“THEY
DON’T MAKE CONCIERGES LIKE HIM ANYMOREâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Wes
Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel was this reviewer’s favorite film of
2014, and what a delight it is. The brilliant and amazing cast. The gorgeous
colors and production design and engaging music. The wit and “history.†The
subtle stream of melancholy that runs through the subtext. In short, this is a
Wes Anderson picture to the Nth Degree, a masterwork that defines the
director’s output after, at the time of release, nearly twenty years in the
business.
As
expected, The Criterion Collection does a bang-up job in presenting this
marvelous movie in a superb product that contains the film in a 2K digital
transfer supervised by Anderson with a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio
soundtrack, tons of supplements, and cool pieces of ephemera in a nifty
package.
In
case you were living under a rock in 2014, The Grand Budapest Hotel is
the story of an elegant, now old-fashioned, luxury hotel located in a fictional
East European country. One might think it is reminiscent of Hungary or Romania
or the Czech Republic, or maybe even farther east into Russia. In fact, the
story is structured like nesting Matryoshka Russian dolls, set in four
different time periods. The present day frames the film, as a young girl visits
the shrine of “the Author†(Tom Wilkinson), whose book about the Grand Budapest
Hotel he begins to narrate in the year 1985. He tells the story of how he, as a
young man (now Jude Law) in 1968 visits the lonely and nearly empty hotel to do
some writing. There he meets the elderly Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), who
relates the tale of how he, when he was a young teen (Tony Revolori), was a
lobby boy, serving under the concierge, M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) in 1932.
Each of the four sections/time periods are presented in distinct aspect ratios,
with the bulk of the movie (the 1930s) in the old Academy ratio of 4:3, but in
vivid color.
They
don’t make concierges like Gustave anymore. Not only is he impeccable when he
services the hotel clientele, he is also the lover of elderly women like Madame
D. (Tilda Swinton, wearing Oscar-winning makeup), who ends up mysteriously
murdered. She has bequeathed a valuable painting—the “Boy with Appleâ€â€”to
Gustave, giving her gangster son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody) a near apoplexy. Gustave
must go on the run, accompanied by young Zero, to avoid being killed by Dmitri
and his henchmen (such as J. G. Jopling, played by the sinister Willem Dafoe!).
Thankfully, Gustave is a member of “the Society of Crossed Keys,†which
consists of fellow concierges around Europe who act as a network of spies and
fixers (Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, among others). Oh, and Henckels (Edward
Norton) is a private investigator out to find Gustave, and then there are
escaped convicts led by Harvey Keitel in the mix.
In
short, this a comedy, a drama, a murder mystery, a chase movie, and a
philosophy lesson, all rolled into a tour de force of writing, direction,
acting, and design. It is a truly remarkable achievement, deserving of its
Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay,
Cinematography, and Editing, as well as its wins for not only Makeup, but
Original Score, Production Design, and Costume Design.
Criterion’s
transfer is gorgeous. It is accompanied by a new audio commentary featuring
Anderson, filmmaker Roman Coppola, critic Kent Jones, and actor Jeff Goldblum
(who plays Madame D.’s attorney). The supplements are plentiful. New to the
disk are selected scene “animatics†of storyboards, a “making of†documentary,
and interviews with the cast and crew. There are video essays by critic Matt
Zoller Seitz and film scholar David Bordwell, and behind-the scenes featurettes
detailing the production design and visual effects, the “ethnic†music played
on balalaikas, and the miniatures. Also included are an abundance of
promotional featurettes from the release year, such as Bill Murray acting as a
tour guide on location, or various cast and crew members talking about what
it’s like to make a Wes Anderson movie. This reviewer’s favorite piece is the video
on “how to†make the elaborate chocolate puff pastries from “Mendl’s,†complete
with the recipe and instructions, if one is so daring to attempt it.
The
package itself is fun, too. The booklet, adorned with stills and the Boy with
Apple on the cover, contains excerpts from two 2014 pieces by critic Richard
Brody, and an 1880 essay on European hotel portiers by Mark Twain. You
also get a double-sided poster of artwork made for this release, and a foldout
pamphlet of reproduced movie ephemera.
The
Criterion Collection’s presentation of The Grand Budapest Hotel can’t be
recommended highly enough. The only thing missing from it is a membership in
the Society of Crossed Keys.
