The Grand Budapest Hotel Color Palette Analysis

This article, an analysis of the color in The Grand Budapest Hotel, serves a purpose in being able to accurately point out the colors we are seeing and identifying them as well as explaining the purpose these colors serve in the scenery. They describe how in the 1932 timeline the colors in the Grand Budapest Hotel create a “fantastical vibe of beauty and comfort” which contrasts the war they are living in and the often desolate and bland spaces they are in outside of the hotel. They also point out that there are a lot of orange colors in the 1968 timeline that show the warmth is still in the hotel but some of the fantastical elements have left in along with the picker hues. They also describe how in the timeline at the grave of the author everything is bleak and cold as there is perceivably nothing left of the Grand Budapest Hotel. They also point out that the antagonists are dressed in grays and blacks while our protagonists are often quite colorful. I do however think this analysis is missing the way the color of props is important as well as some of the lighting sources of these colors. One notable prop was the rose on the table which turned from yellow to pink when switching timelines. The final will was also pink signaling to us that it would have something to do with the hotel and Mr. Gustave. Also, in the hotel we see a lot of harsh artificial lighting that accentuates things like the color of the walls. But in the later timeline these lights are softer and warmer and it gives the feeling that the bustling high energy of the hotel has died down. Overall, I think this article brings up a lot of good points about color in The Grand Budapest Hotel but still misses a lot of points.