Films
/
Queen: Live in Budapest (1986)
Queen: Live in Budapest (1986) poster

Queen: Live in Budapest (1986)

Magic – Queen in Budapest

Music, Documentary • 1h 37m

Director: János Zsombolyai

Cast: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Spike Edney

Best video & English-friendly release

Video notes:

AI upscale but color and HDR grading is improved as it's way more subdued see caps

Updated yesterday


4K tiers

Disappointing
Sony Music

About the film

On 27 July 1986, Queen performed the largest-ever stadium concert at the Népstadion in Budapest in front of 80,000 ecstatic fans. The concert was part of the famed Magic Tour, which was the last time the band toured with lead singer Freddie Mercury.

Featured Lists

Featured in AI Restorations Name and Shame

See more →

Director: Werner Herzog

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray > BFI 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/nPcxCNW4

BFI has more DNR and AI upscaling like their horrible 1979 Nosferatu 4K Blu-ray, and Shout! Factory has more over-exposed grading https://slow.pics/c/WQKmBTLJ

Best Audio:

2000 R2 Stonevision DVD

Audio Notes:

2000 R2 Stonevision DVD vs Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray?

Director: John Ford

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements

Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ

Director: Mark Pellington

4K · Excellent
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

88 Films is FiM encoded

Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling

Director: Robert Flaherty

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Internet Archive Streaming https://archive.org/details/twentyfourdollar-island_1928

Video Notes:

Kino Lorber Silent Avant-Garde Blu-ray is even though a much better restoration, has the worst AI upscaling I've ever seen, it's almost like a cartoon https://slow.pics/c/dFdgCFgn?image-fit=contain

I would instead recommend the blurry, compressed, and cropped internet archive Streaming version https://archive.org/details/twentyfourdollar-island_1928

Director: James Cameron

4K · Disappointing
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Fox Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Fox Blu-ray for original cuts without the extra scene added in the re-release and AI upscaling

Newer Blu-ray/4K has the extra scene, but is poor and has excessive AI upscaling

Additional Info:

An additional scene was added to the ending of the movie in the 2022 re-release: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=493908

Director: David Lynch

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray or Optimum/Kadokawa Blu-rays

Video Notes:

Director: James Cameron

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly:

2013 MGM Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray if you MUST have the mono mix, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Upcoming Release:

Capelight 4K Steelbook and Mediabook announced for 2026

Best Video:

2013 MGM Blu-ray for non AI transfer, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Best Audio:

1991 Image Entertainment LaserDisc for the US mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for the International mono mix

Audio Notes:

Comparison between the US and International mixes: https://vimeo.com/246332731

Additional Info:

The 4K Blu-Ray and the 2001 MGM DVD have exclusive extras.

TV series

Best Video & English-Friendly:

2006 UK DVD/2012 Australia DVD

Video Notes:
  • Recent Streaming versions (All 4 and Peacock) are AI upscaled

  • Peacock also removes the original ad break slides

  • The interviews and opening introductions also aren't de-interlaced properly into PAL 50fps

Director: Lam Nai-choi

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray See caps


DE Nameless 4K Blu-ray is an extremely poor AI upscale. See caps

Best Audio:

UK 88 Films Blu-ray

Director: Joe Alves

4K · Worse Than BD
Best Video & English-Friendly:

2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray

3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)

Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray

More from Sony

See more →

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony boxset or 2024 VHS packaging 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Sony boxsets or 2024 VHS packaging has Dolby Vision, 2019 Sony 4K Blu-ray is HDR10 only.

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray (any) 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray (any)

Director: Tom Holland

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Eureka Blu-ray's stereo or LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

sounds better than the Sony 4K Blu-ray , https://slow.pics/c/pJfES0fl

Additional Info:

Twilight Time has an isolated score

TV series

Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

US Sony or JP Aniplex Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Blu-ray version is an extended cut that has an exclusive scene and turns the 5-episode miniseries into a seamless feature film.

Final episode is age-restricted on YouTube, despite receiving a PG rating in Canada and a 12 rating in Germany.

Director: Frank Oz

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: Dennis Hopper

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony UK 4K Blu-ray

Director: Roland Emmerich

4K · Solid
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: David Lean

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The 5.1 on Sony 4K Blu-ray is from the 1989 70mm mix. The original is 4-track. not on the disc.

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray 

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray 

Director: Satoshi Kon

4K · Disappointing
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Sony 4K Blu-ray is very smeary with the upscaling but has correct aspect ratio and very good HDR grade.
UK Blu-ray has wrong colors, and Sony 2007 Blu-ray is the worst (encoding and AR)
See professorwho's review

More Music on Blu-ray

Director: Mike Judge

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Paramount Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray coming November 27

Director: Michael Curtiz

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

4K · Excellent
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Imprint AU 4K is world UHD debut and encoded by FiM. Part of the The Cinema Of Powell & Pressburger - Collection Two set.

Director: Anthony Mann

Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Shout! Factory's Blu-ray has both cuts of the film in addition to the 3.0 stereo and 2.0 mono mixes making it the first time the full theatrical cut is available with the 3.0 mix. The new commentary is good. The 3.0 stereo sounds wonderful and the mono sounds solid.
That's where the positives end. This is the same terrible Universal DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc with a terrible encode making both versions share the disc separately taking up more space. This master was already poor for DVD and is nearly unwatchable here on the Shout! Factory disc. It looks virtually identical to the upscaled DVD most of the time with only a bit less noise due to it being 1080p. This is one of the most appalling cases of "DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc" you can possibly find. Absolutely shameful video presentation. This should have never been released this way. Sadly it's still ever so slightly better than the DVD and the only way you get the proper theatrical cut with lossless 3.0 stereo. This is still the best source we have for the film.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: George Pal

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang

Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

"Sing-Along Edition" not included on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, only available on Netflix Streaming

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Best Video & English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Japan Aniplex Blu-ray is severely lowpassed, which is not an issue on the US release

Director: Damien Chazelle

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Upcoming Release:

US Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray re-release announced with Dolby Vision, a new exclusive bonus, and the previously retailer pre-order bonus-exclusive/Hong Kong-exclusive bonus interviews in HD

Video Notes:

Italy Eagle Pictures has DV, better encode, and no brightness shifts compared to Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray for the original Dolby Atmos mix

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Panorama 4K Blu-ray has two interviews available in HD that are SD everywhere else and only included as retailer-exclusive pre-order bonus DVDs with the US Blu-ray

Directors: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best Video & English-Friendly:

UK StudioCanal UHD

Edit history

1 edit

Researched and maintained by

vanshady

· last reviewed yesterday

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.