of the extraordinary concert. In addition to the crystal clear audio remastering and 5.1 surround sound, the picture looks absolutely astounding in high definition, especially considering this concert from "The Magic Tour" took place in 1986.Then again, Queen was always ahead of its time, lighting this massive stadium with a state of the art spectacle to ensure no one in the 80,000 seat audience would be left without a spectacular view. And considering singer Freddie Mercury is never at a loss for theatrical gestures, he also has no trouble leaping off the screen during his last ever tour with the band, from the opening onslaught of "One Vision" and "Tie Your Mother Down" through guitar-charger rock n' rollers like "Tear It Up" and "A Kind Of Magic." Though the flamboyant front man is a formidable force in his own right, performing "Under Pressure" without duet partner David Bowie just isn't the same, while an acoustic set cover of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" seems trivial when stacked up against Queen's groundbreaking originals. But minor quips aside, the band has no problem rebounding with anthems like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Hammer To Fall," "Radio Ga Ga" and "We Will Rock You," to name but a few throughout the almost two hour show. A near 30-minute documentary called "A Magic Year" helps round out the project with some historical context of the time period, starting with Queen's triumphant return at 1985's Live Aid through the staging of this first ever stadium performance by a western rock band in Budapest (which was behind The Iron Curtain at the time). Along with the fact that fans can relive all the magic in their stereos, cars or iPods thanks to the supplementing soundtrack, "Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live In Budapest" ranks right up amongst the group's most prized concert collections. |