Location Scout: The Budapest Subway System
zita kisgergely
Usually, it’s all about the streets and buildings a film can use to replicate a particular location or epoch. But Budapest’s underground metro lines have also featured in films, both local and international.
Budapest’s Metro System.
A Brief History of the Budapest Metro
Budapest’s very first metro, the M1 (yellow), was the first electrical underground railway in mainland Europe. The line, with its signature yellow-boxy carriages, was completed in 1896 as part of the country’s millennial celebrations commemorating a thousand years since the Magyars settled in the area. The M1 has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
Lines M2 and M3 took decades to develop further, with the M2 running underneath the Danube to connect both sides of the city: Buda and Pest. Both lines were gradually extended between 1970 and 1990, with the final M4 line opening in 2014. The entire metro system is 39.4 kilometres in length and comprises of 52 stations.
The Budapest Metro in Films
We recently wrote about Arnold Schwartzenegger’s latest film that shot scenes on metro line M2, causing a part of the subway system to be closed for the weekend. But let’s stay underground and explore some of the other films that have utilized the mysterious world beneath our feet.
KONTROLL (2003)
This is one of the standout Hungarian films of the 2000s. Directed by Antal Nimród, it was shot almost entirely on both the red and blue metro lines (M2 and M3). The director reportedly spent nine months doggedly trying to persuade the Budapest Transport Authority (BKV) to allow him to film underground.
Note that this was back in the day. Now that Budapest is a major filming hub in Europe, permission to shoot on the metro lines is a much more streamlined and standard affair–we probably have Nimród to thank for paving the way!
We’re certainly glad the director persisted and that the BKV finally relented–the wait was worth it. It’s been reported that filming had to take place at night after the metro closed, making atmospheric use of the dimly lit, cavernous spaces, expansive platforms and steep escalators descending into a whole other universe below ground.
ATOMIC BLONDE (2017)
Directed by David Leitch–who directed John Wick (2014) and went on to direct films like Deadpool 2 (2018), Bullet Train (2022) and The Fall Guy (2024)–Atomic Blonde is a film set in 1989 Berlin. For this reason, Budapest’s M3 and its pre-renovation stations with their Eastern-bloc brutalist design, was the perfect stand in for East Berlin’s U-Bahn.
RED SPARROW (2018)
A spy thriller set in the present day and based on the 2013 novel of the same name written by Jason Matthews. It was directed by Francis Lawrence–who also directed the dystopian science fiction adventure series The Hunger Games. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton, the film was shot and set partly in Budapest. But the main subway sequence filmed on the M3 line at the Nagyvárad tér stop actually doubles for a Moscow metro station.
Several other notable films and TV series have taken advantage of the very particular cinematic potential Budapest’s underground metro stations offer, which range from turn-of-the-century Secessionist, mid-century socialist, to the most futuristic design elements.
If you’re looking for some subterranean locations, keep Budapest in mind. The city is so used to accommodating films both above and below ground that the Budapest Transport Authority awaits your request with open arms…
Sources & further information
Flatpack Films has years of experience servicing international brands, agencies, and production companies. Filming in Hungary is easy when relying on their knowledge of the market and ability to solve complex needs. They bring the best that Hungary has to offer in terms of unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top-of-the-line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more.
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