Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

[Simon Boccanegra]

I saw this tonight.  I'll just say "not for me" (the Ray of its year: a leisurely old-fashioned music biopic with a convincing lead performance, somehow nominated for Best Picture), but credit for the detail of Montserrat Caballé (RIP) singing "Signore, ascolta" on Freddie's stereo when he calls Mary and asks her to look at the window. The Live-Aid recreation and scene with the new boyfriend meeting the parents were the best parts of the movie, so at least it peaks late.  

[Dancingjaneway]

Finally saw this tonight and I just don't understand the hype over Rami's performance or the movie. I didn't think Rami looked or acted like Freddie at all. The movie itself was WAY too long and the actual film aspect of it was mediocre. The only moment that I actually enjoyed was the end at Live Aid. But that was just the combination of the music & know what was going to happen to Freddie. I'm so glad I didn't pay to see it. 

[Shannon L.]

I got the dvd and just watched the extras.  They're fascinating and I was so pleased to see just how involved Brian May and Roger Taylor were throughout the filming.  They even allowed them to raid their wardrobes for costumes  :)   Brian also said that when they walked onto the Live Aid set he felt the hairs on his neck stand up because they got so much of it right, even some of the smaller details. 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Shannon L.

[thuganomics85]

Bohemian Rhapsody manages to snag four Oscar tonight, only losing Best Picture to Green Book.  Still, considering the, err, "mixed reaction" from the critics, it pulled off quite an impressive show.

Thrilled for Rami Malek and I can't believe he went from being a somewhat unknown to an Emmy and Oscar winner in a few years.  I can't wait to see what he does next.  Also, I'm apparently out of the loop and I didn't realize he and Lucy Boynton are dating, which is nice, and I hope it goes well (can never tale with Hollywood/move industry romances.)

[truthaboutluv]

10 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Still, considering the, err, "mixed reaction" from the critics, it pulled off quite an impressive show.

Yes it did. And hilarious as the shock and seething would have been to witness had they won Best Picture, glad that didn't happen. One because as much as I loved the film, I did recognize its flaws and didn't think it deserved Best Picture and two, I'm glad that all the teeth gnashing and think pieces are being directed Green Book's way. 

Quote

Also, I'm apparently out of the loop and I didn't realize he and Lucy Boynton are dating, which is nice, and I hope it goes well (can never tale with Hollywood/move industry romances.)

Most people didn't. Unless you're really into celebrity gossip and followed Rami pretty closely, you wouldn't know as he's typically very private about his personal life.

I was amazed at how public he was with her last night. As for whether it lasts, again they certainly seem happy and I adore Rami but well, he kind of has a bit of a reputation for dating co-stars.

In fact, I'm pretty sure he cheated on his ex-girlfriend, who happened to be his Mr. Robot co-star, with Lucy, when he started filming Bohemian Rhapsody. Should make for a fun reunion on the Mr. Robot set, which starts filming next month I believe. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[Shannon L.]

I saw an interesting tweet that was liked by Ryan Reynolds.  It said that the fact that BoRhap won Sound Editing (or maybe it was Mixing--I can't remember right now)  shows that the academy members don't understand Sound Editing (or Mixing).  We were talking about that last night.  One of the young women here has a mother and other family members in the business and she was talking about the film and how she thinks that people don't quite understand what they had to do to make it work.  Once she mentioned it, I understood more about why it deserved at least to be nominated.  Besides, I thought that only sound editors and mixers could vote on the sound categories.  Either way, I was surprised by the tweet.

Edited:  I meant sound editing, not film.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Shannon L.

[benteen]

I'm trying to figure out why Rami's Best Picture clip was him lip-synching.

[truthaboutluv]

17 minutes ago, benteen said:

I'm trying to figure out why Rami's Best Picture clip was him lip-synching.

They chose awful clips for many of the nominees. Adam Driver looked confused when his clip was over. I wonder who makes that decision. The BAFTA's did the best with Rami's clip.

