Bohemian Rhapsody - Ded
AlexDeGruven
Wut?Meechigan Icrontian
Went and caught a late showing of this last night after putting the kids to bed.
I've been hype about this movie since the first trailer dropped. I'm already a huge Rami Malek fan, and I couldn't wait to see what he did with it.
Absolutely not disappointed. From start to finish, his performance was a masterpiece. Rami Malek for all the awards next year.
The settings, the music (I mean, come on, how could the music NOT be amazing in a Queen movie), the path they took through his life (heartbreaking). Everything about this movie was the perfect tribute to the quintessential rock & roll showman.
I was only 16 when Freddie passed, so it didn't really affect me that much other than the standard "Oh man, no more Queen".
The last week or so in the lead up to this movie I've been jamming a ton of Queen in preparation. Listening to all the different things they did, playing with genres and turning conventions on their heads. A Night at The Opera came out barely a month after I was born, and I think it still holds up as one of the greatest albums ever put out. Full stop.
Also, in listening to so much in the last week, his death has really sunk in as to its impact on the music world. More than Bowie. More than Michael Jackson. Freddie was a phenomenon, and we're all much worse off in the 28 years he's been gone.
I haven't felt such an emotional ride from a movie in I can't remember how long.
I won't even get into the songs they used, because the contexts could be taken as spoilers, especially toward the end.
If you have an even passing familiarity with Queen or Freddie. Go see this movie.
Comments
I maintain that Freddie has the absolute best voice in Rock music ever. You can't change my mind. I can't wait to see this movie. I'm glad you gave it such high praise because I have genuinely been worried that it would be a total flop.
I've been seeing a bit of criticism in the days following the opening about how they treated his sexuality.
Apparently, for some people, you can't tell that two (or more) people had sex unless you see them doing it on screen in full display. At least, that's what I gather from the criticism I'm reading.
This was a PG-13 movie, as required by the surviving members of the band as a condition for the music licensing, first off.
Secondly, the ONLY time you see Freddie in bed with anyone is right before he proposes to Mary (history, not spoiler), and even then it was suitable for TV.
There is absolutely no doubt that Freddie was gay and had lots of sex (I mean, come on, he was the biggest rock star in the world) in this movie. If you can't come to that conclusion without seeing actual uglies bumped, then I pity you.
To have tons of sex and drug use (also implied in another scene without having to see someone actually running lines) front and center on the screen would have, in my opinion, dramatically taken away from the movie. This was a movie about him and the band's journey. Breaking ground and turning convention on its head at every turn. Yes, Freddie was gay and died of AIDS, we all knew this. This was not a revelation for anyone. It's also absolutely not the point of the film.
TL;DR: We came to watch a biopic, not a porno.
Am I correct with that assumption?
Basically?
That's my feeling on it, for the most part. As I said, I didn't need to see him having sex with anyone to know he had sex.
I bought “A Night At The Opera” after reading this. I’ve now spun it 20+ times. Extremely good.
Tonight it occurred to me I acquired a Queen vinyl in my dad’s collection last year, so I went to look and... same one.
Pretty chuffed.
A Night at The Opera is probably my favorite album across the board from anyone. It's an absolute masterpiece in the weirdest, quirkiest, and most fun way possible.
Saw the movie today. More powerful than I anticipated.
Holy hell, what a movie.
That movie couldn't have been any gayer without full frontal.
Samesies.
Knowing "A Night At The Opera" well paid dividends in a couple of scenes by providing incidental context.
And Wayne's World.
NYT has a nice recap of the moment at Live Aid, with the subhead "Freddie Mercury’s set in July 1985 is often called one of the greatest live performances of all time. What made those 21 minutes so memorable?"
One standout passage:
I'm now at the point where I've audited their discography and picked the order in which I will be purchasing and exploring it. I now own 1974-77 (4 albums: Sheer Heart Attack, A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races, News Of The World). Next is '77-80 (Jazz, The Game), then backup to Queen & Queen II, then press on into the 80s.
Innuendo will break your heart once you read about it.
News Of The World was my first Queen purchase back in the day, I can still listen to it and love it except We Will Rock You/Champions is overplayed to the point of 'Nope. Pass' and gets skipped. Very very diverse album, from soft ballady (All Dead) to metal-punk (Sheer Heart Attack) to very jazzy blues (Sleeping On The Sidewalk AND My Melancholy Blues) to operatic though not as much as Bohemian (It's Late, an awesome epic tune). I didn't realize until reading the Wiki just now, how much all 4 were involved in the singing/songwriting/playing.
My personal fave album of theirs.
I caught the movie a few nights ago, absolutely fantastic. Malek's performance was outstanding. Couldn't agree more with your analysis.
I was 2 when Freddie died but my parents loved Queen. I put on A Night at the Opera and immediately realized I know every song on it already just from listening growing up. I remember driving my embarassed, then 13 year old step brother to school while singing all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody which he claimed to never have heard before. Wild.
It was really cool to see all of the pieces of the story come together and fully capture how iconic he really was, having pretty much always lived in a world without him. I have always loved their music, but I think it holds more powerful meaning now. I found myself thinking about too, how much of a loss he really was to the world.
I think it was a lot better for not doing full on sex scenes, that was super not the point of the movie and it would have very much changed the tone. It was just a really good emotional story I think they did it great justice. I'd like to talk spoilers, but so far this thread is spoiler free so I won't. ;-)
Definitely get out and see it, this is fully worth it for the theatre. Prepare to dance in your seat.
As a generally introverted person, the idea of standing in front of a crowd that massive gives me the shakes. But at the same time, feeding off of that shared energy had to be an incredible experience.
I could work up to it.
It must be the gay asterisk to introversion.
I think introversion has some sort of weird bell curve that corresponds with audience size.
A few people? Okay.
A hundred people? Nooooo.
An auditorium? Noooooooooooooooooooo.
A massive concert with tens of thousands? Hmm, maybe.
I'm like the opposite of that bell curve:
I would posit that you are definitely not an introvert, so the math checks out.
Speaking from experience, there's definitely a point where there are so many people that there may as well not be anyone there at all. I've never played for tens of thousands, but eventually you figure out how to make them all disappear...then you're just doing your thing on stage.
I have always been a lot more introverted than not my entire life. And through my own personal experiences speaking up in meetings and past public speaking experiences that I have found this to be true to a point. My own comfort levels have been that up to 15 or so is ok and 30ish to about 100 is much harder. Then over 100 or so I am fine once I get the first 2 sentences out. It is like the faces all melt into a blurry mass. The most difficult time for me was a group of 40 people that it seemed to get more difficult with every word fighting to get out of my mouth. A glass of wine was often a big help on many occasions.