The critics aren't killing the movie though - it's doing exceptionally well, and it's not just "uber fans" who have pointed out inaccuracies, casual fans have been doing so too.
I thought it was absolutely fab! ... All historical films and biopics alter the narrative a bit, or a lot, to make it work in cinematic terms*; Bohemian Rhapsody is apparently no different**. But, as a musician, I was impressed by the extent to which the filmmakers got the music-making details right: the Queen stage sets (lighting rigs, gear, Brian's rows of AC30's, even his unique red guitar.) This culminates in the astonishingly accurate reproduction of the bands' stage set and performance at Live Aid ... which, for me, was a monumentally triumphant moment, and a great place to end the film. At the end of the day, films like this are entertainment. *Lawrence Of Arabia comes to mind; my imagination was captured by David Lean's masterpiece ... but when I read my first T.E. Lawrence biography I was amazed by how different the real story was to the film narrative. If Lean had been faithful to the crucial parts of the actual history, the film would have been tedious, puzzling and unwatchable. But the proof is in the pudding: Lawrence is one of the greatest films of all time. **The film has whetted my appetite to learn the actual history of the band Queen ... of all the multi-platinum megabands of the rock era, I know the least about Queen. Shockingly little. Going to search for a book on them.
In case you missed or didn't see the comment, I dropped a few decent docs and book names... Good documentaries... Queen: The Magic Years documentary (vol 1, 2, and 3): This is an old documentary, but it's very good. Vol. 1: Then the following parts... Vol. 2: The Magic Years, Volume Two – Queen Documentary Vol. 3: The Magic Years, Volume Three – Queen Documentary Queen: The Days Of Our Lives documentary Part 1: A Queen Days of our lives - PT PART 1 Part 2: A Queen Days of our lives- PT PART 2 Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender documentary Part 1: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30bkqf Part 2: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30bmfe Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story documentary https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2n52hj These are decent books... The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury, by Lesley Ann Jones. Is This the Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen, by Mark Blake. Somebody To Love: The Life, Death and Legacy of Freddie Mercury, by Mark Langthorne.
Thanks for that, I was going to make a post! Unnecessary now. I think I'll look for the Mark Blake book, his one on the Floyd seemed definitive.
Just back from the movie. I really didn’t think it was going to be as bad as some have made it out to be in this thread...but wow...it was a lot worse. Someone said the screwy timeline isn’t really the most egregious problem. I would agree with that....it’s the terrible acting and directing. The only thing that keeps this film afloat at all is the music. In between the songs was some of the cheeziest acting I’ve ever seen. Good God...it’s so over the top. Was it a joke? As in Drama Queen? Even the climactic Live Aid scenes, why the hell is Brian May huffing and puffing like he’s just climbed Mt. Olympus? He’s literally just standing there playing his guitar. And, I didn’t think they captured Mercury at all. They didn’t really capture his looks, his speaking voice, or his sense of humor. The other three were just ridiculous....especially the Taylor character. My 12 year old daughter really liked it. I give it a 2 out of 10.
Now the 2nd highest grossing music biopic ever: https://ew.com/movies/2018/11/19/bo...RxXAm-M8-Cp_M4Q6ImpRKdr_iWVhkdoyQ245FSID4U344
It's not the second highest music biopic ever. It is the highest, by far. Bohemian Rhapsody has - so far - grossed $386 million. Straight Outta Compton grossed $201 million.
I haven't read that one. I was thinking about getting it, I wasn't in a rush to as I didn't think it would have anything new in it (I could be wrong there).
Here's a review of the movie by Freddie Mack (son of Reinhold Mack, and godson to Freddie Mercury)... Freddie Mack
I don't like movies based on actual events or bio-pics. But there are exceptions to every rule. Lawrence, Raging Bull,..
Yes, it's a different kind of book though. More a coffee table book really. The pull out goodies you get with it are a nice touch though, the recreated concert tickets, flyers, posters, letters and lyrics written by the bandmembers etc.
Interesting to just read the “movie info” about this film. Unconditional fans will no doubt figure out a way to defend it, but looking at this section tells you everything you need to know about the level of integrity which was in play here: The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music.
I received this Blu-ray yesterday--what an electrifying performance! The picture quality is very good and the sound is amazing. I'm waiting for the local crowds to die down before I see "Bohemian Rhapsody." (I vastly prefer their 72-74 era anyway!)
I saw them in 1976 in Berkeley. They played a lot of older songs as well as some from "A Night at the Opera." Here's the setlist: Queen Setlist at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley and a picture I took at the show!
Received mine this week as well. I love this and the 75 Odeon show. Really impressed by the performance and the improvement of the old video. I now have 4 live shows released on Blu-ray and DVD. The only ones I dont have are Fire at the Bowl and Hungarian Rhapsody but I can live w/o these.
Rainbow '74 has always been a fave for me. It's clearly touched up (the backing vocals sound borderline ridiculous) but I love that era of Queen. Too bad when it was issued on Blu-ray that they squashed the audio with compression. It always sounded a bit wonky during soft sections and I suspect the original transfer was "dehissed" but the dynamics were always great. Anyway......prime Queen, IMO.
I just found a new vinyl box set left on Amazon Italy for something like $50, which is very reasonable considering what it’s selling for elsewhere. Lots of great energy. My favorite era...but yeah, the harmonies have obviously been touched up more than a bit.
Take note, folks: More than half of this is a very stoned-sounding dude essentially describing the movie with the occasional comment here and there.
Finally saw it last night, and didn't hate it. I thought Rami Malek's teeth looked ridiculous, almost cartoonish, and he seemed to be constantly licking his front teeth and trying to push them out with his tongue. I think the story was dramatic and interesting, but there were technical things that bugged me. The wrong mic in the recording studio (EV RE20 instead of a Neumann U87), a reel of 2002 Emtec audio tape on a machine (when it should have been Ampex Grand Master), stuff like that. Some of the visual effects at the final Live Aid concert were awful, particularly the CGI crowd and some of the composites. But the emotional impact was pretty good, and I think they covered the dramatic ups and downs of Freddie Mercury's life pretty well. I kind of winced at some of the historical liberties they took, but it is an entertaining film, and I get why it's done so well. Even at a late night Monday show, I'd say the theater was at least half-filled, which surprised me.) I have been told there were more than 20 attempts to write the screenplay over the last decade, and this was the one that Fox wound up with and was able to get produced. My suspicion is that there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and a lot of people bent the true story to make a more entertaining movie. I totally agree that there's a point when you make a film about real-life people and events, where if you bend the story too far, you wind up breaking it. I think to cover Freddie Mercury's life accurately and thoroughly, you'd probably have to have a 10-hour mini series and several hundred million dollars. I tend to doubt that's going to happen, so this is the compromise that resulted. As I said above, I didn't hate it, but I thought it was only so-so at best. Not a very good film, not one I'd run out to buy on Blu-ray, but not terrible, either.
I’d say that’s spot on. I probably liked it better than you did though. None of those wrong props like microphones bothered me becase I didn’t even notice them. The emotional story line worked for me. It was a feel good movies all around.
