The makers of “The Brutalist” have revealed their use of artificial intelligence to enhance Hungarian dialogue and create architectural imagery in the critically acclaimed film, just days before Oscar nominations are announced.
Editor Dávid Jancsó disclosed that Ukrainian AI company Respeecher‘s software was employed to refine the Hungarian pronunciation of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in the Golden Globe-winning film.
“Most of their Hungarian dialogue has a part of me talking in there,” Jancsó told RedShark News. “We were very careful about keeping their performances. It’s mainly just replacing letters here and there.”
Director Brady Corbet detailed the specific scope of AI usage in response to industry attention. “Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own,” Corbet said. “Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed.”
The film, made on a $10 million budget, follows Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth (Brody) as he rebuilds his life in post-World War II America. Jancsó, a native Hungarian speaker, said the production first attempted traditional ADR with the actors before turning to AI solutions.
“If you’re coming from the Anglo-Saxon world certain sounds can be particularly hard to grasp,” Jancsó explained. “We wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference.”
The revelation comes amid growing concern over AI use in filmmaking. However, Jancsó defended the decision: “It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be. There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster.”
Corbet also clarified reports about AI-generated architectural drawings in the film’s finale: “Judy Becker and her team did not use AI to create or render any of the buildings. All images were hand-drawn by artists.”
97th Oscars nominations will be announced Thursday, with “The Brutalist” expected to receive multiple nods.