They showed the scene where Freddie tells the band he has AIDS and the conclusion of him saying, "I'm going to be what I was born to be - a performer that gives the people what they want", was pitch perfect and captured the essence of the film and his performance perfectly. 
 

Quote

Once she mentioned it, I understood more about why it deserved at least to be nominated.  Besides, I thought that only sound editors and mixers could vote on the sound categories.  Either way, I was surprised by the tweet.

Yeah I just posted in the Academy Awards thread that Rami was singing every time he is shown singing and that the sound editors and mixers came in after and layered his raw vocals with Freddie's. And they had to do that as seamlessly as possible. 

One person responded that they didn't know this and so now it makes a bit more sense why they won these awards. Because people have been going around for months making cracks about Rami's "lip syncing" while others did their own singing. Not realizing that Rami did sing.

They just layered it with Freddie's vocals because I'm sorry, no amount of training was going to make this man sound like Freddie Mercury. As I said in the Academy Awards thread, Adam Lambert is an amazing singer and even he can't really do Freddie.

I don't think some people realize the vocal talent and ability Freddie Mercury possessed. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[ruby24]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

In fact, I'm pretty sure he cheated on his ex-girlfriend, who happened to be his Mr. Robot co-star, with Lucy, when he started filming Bohemian Rhapsody. Should make for a fun reunion on the Mr. Robot set, which starts filming next month I believe. 

What, really? Which Mr. Robot co-star is this? Do you know what her name is (or who she plays on the show, since I watch it).

[truthaboutluv]

Just now, ruby24 said:

What, really? Which Mr. Robot co-star is this? Do you know what her name is (or who she plays on the show, since I watch it).

Portia Doubleday, who plays Angela. Many people didn't know they were together because again, Rami is very private about his personal life. But I follow pop culture blogs and I think some picked up on it from her Instagram. And I think they were photographed a few times out and about.

And a few months after filming on Bohemian Rhapsody began, she deleted all her images of him from her Instagram account and a month or two later, US Weekly reported Rami and Lucy were dating. Rami and Lucy have been together almost two years though. 

[ruby24]

Oh, thanks. Wow, I can't believe I didn't know he and Portia were together that whole time. Like I said, I've actually watched that show since the beginning! 

And yeah, that probably is going to make things really awkward for the last season, considering all this happened since that last season was filmed. Yikes (I actually wonder if that will affect how the story turns out, considering he and Portia are love interests on that show).

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

Yeah I just posted in the Academy Awards thread that Rami was singing every time he is shown singing and that the sound editors and mixers came in after and layered his raw vocals with Freddie's. And they had to do that as seamlessly as possible. 

I knew he was singing, but I didn't realize how much work went into all the layering of voices.  Now that I think about it, I get it. 

[WendyCR72]

So I rented the movie on Amazon. Now, I don't watch Mr. Robot, so I had no preconceived notions about Rami Malek. But, yeah. He totally nailed Freddie Mercury, and it really was like seeing the man rise from the dead. He got the swagger and the 'tude down cold. Yet also managed to infuse that with the loneliness and vulnerability, oftentimes with no words needed.

I have read enough about Freddie's history with Mary Austin. Since the day to day was not very public, I'll just say I'd guess the devotion was on point, even after Freddie broke off their romance because of his bisexual/gay leanings. (I know I read she is in possession of his ashes and is the only one to know of his final resting spot and has never divulged where it is.)

Got a kick out of the Mike Myers cameo.

As was often said here, this did seem likely more sanitized than actual events were, but the actors involved made it work. The actor playing Brian May...it was like seeing him in a time machine, as well. The resemblance was uncanny.

Finally, the ending at Live Aid was meticulously done, the sets, everything. I was 12 going on 13 when Live Aid happened and recall watching it on MTV, and it was just recreated perfectly.

Was it accurate? Eh. Lots of biopics take dramatic license. (The AIDS timeline being one, as I know he was diagnosed AFTER Live Aid by a year or two.) But was it enjoyable? As one that likes a lot of Queen's music, I have to say yes. Yes, it damned well was.

