Pongrácz Erzsébet: The Cinemas of Budapest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1998)
CORVIN MOZI among the first to install equipment capable of projecting talking films. The building weathered World War II in fair condition to resume operation in 1945. As German property it was requisitioned by Szovexportfilm for a while, which is why its programme featured predominantly Soviet films until the late fifties when the Soviet Clnion restored it to Hungarian ownership. The cinema, in its enclosed, strategically defensive setting, was a stronghold of armed Hungarian street fighters in 1956, as several wall plaques and the statue Pest Kid of ’56 (Lajos Győrfi, 1996) testify. During these fierce battles of 1956 the building suffered severe damage. Planned for 1955, restoration and modernisation was only carried out in 1957, after which it remained one of the largest and most modern cinemas in Budapest. From time to time it was closed for further reconstruction, but each reopening has been a veritable revelation in the field of cinematographic technology. The cinema received its current appearance in 1996. This latest reconstruction left the original fagade intact and the large auditorium was also restored to its earlier shape. The Corvin is a record holder in many ways. It has the most auditoria - six altogether not to mention the Ráday Hall. With 4573 square metres the Corvin has the largest total floor space in Budapest, and it is here, in the Korda Hall, where the city's largest, 140-square-metre screen can be found. It is also here that the most leg-space has been left between rows, which is why even the lankiest person can stretch out comfortably in the large “armchairs”. That there are six rooms makes it possible for earlier releases to 43
