The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce and a transgender woman, played by Terence Stamp, as they travel across Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs on a tour bus they name "Priscilla", along Street. face various groups and individuals. The title of the movie references the slang term "queen" to the drag queen or female impersonator.
The film became a shocking hit worldwide and its positive portrayal of LGBT individuals helped introduce LGBT themes to mainstream audiences. It received positive reviews and won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 67th Academy Awards. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and became a cult classic in Australia and abroad. Priscilla further provides the basis for the musical, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert , which opened in 2006 in Sydney before traveling to New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and Broadway.
Video The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Plot
Anthony "Tick" Belrose (Hugo Weaving), using a pseudonym of Mitzi Del Bra, is a Sydney-based drag queen who accepted an offer to take a drag action at Lasseter's Hotel Casino Resort run by his estranged wife Marion in Alice Springs, town remote in central Australia. After persuading his friends and associates, Bernadette Bassenger (Terence Stamp), a transgender woman who had just left, and Adam Whitely (Guy Pearce), the flamboyant and annoying young drag queen who walked under the name of drag Felicia Jollygoodfellow, to join him, three depart for a four-week run at the casino on a big tour bus, which Adam christens "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert".
While on a long journey across a remote land bordering the Simpson Desert, they meet various characters, including a group of friendly Australian Aboriginal people for whom they perform, a less accepting attitude from the Australian countryside in cities like Coober Pedy, and subject to abuse homophobic, violent, including having their tour bus tampered with homophobic graffiti.
When the tour bus breaks down in the desert, Adam spends all day painting the lavender to cover vandalism. The three then meet Bob, a middle-aged mechanic from a small inland town who joins them on their way. Before they arrive in Alice Springs, Tick reveals that Marion is actually his wife, since they never divorced, and that they actually went there as an aid to him. Continuing their journey, Adam was almost mutilated by a homophobic gang before he was rescued by Bob and Bernadette. Adam was shaken and Bernadette comforted him, allowing them to reach understanding. Likewise, others come to terms with the secret of Tick's wedding and settle their differences. Together, they fulfill Adam's long-held dream, which, in his initial plan, is to climb King's Canyon in a full drag regalia.
Upon arriving at the hotel, it was revealed that Tick and Marion also had an eight-year-old son, Benjamin, whom Tick had not seen in years. Tick ​​nervously exposes his son to the drag profession and is anxious about revealing his homosexuality, though he is surprised to find that Benjamin already knows and fully supports his father's sexuality and career. By the time their contract at the resort was over, Tick and Adam returned to Sydney, bringing Benjamin back with them, so Tick could get to know his son. However, Bernadette decided to stay at the resort for a while with Bob, who had decided to work at the hotel after they both became close.
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Cast
- Terence Stamp as Bernadette Bassenger
- Daniel Kellie as young Bernadette
- Hugo Weaving as Anthony "Tick" Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra
- Guy Pearce as Adam Whitely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow
- Leighton Picken as young Adam
- Bill Hunter as Robert "Bob" Spart
- Sarah Chadwick as Marion Barber
- Mark Holmes as Benjamin Barber
- Julia Cortez as Cynthia Campos
- Ken Radley as Frank
- Margaret Pomeranz ( uncredited ) as Adam's mother
- Stephan Elliott ( uncredited ) as Doorman
Production
Development
The Adventures of Priscilla, the Queen of the Desert was originally conceived by filmmakers Stephan Elliott and Andrena Finlay, who at the time was in the production of a film called Frauds . They initially tried to throw Priscilla into various financiers at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, but to no avail, and instead took the film's concept to PolyGram and, with support from the Australian Film Finance Corporation, were able to start film production with a relatively low budget of 2.7 million Australian dollars.
Elliott and film producer Michael Hamlyn and Al Clark, the last of whom were Finlay's husbands, all agreed to work with $ 50,000 each, a relatively low cost for filmmakers at the time, while lack of funding meant that the crew agreed to receive the final profit of the film as compensation for their low salaries. Due to the involvement of FFC Australia, only one non-Australian actor was allowed to appear in the film, and Clark was originally considered David Bowie, whom he knew back in the 1980s, and then briefly thought of John Hurt, though unavailable.
Casting
In May 1993, after traveling around Australia Outback looking for the right site to be filmed, Priscilla ' was present at Cannes to advertise their project, despite the fact that they had an unconfirmed actor for role. Their primary choice for Bernadette's role was Tony Curtis, who read and approved the manuscript, but ultimately became unavailable. They then approached John Cleese, who was not interested.
