Movie Bohemian Rhapsody

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I know people have commented on it in What's the last movie you saw? but I reckon it's good enough to deserve its own thread. All involved with this movie have produced something very, very good.

Firstly, the subject matter is easy to like. Queen are one of the best and most accessible bands of the last 40 years. And Freddie Mercury one of the most charismatic and interesting characters.

The film makers bring all that to life and more. They have enriched the great songs with the backstory of Freddie and the band, from startup, then success, breakup, Freddie's illness and the Live Aid concert.

The casting was top notch.The actors looked spookily like the band members and were convincing in their personas. But Rami Malek absolutely nailed it as Freddie. The mannerisms and stage movements were spot on.

Whoever did the cinematography and the sound should be nominated for the highest awards.

 

TigerCraig

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I know people have commented on it in What's the last movie you saw? but I reckon it's good enough to deserve its own thread. All involved with this movie have produced something very, very good.

Firstly, the subject matter is easy to like. Queen are one of the best and most accessible bands of the last 40 years. And Freddie Mercury one of the most charismatic and interesting characters.

The film makers bring all that to life and more. They have enriched the great songs with the backstory of Freddie and the band, from startup, then success, breakup, Freddie's illness and the Live Aid concert.

The casting was top notch.The actors looked spookily like the band members and were convincing in their personas. But Rami Malek absolutely nailed it as Freddie. The mannerisms and stage movements were spot on.

Whoever did the cinematography and the sound should be nominated for the highest awards.

It was a good movie - music was great, performances were very good as were likenesses

The only thing that kept grating on me was how much liberty they took with reality, like:

How band was formed
How Deacon joined
How Freddie met Brian & Roger
How Freddie met Mary
How Freddie met Jim
That Roger was the first to go solo
That the South African tours weren't shown
When Freddie found out he had AIDS
How the band hadn't been on a break before Live Aid
That the million pound fundraising wasn't hit while Queen were on stage

It shits me when "biopics" mess with timelines. I know sometimes things need to be compressed and minor characters merged, but still

(Also watched Outlaw King on Netflix last night - again timelines and whole slabs of history changed
 
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TigerCraig

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Over looking all the obvious ^, the concert scenes were amazingly well done and Rami Malek could have been Freddie Mercury.

Thought Gwilym Lee was great as Brian May too.

I said to me missus (who loves Midsomer Murders, Morse, Lewis etc) "You know who that is don't you" and she wouldn't believe me it was the same bloke as the detective sergeant in Midsomer.
 
Thought Gwilym Lee was great as Brian May too.

I said to me missus (who loves Midsomer Murders, Morse, Lewis etc) "You know who that is don't you" and she wouldn't believe me it was the same bloke as the detective sergeant in Midsomer.
Good point. He was very believable.
 
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It was a good movie - music was great, performances were very good as were likenesses

The only thing that kept grating on me was how much liberty they took with reality, like:

How band was formed
How Deacon joined
How Freddie met Brian & Roger
How Freddie met Mary
How Freddie met Jim
That Roger was the first to go solo
That the South African tours weren't shown
When Freddie found out he had AIDS
How the band hadn't been on a break before Live Aid
That the million pound fundraising wasn't hit while Queen were on stage

It shits me when "biopics" mess with timelines. I know sometimes things need to be compressed and minor characters merged, but still

(Also watched Outlaw King on Netflix last night - again timelines and whole slabs of history changed

I didn't know the history of the band in so much detail so it didn't bother me. I guess that's the difference between a movie and a documentary.
 

Bomberboyokay

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It was a good movie - music was great, performances were very good as were likenesses

The only thing that kept grating on me was how much liberty they took with reality, like:

How band was formed
How Deacon joined
How Freddie met Brian & Roger
How Freddie met Mary
How Freddie met Jim
That Roger was the first to go solo
That the South African tours weren't shown
When Freddie found out he had AIDS
How the band hadn't been on a break before Live Aid
That the million pound fundraising wasn't hit while Queen were on stage

It shits me when "biopics" mess with timelines. I know sometimes things need to be compressed and minor characters merged, but still

(Also watched Outlaw King on Netflix last night - again timelines and whole slabs of history changed

I believe the (non-dead) members of Queen had production credits. So nothing that made them look too shitty was going to be in it. And the studio decided on PG-13 which watered the content down further.
 

TigerCraig

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I believe the (non-dead) members of Queen had production credits. So nothing that made them look too shitty was going to be in it. And the studio decided on PG-13 which watered the content down further.

True. May and Taylor and also Jim Beach were producers. Still the timelines were all over the place.

