Bohemian Rhapsody-- yes or no?

[B-line]

I never cared for most of Queens music myself, but:

I saw a vid of them from "Saturday Night Live", done many years back, and thought that they killed it with that performance:



GREAT R'NR; much different than the "Bohemian Rhapsody" vibe, (which me being a Bar-Kays, James Brown, etc fan did NOT care for much!)

That aside, and relating to the upcoming film:

As evidenced by the statue of Mr. Mercury, QUEEN was a Worldwide success, and therefore any re-enactment of their beginnings and journey to super-stardom should be quite interesting, providing the acting, direction, script etc. are high-quality.

I'd like to see it.

 

[rendevouz]

Right on man! That Doors movie by Oliver Stone was really well done, but it was 97% about Jim Morrison; hardly a mention of the bass player!

I agree Ray Manzarek's left hand didn't even had a line.

 

[mellowinman]

My OPINIONS on your OPINIONS...

1. Baron Cohen is a brilliant man that can do things that most people cannot do. For example, he insightfully knows how to call B.S. with his comedy, and I don't know many people that could keep a straight face while a noted food critic gushes over eating human flesh. That is comedy gold. Period. When Baron Cohen plays fictional characters in a fictional setting, he is much less funny and is somewhere in between Rob Schneider (awful) and Mike Myers (funny) at that stuff. I have not seen him play a serious fictional role so have no idea of his acting range.

2. While throwing money at a film does not guarantee greatness, it is very difficult these days to achieve a great result without money. I thought World's Greatest Dad is an amazing little movie, but it's budget was "ONLY" $10,000,000 because Robin Williams believed in the material enough to work on the cheap. Perhaps our definition of tons of money differ? Because if you made a music album on the budget of the cheapest B-movie you'd have an A-list album on your hands.

3. Agreed, but the real problem is that it is weird stuff to digest.

4. Queen made music that was singularly unique and they were culturally important, so I don't argue with them deserving a place in rock royalty. I like their material from the 1970s and love their final album with Freddie. "The Show Must Go On" is an amazing piece of music. I thought they were pretty boring in the eighties, but a friend that is a fan of the "Highlander" TV show disagrees with me

I hate 80s Queen. But 70s Queen was some of the best music in Rock History.

 

[mohrds]

I enjoy Queen and was looking forward to the movie when I saw the first preview. Then I started hearing and reading the reviews. Form what I've heard, it strays way too far into the "artistic freedom" of changing events and tries to create a new storyline for Freddie and the band. It apparently spends a lot of time inserting current social issues into the timeline as opposed to the actual history of the band.

For the entertainment value and because I like Queen, I will watch it on Cable or streaming, but like most movies, I won't condone the mass-market production style by paying to see it in the theater.

 

[Kragnorak]

I always felt that Queen's material was very overproduced, and wondered how they could even create one third of it live.

I never saw them live, but this footage freaks me out. The only stumbling part is that they resorted to tape for the "musical theater" part. But the performance is crazy good. I expect Brian May to have great tone, but the part I don't get is Freddie running around the stage like he's leading an aerobics class and then jumping on the piano and immediately lowering his blood pressure to avoid rushing through those parts. If the performance is not tampered with, then it's crazy how masterfully he applies the brakes there!

(Meanwhile Adam Lambert can't even sing and play piano)

 

[Fxpmusic]

But that's the exact point. They do this to make money. Theater attendance in this country has been going down for decades - even for blockbusters. They could make On the Waterfront meets Casablanca meets Starwars meets The Godfather, and most people STILL wouldn't pay to see it in theaters. They have no incentive to make better films, because most people are still going to wait to watch in streaming, where they make far less money.

At least 13 posts here said either they no longer watch films in theaters, or that they specifically would wait until this hit streaming.

Plus, the money not spent on booms and cgi still needs to be spent on good writing, acting, directing and editing. Plus taking the time to do something right. Not unlike popular music, film is an art form that keeps getting diluted. I don’t go as much as I’d like to cause I’m kinda tired of everything just being and action, special effect brain f$&k but I still enjoy it very much. The large screen, the smell, the good sound... large theaters don’t take chances with indie films but I’m glad there are still some independent theaters around where you can go watch weird stuff.

 

[Microbass]

I really enjoyed it. I love the hits, but otherwise was never a big Queen fan.
I liked that that there was a lot more band time, compared to say the Blues Brothers or Wall the Line where you only get a couple of live tunes (both different styles of a music movie of course).

I enjoy Queen and was looking forward to the movie when I saw the first preview. Then I started hearing and reading the reviews. Form what I've heard, it strays way too far into the "artistic freedom" of changing events and tries to create a new storyline for Freddie and the band. It apparently spends a lot of time inserting current social issues into the timeline as opposed to the actual history of the band.

For the entertainment value and because I like Queen, I will watch it on Cable or streaming, but like most movies, I won't condone the mass-market production style by paying to see it in the theater.

I didn’t get it about being about current social issues?! The only thing would be the drug use and coming out. Both things are still relevant then and now.