For part of the Tick, they initially wanted Rupert Everett and for Adam they wanted Jason Donovan. However, at a pre-production casting meeting held in Cannes, Everett and Donovan did not get along with each other and were found openly hostile towards the production staff. In connection with this, it is fittingly agreed that they will not be suitable for those parts and the search for their three prominent men will continue. However, Donovan will continue playing Tick in the musical adaptation of the West End movie.
After successfully lobbying Colin Firth to play a role, the producers finally gave the part to Hugo Weaving. Initially considering Tim Curry for Bernadette's part, they ditched Terence Stamp, who initially worried about the role because it was unlike anything he had done before, though he eventually came up with the concept. Stamp himself suggests Bill Hunter for the role of Bob, who accepts the role without reading the script or being told about the bigger concept of the movie other than the basic character description, while Australian actor Guy Pearce was hired at the eleventh hour directly from the Australian soap opera Snowy River to describe sassy but Adam sprite.
Filming
Many scenes, including the scene in which Bernadette met a large woman, an Australian woman named Shirley, was filmed in the Broken Hill Outback town of New South Wales, mostly in a hotel known as Mario Castle, as well as a small scene filmed at All Nations Hotel. , which Al Clark believes is a "queen of attraction heaven". They also decided to film in Coober Pedy, a rugged mining town in Central Australia that stands out in this film.
Initially, they tried to get permission to film on geological formations formerly known as Ayers Rock or "the Rock" (Uluru), but this was rejected by the organization responsible for monuments, such as the Uluru Management Board, as it would have been violating Native religious beliefs Australia. Instead, the scene was filmed in King's Canyon. The dialogue from the scene was rewritten slightly to accommodate the new location.
Postproduction
By taking pictures, the director and producer began editing the tape, repeatedly traveling to London and to Los Angeles, which was later hit by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. At the suggestion of the early viewers, the movie was shortened and scenes like Adam's flashbacks of uncles his pedophilic edited.
Release
box office
The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert took $ 18,459,245 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $ 28,529,000 in 2010.
Being an Australian film, not an American-made Hollywood blockbuster film, Priscilla was released as a small commercial product in North America and other English-speaking countries.
Director Elliott noted that viewers who watched movies in Australia, the United States and France all reacted differently, continuing by stating that "In the screening we performed for Australian viewers, they laughed at all Aussieism." The Americans laughed too, but at different jokes. the line where Tick says, 'Bernadette has left her cake in the rain...' [French listener] does not understand, while Americans laugh for ten minutes. "Tom O'Regan, a film studies scholar, actually brings a different meaning to members of various nationalities and subculture groups, with LGBT Americans believing that the film is "a great film that will bring gay lifestyle into the mainstream", while Australians tend to "embrace it only as a successful Australian film".
Critical reaction
At Rotten Tomatoes, Priscilla has a 93% "fresh" rating based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10; the consensus states: "Although the premise is ripe for comedy - and of course it gives a fair laugh - Priscilla is also a very gentle and thoughtful street movie with some amazing performances." Metacritic reports a ranking of 68 out of 100, based on 19 critics, which shows "favorable general reviews".
American film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times feels that Bernadette is an important part of the film, stating that "the real subject of the film is not homosexuality, not drag queen, not showbiz, but only the life of a man a middle-aged man caught up in a tiring work. "Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote" The Desert Priscilla Adventure presents a challenging cultural clash in a generous and entertaining way. " Peter Travers of Rolling Stone commented "In this incredible and influential comedy film, Terence Stamp gave one of the best performances of the year." Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times wrote "The pizazz comic and the mesmerizing dazzle of the film's vision of the dancers who travel across the interior of Australia must have a bustling and addictive way of doing it."
Accolades
The film was ranked 7th on 50 Best Logos Films with LGBT themes, and # 10 on AfterElton's Fifty Greatest Gay Movies list.
Cultural and inheritance impact
Priscilla , along with other Australian contemporary films Young Einstein (1988), Sweetie (1989), Strictly Ballroom 1992), and Muriel's Wedding (1994), provides Australian cinema with a reputation of "quirkiness", "eccentricity" and "individuality" around the world. Both Priscilla and Muriel's Wedding (which also features a soundtrack containing ABBA songs) in particular became a cult classic, not only in their native Australia but also in England, where waves of Australian influence, such as soap operas and Neighbors, have made their mark in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1995, an American movie, To Wong Foo, Thank You for Everything! Julie Newmar , released, featuring three drag queens who travel across the United States. According to Al Clark, the creators of Priscilla heard about the film while filming them, and "for a while [were] problematic" until they read the To Wong Foo script, when they decided that it's quite different from Priscilla to not be a commercial and critical threat. For Wong Foo proved to be less successful than Priscilla , only get 41% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, financially, To Wong Foo did it better at the box office that made it three times more in the US with more than 36 million dollars.