I know they wanted the Live Aid performance to be the big finale, but it wasnt until 2 years later that Freddie was diagnosed.
 

jabba5114

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Thought this movie was awesome. Aware it's not fully accurate like every biopic. Remi malek slowly becoming one of my favourite actors.

Sent from my 0PJA10 using Tapatalk
 
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It was a good movie - music was great, performances were very good as were likenesses

The only thing that kept grating on me was how much liberty they took with reality, like:

How band was formed
How Deacon joined
How Freddie met Brian & Roger
How Freddie met Mary
How Freddie met Jim
That Roger was the first to go solo
That the South African tours weren't shown
When Freddie found out he had AIDS
How the band hadn't been on a break before Live Aid
That the million pound fundraising wasn't hit while Queen were on stage

It shits me when "biopics" mess with timelines. I know sometimes things need to be compressed and minor characters merged, but still

(Also watched Outlaw King on Netflix last night - again timelines and whole slabs of history changed
Not to mention the outrageous parties that Queen were legendary for that often turned into huge orgies. But this is not the first bio film that has messed with the facts, for what it is, it's very good. But if you want to know the truth about Queen you probably need to read some books or watch some documentaries.
 
Feb 6, 2013
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I didn't know the history of the band in so much detail so it didn't bother me. I guess that's the difference between a movie and a documentary.
I get dramatizing events, that's fine, but the movie is outright fantastical.

Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Live AID was in 1985. Yeah it's not a documentary, but at a certain point what is the point of even pretending it's based in reality?
 
Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Live AID was in 1985. Yeah it's not a documentary, but at a certain point what is the point of even pretending it's based in reality?

To make the whole scene more emotional I guess. Perhaps they could have done it in a more subtle way idk... the lyrics of BH are probably enough tho! Was in tears.
 
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I get dramatizing events, that's fine, but the movie is outright fantastical.

Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Live AID was in 1985. Yeah it's not a documentary, but at a certain point what is the point of even pretending it's based in reality?

Next you'll be telling me that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't on the Titanic!
 

Spiritof82

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Thought this movie was awesome. Aware it's not fully accurate like every biopic. Remi malek slowly becoming one of my favourite actors.

Sent from my 0PJA10 using Tapatalk

Noticed Malek playing the young Egyptian in the Night at the Museum movies, don't think he really needed the false teeth to play Freddie, his real set would've fitted the part
 
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I get dramatizing events, that's fine, but the movie is outright fantastical.

Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Live AID was in 1985. Yeah it's not a documentary, but at a certain point what is the point of even pretending it's based in reality?
At the end of the day it is a cinema released movie and has to have a solid story with themes and a beginning/middle/end, character arcs, and be accessible and watchable to a large number and different demographics of audiences.

Real life doesn’t fulfill any of that so I don’t think anyone was expecting it to mirror the exact story of Freddie and Queen.

I loved the movie and Rami Malek was exceptional. Best Actor nomination coming up for him I reckon.
 
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At the end of the day it is a cinema released movie and has to have a solid story with themes and a beginning/middle/end, character arcs, and be accessible and watchable to a large number and different demographics of audiences.

Real life doesn’t fulfill any of that so I don’t think anyone was expecting it to mirror the exact story of Freddie and Queen.

I loved the movie and Rami Malek was exceptional. Best Actor nomination coming up for him I reckon.
There's a difference between compressing timelines and amalgamating background characters for pacing/thematic value and inventing scenarios out of thin air (eg; conflict over Freddie's solo album, band breaking up, aforementioned AIDS coinciding with Live AID). Expecting it to mirror the real story is too much to ask for, expecting it to resemble the real story is another. Biopic =/= historical fiction.

If you make dramatic edits to bring the real story to life on screen that's fine ala Walk the Line, but if you're just going to say things that didn't happen did happen you might as well have had Freddie Mercury ending the Cold War or something.

I guess it is somewhat arbitrary what is an acceptable or unacceptable bending of the truth though. This movie didn't annoy me near as much as Bridge of Spies.
 
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outabounds

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Yes I loved it too. I realize that critics have attacked to for not being gritty enough but does everything have to be so graphic in film these days? For pure entertainment, its hard to beat.
 
Yes I loved it too. I realize that critics have attacked to for not being gritty enough but does everything have to be so graphic in film these days? For pure entertainment, its hard to beat.

I would have preferred it "grittier" I've made my feelings pretty clear on that. But whatevs, it is what it is. I still enjoyed it.

Wouldnt see it again tho, unlike my mum who said she would.
 
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