Rami did a great job I think, as was the overall casting being really good. There was also a Trave Elliot at every gig which also makes me happy.

 

[5StringBlues]

Me and Freddie have a Netflix date coming.




I voted carrots.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I'll see it because I see everything but Freddy Mercury didn't lead a pg13 life so to make a pg13 movie about him seems wrong. And it should've been Sasha Baron Cohen. I'm not expecting much.

Cohen would have been perfect for the role.

 

[GIBrat51]

No, I won't go see it. Why?
- I have good memories of Freddy and Queen, and I'd like to keep it that way. IME, bio-pics almost always suck, more or less; so, I'll pass.
- If there are no cities/planes/cars blowing up; no aliens; no big ugly monsters? I don't want to see it...
- And finally, I never go see movies any more, anyway. The audiences here are mondo obnoxious, and the ticket prices? Getting mugged would be cheaper - and a more pleasant experience...

 

[Conductor 14]

One of my former students(a drummer) saw the premier in London. Said the experience was great.

 

[bpmben]

Saw it last night. Great to hear some pumping bass from Another One Bites The Dust etc and the four actors did a great job of mimicking their movements. If you love Queen you’ll love the movie, particularly the concert recreations.

 

[dougjwray]

Never very interested in Queen. Some good musicianship, but I've always preferred the bands who stared at the floor (or closed their eyes) and improvised superb music (Cream, Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Santana) rather than the glam people who tried to bring Broadway or opera into rock (David Bowie, Queen, and others). For me, that was absolutely the WRONG direction for rock to take after the Big Crash at the dawn of the '70s (Beatles and Cream breaking up, Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison and Allman dying, etc.).

 

[Gorn]

It was very good. I was surprised. Good storytelling. With the shenanigans behind the scenes with the director quitting and reshoots, I was expecting a disjointed mess but it was put together well. I don’t love Queen but they were a great band. He did a good job as Freddy Mercury. The portrayal of the bass player was pretty hilarious. The original one quits and they just find this other guy. He’s just kind of there, having a good time, not causing any trouble, playing the bass.

 

[bholder]

It was very good. I was surprised. Good storytelling. With the shenanigans behind the scenes with the director quitting and reshoots, I was expecting a disjointed mess but it was put together well. I don’t love Queen but they were a great band. He did a good job as Freddy Mercury. The portrayal of the bass player was pretty hilarious. The original one quits and they just find this other guy. He’s just kind of there, having a good time, not causing any trouble, playing the bass.

I just got back from seeing it - pleasantly surprised - I did like the line the bass player got when they were fighting over the recording of "Another One Bites The Dust" - I don't remember it exactly, but it was pretty funny.

 

[bholder]

Cohen would have been perfect for the role.

If (and to me, it's a pretty big "if") he could can his own (bleeping) schtick and actually serve the movie... ...he's extraordinarily talented, I might wish he applied those talents a tad differently sometimes... ...I'm pretty sure most serious directors and producers consider him too much of a liability...

 

[HawldieMPB]

Haven't heard good things from my friends and peers. May was given exec. Producer control and many complained that the movie spends a great deal of time trying to make him look very good (despite the reality of his actions-drug use, etc).
I'll probably check it out eventually, though cuz it's just a movie.

 

[bholder]

Haven't heard good things from my friends and peers. May was given exec. Producer control and many complained that the movie spends a great deal of time trying to make him look very good (despite the reality of his actions-drug use, etc).
I'll probably check it out eventually, though cuz it's just a movie.

I didn't think the movie gave extra attention to May's character, and I certainly didn't feel it spent more time on him - there's some backstory there they didn't even touch. True, they only showed Freddie over-indulging, but then, the movie's about him, not May.

 

[HawldieMPB]

I didn't think the movie gave extra attention to May's character, and I certainly didn't feel it spent more time on him - there's some backstory there they didn't even touch. True, they only showed Freddie over-indulging, but then, the movie's about him, not May.

I haven't seen it so I really have no idea but I will say that their complaint wasn't with how much attention it paid to Brian May but instead with how it cast him in an overly positive light. This is from friends how are VERY familiar with Queen's history so they were automatically going to be hard to please. But at the same time I value their opinions because they can really speak to te authenticity

Anyway, like I said, I haven't seen it. So, I dunno

 

[B-line]

Saw it this weekend, and thought it was a very good film: fine acting, cinematography, etc.
It gave me new found respect for Queen's music, performance, and writing- I was not a fan, & not very familiar with what they did.
They put great effort into the film (there's a short documentary about it on HBO I think)- Even the placement of Coke & water on Freddy's piano during "Live-Aid" was accurate!

It's always fascinating to me to see the back story of any Band that achieves major success in the Music Business- There's usually always drama, back-stabbing, conflicts etc. on the way up, and on sometimes, on the way down!
BTW- Besides Rami Malek 's excellent portrayal,, Joseph Mazzello did an excellent job in his rather low-key role as the Bassist.
(Nice P-Bass & in one scene, A Stingray as well!) ALWAYS good to see a bass guitar on the big screen!