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Dom Robinson reviews
Queen of the DesertFinally, a comedy that will change the way you think,
the way you feel and, more importantly, the way you dress
Columbia TriStar
- Cert:
- Cat.no: CDR 22982
- Running time: 99 minutes
- Year: 1994
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 20 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Widescreen: 1.85:1 (cropped from 2.35:1)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 5
- Price: £19.99
- Extras : Scene index, Trailer, Teaser Trailer, Filmographies/Biographies,9 TV promotional clips
Director:
- Stephan Elliot
(The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Eye of the Beholder, Frauds, Welcome To Woop Woop)
Producer:
- Al Clark and Michael Hamlyn
Screenplay:
- Stephan Elliot
Music:
- Guy Gross
Cast:
- Bernadette: Terrance Stamp (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Alien Nation, Bowfinger, Hud, Legal Eagles, The Limey, Red Planet, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Superman 1 & 2, Wall Street, Young Guns,TV: The Hunger)
Mitzi: Hugo Weaving (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, Bedrooms & Hallways , Frauds, The Interview, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Magic Puddings, The Matrix,Proof, Russian Doll, Strange Planet, TV: Bangkok Hilton, True Stories)
Felicia: Guy Pearce (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, L.A. Confidential, Memento, Ravenous, Rules of Engagement, Till Human Voices Wake Us, TV: Home and Away, Neighbours)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desertis the one DVD that I’ve been looking forward to all year (well, I lie there -I’ve gone a bundle for discs likeThe Complete FlumpsandMen Behaving Badly).
Gay anthems ahoy as Bernadette (Terence Stamp), Mitzi (Hugo Weaving)and Felicia (Guy Pearce) are three Sidney drag queens travelling in aclapped-out and delapidated school bus that they convert into a travellingcompanion that’s more ornate that theTitanic),on a four-week cabaret around the back-end of Australia.
With many good one-liners, costumes to just die for darling and an orientalgirl who fires ping-pong balls out of her arse, this is one film that, despitea few slow moments, you shouldn’t miss. However…
…it’s time to now bow our heads and put on the black armband as thisparticular DVD is consigned to beermat-heaven. Why? Because the film was shotin a 2.35:1 Panavision ratio but here it’s been cropped to an anamorphic1.85:1 ratio which is an incredible shame as the visuals are nothing butstunning and, to add insult to injury, the opening credits are in the original2.35:1 ratio and then the picture changes to 1.85:1 afterwards.
To then add insult to insult to injury, see the section about the TVclips later on in this review.
The sound is the one thing this disc gets right. Clear dialogue and songsbursting out all over the place such as“I’ve Been To Paradise (But I’ve Never Been To Me)”,“Save The Best Till Last”,“I Will Survive” and“I Love the Nightlife”, get the body grooving, if you can closeyour eyes so you don’t have to witness the cropped ratio.
The sound is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo) in English only.
Extras : Chapters/Trailer :Just 20 chapters break up the film, coupled with the theatrical trailerand a teaser trailer. Languages/Subtitles :Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo) in English alone and, surprisingly, no subtitles. And there’s more… :But not a great deal. The Filmogs/Biogs are for the director and thethree main cast members, while the 9 TV Clips are brief snippets fromthe film exactly how they appeared in the film – no different – so clearlythe sort of thing that was sent out to TV shows of the day so they couldplug the film quickly and cheaply.
Here’s the bit where Columbia have added insult to insult to injury.
2.35:1 ratio but the film isn’t!!
So, Priscilla, you’re a great film with superb sound, but all is lostwhen you cropped 25% of the picture off the sides. Small is not beautiful.How about a recall please Columbia before it gets released? (May 22nd, 2000).
The Region 1 disc is in its original 2.35:1 ratio but is not anamorphic. However,I’d take that over an anamorphic, but cropped picture any day.
DVD Trivia: I saw Guy Pearce play his saxophone at Foo FooLamarr‘s Henry Afrika’s club in Oldham, Manchester in1989 (I think). All he did was play his instrument, talk about himself inNeighbours and hand up signed photos, before being followed-upby a Michael Jackson impressionist and Foo Foo him/herself.
Dom Trivia: No, I’m not gay (the missus would NOT be impressed!),but a brilliant night out for me is a Friday night at Manchester’sParadise Factory on the 80’s music floor with several bottle of K 🙂
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.