Posted on 10/24/2018 7:07:37 AM PDT by C19fan
Clearly it’s been no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. However, after eight years of delays, several different directors, strops, rows and – uh oh! – artistic differences, Bohemian Rhapsody finally staggered out of the shadows and on to the silver screen last night.
And was this biopic of rock band Queen worth the wait? Not quite. Not really.
Not unless you prefer a watered-down, milky tea version of the great Freddie Mercury; here portrayed as a mild-mannered occasional bisexual who was happiest with his cats and his soft furnishings.
It is no secret that in real life, Mercury was a reckless hedonist with a feral streak; a man with an enormous appetite for sex and drugs and rock and roll, all of which was reflected in the passion of his music.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Which is why Freddie died young. I guess they had to sanitize him or it would have been rated X and turned off many fans.
I remember seeing an interview with Mercury where he stated “I’ll sleep with anything.”
The only good song Queen had was Fat Bottomed Girls. The rest.....just never understood the appeal.
No they sanitized it to make his “lifestyle” more appealing. If they really showed the ravages of his behavior it might have been a cultural warning as an concrete example of the warning found in Romans, chapter 1.
[The only good song Queen had was Fat Bottomed Girls. The rest.....just never understood the appeal.]
They did a fantastic job on the Flash Gordon soundtrack.
Exactly. You’re either going to make a real movie about him — a very talented musician who also was a hedonistic gay man who bedded different partners every night, consumed massive quantities of drugs and ended up dying of AIDS — or you’re going to make a standard “outcast kid makes it big in Rock & Roll” movie that could have been made about anyone. In order to maintain his “hero” image, they chose the second path. The first one would have been a more interesting movie.
No I think his real fans would have liked to see the real Freddie. This watering down is for the ma$$e$:-)
Much like The Doors, Queen’s music was “Iconic”.
This doesn’t mean good. The two were horrible musicians with a great band to carry them through. The lyrics and song writing is elementary at best.
Like U2 - who so much as used a damned PRACTICE SCALE in a number 1 song.
Huge Queen fan, can’t wait to see the movie.
Freddie was pretty private about his personal life compared to todays’ “stars”....they should take note.
You have to add that Mercury had a voice.
I knew, of course, FM was gay, but I didn’t know HOW gay until I saw a documentary about him last year on YT. The man was gifted in his art, but holy cow did he live an extremely wild life. Even though “I’ve seen things you humans wouldn’t believe” while perusing the internet, I guess I’m still a bit naive...but not anymore when it comes to FM.
Side note...saw the Killer Queen tribute band this summer. It was okay. The rainy weather was part of it just being okay. The guitarist in Brian May’s role did a good job. And the FM guy had his moments as did the rest of the band.
I liked Queen up through “Day at the Races” (1976). But they really hit it big with “News of the World” (1977) which is where they lost me. I found their earlier work to be interesting and unique. Their later stuff was commercial pap. But people liked it. Freddie was at his best when his hair was long, IMO.
What U2 song and what practice scale? First song that comes to mind is “In the Name of Love” the guitar does a repetitive triplet. Is that the “practice scale” you meant?
Mercury a horrible musician? That’s not a widely held opinion.
Mostly, they sanitized the film to secure the participation of the surviving members of Queen.
Sacha Baron Cohen tried a few years back to make a biopic, himself in the starring role. The members of Queen, primarily guitarist Brian May, read the R-rated script and said, "Nope!" Without the rights to the music, the film would've been a no-go.
I’ve often thought the line in “Bohemian”, “.... pulled MY trigger and now he’s dead”, referred to his AIDS infection and the realization he might have killed someone.
Highlander had a Queen soundtrack too. It’s sort of kitschy now, the movie, but holds up pretty well.
An amazing musical talent, but a flaming fag of epic proportion. Died of AIDS.
That’s what I was explaining to my wife the other night when we caught the preview. FM was a over the top and with and out of control sexual appetite.
Still dig his music and showmanship though.
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