During the 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony in Sydney, Priscilla is part of Australia's popular cultural image parade. The 1980 Denning Ford (resembling a bus used in films) featuring giant steel stiletto heels that extends from and pulled to the roof - inspired by scenes from the film - is paraded around the Olympic Stadium. The bus was accompanied by several stiletto heel trucks and a queen in a big wig in recognition of the international success of the film and the local gay community of Sydney. The music video for Iggy Azalea 2013 single "Work" paid homage to the scenes of the film.
Controversy of racism and sexism
The film has been criticized for being accused of racist and sexist elements, especially in portraying Filipino characters, Cynthia. Melba Margison of the Philippine Center of Concern stated that Cynthia was described as "a gold digger, a prostitute, an entertainer whose skill sets out ping-pong balls from her sex organ, a depressive mania, hard and vulgar.Smallest stereotypes from the Philippines." She argues that, by describing Cynthia in this way, the filmmakers "kill hard" the dignity of Filipino women, something that is feared will cause "more violence against us". An editorial in The Age echoed the issue, highlighting that "It may be a pity that a film with a message of tolerance and acceptance for homosexuals must feel the need of what looks so much to us as racist and sexist stereotypes. "Similarly, in his study of bisexuality in theaters, Wayne M. Bryant argues that although it is a" remarkable film ", The Adventures of Priscilla is undermined by" examples of haphazard sexism ".
Producer Clark defends the film against these allegations, arguing that while Cynthia is a stereotype, it is not the aim of the filmmakers to avoid delineating "vulnerable characters" from certain minority backgrounds. He states that he is "a mismatch like three protagonists, and almost everyone in the film, and his presence is no more a statement about Filipino women than having three transvestites is a statement about Australian men." Tom O'Regan noted that as a result of this controversy, the film gained "an ambiguous reputation."
Soundtrack
This film features a soundtrack created from pre-existing camp classics (pop music songs that have a specific fanbase in the LGBT community). The original plan by the filmmakers was to have Kylie Minogue's song at the end, though it was later decided that the ABBA song would be more appropriate because of the "more enduring" tacky "(although in a musical adaptation, Adam's character did medley Kylie Minogue songs on over Uluru). The film itself features four main songs, performed by two or more of the drag queens as part of their performances in the film; "I Never Been to Me" by Charlene, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, "Finally" by CeCe Peniston, and "Mamma Mia" by ABBA. On August 23, 1994, Fontana Island released a soundtrack on CD.
The original music for the soundtrack was composed by Guy Gross, with a choir arrangement by Derek Williams, and released separately on CD.
Home media
On November 14, 1995, the film was released on VHS. On October 7, 1997, it was released on DVD with a collectible trivia booklet.
In 2004, the 10th Anniversary Collector Edition was released on DVD in Australia with the following special features: long-featured audio commentary with writer/director Stephan Elliott, three deleted scenes, two featurettes: "Behind Bus: Priscilla with Her Underwear Pants "and" Ladies Please ", cast and crew biography, original Australian theater trailer, theatrical trailer and US teaser, and a host of hidden features
In 2006, it was re-released on DVD in Australia with the following special features: long-featured audio commentary with writer/director Elliott, "Birth of a Queen" (featurette), deleted scenes, tidbits from Set, "The Bus from Blooperville "- Gag reel documentary, photo gallery, and theatrical theatrical and teaser United States.
On June 5, 2007, it was re-released in the United States as DVD "Extra Frills Edition". This edition includes the same special features as the 2006 Australian birthday release. On June 7, 2011, released for US Blu-ray.
In Australia, this is available on Stan's streaming stream platform.
See also
- Australian cinema
- Transgender characters in movies and television
References
- References
- Further reading
External links
- Priscilla's Adventure, Desert Queen on IMDb
- The Adventure of Priscilla, the Desert Queen in Box Office Mojo
- Priscilla Queen of the Desert Adventure in Oz Movies
- The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Adventure of Priscilla, the Desert Queen in Metacritic
- The Adventure of Priscilla, the Desert Queen at AustralianScreen Online
- Priscilla Bus Iconic given to Broken Hill - By Margaret Paul at Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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