Congrats on your Oscar, Rami Malek.

[BookWoman56]

On 2/26/2019 at 9:35 PM, WendyCR72 said:

So I rented the movie on Amazon. Now, I don't watch Mr. Robot, so I had no preconceived notions about Rami Malek. But, yeah. He totally nailed Freddie Mercury, and it really was like seeing the man rise from the dead. He got the swagger and the 'tude down cold. Yet also managed to infuse that with the loneliness and vulnerability, oftentimes with no words needed.

That was my experience with the movie, as well. I'd watched maybe half an episode of Mr. Robot, and then something came up so I never finished it and didn't watch any other episodes. But after seeing Malek in this performance, I'm interested enough to go back and watch at least a few episodes. 

The movie as a whole didn't blow me away, but I thought it was perfectly adequate for a biopic, and most of the performances were very solid. Rami Malek was a revelation, though. I'm old enough to remember Queen when they were just starting to be successful and then in their prime, and it was indeed like watching Freddie Mercury alive once more.  I did find myself wishing that for Freddie's sake, Mary Austin had been able to accept Freddie's bisexuality and maintain the romantic relationship in an open marriage kind of way, only because I think it would have provided Freddie with a lot more emotional stability. However, she evidently did remain a good friend and gave him the emotional support she could, while having her own family. 

It did seem a bit ironic when Freddie told the band about his diagnosis, and his stance that he wasn't going to go public with it because he didn't want to be the poster child for AIDS or used as a cautionary tale. I certainly understand his desire to keep his private life private. But IMO it was his death, much more than that of Rock Hudson, that made my generation sit up and take a lot more notice of the HIV epidemic. Hudson's death was a surprise, but Freddie's was a punch in the gut. 

That said, one thing I truly appreciated about the movie is that it didn't reduce Freddie to only a tragic figure or only a musician, but instead presented him as a whole person who could give incredible performances to adoring crowds one day and be lonely with very few true friends the next. I'm glad they chose to end the movie with the Live Aid performance rather than chronicling Freddie's physical decline. I've seen videos of him in the studio not long before his death, and those were painful; it was much better to see him on screen while he was still in good shape. 

I also thought the movie did a good job of balancing the focus on Freddie with the interactions with the band and music industry. The only thing that distracted me was that Roger Taylor looked as if he didn't age at all from when the band first formed and when they did the Live Aid performance; the only noticeable difference seemed to be that his hair wasn't as long. But that's a fairly minor quibble that I can get past. 

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

The movie as a whole didn't blow me away, but I thought it was perfectly adequate for a biopic, and most of the performances were very solid. Rami Malek was a revelation, though. I'm old enough to remember Queen when they were just starting to be successful and then in their prime, and it was indeed like watching Freddie Mercury alive once more.  I did find myself wishing that for Freddie's sake, Mary Austin had been able to accept Freddie's bisexuality and maintain the romantic relationship in an open marriage kind of way, only because I think it would have provided Freddie with a lot more emotional stability. However, she evidently did remain a good friend and gave him the emotional support she could, while having her own family. 

I came across some audio recording from an interview snippet on YT with Freddie Mercury just last night. And he basically said that he and Mary - in their way - did have a kind of marriage. And he went on to say that they believed in each other. I found their relationship so complex. I guess, for them, they didn't feel the need to fit into relationship "boxes" and created their own vibe of some sort.

How that impacted Mary's future relationships, I don't know. But Freddie was Godfather to her son, so obviously, it was all very interesting.

I was a little kid when Queen were in their prime, but I do recall their resurgence around Wayne's World when I was in college. Still, his death just the year prior still seemed such a shock, as my 12-year-old self did still recall his Live Aid concert and how he seemed so alive. I watched the tribute concert, too. It amazed me how many artists from so many genres were influenced by the band. Not a bad legacy to have.

I never saw the studio stuff you did toward Freddie's end (and I don't think I'd want to), but I do remember the video for "Days of Our Lives", and he was so very gaunt, now that I look back. But what I always remember is Brian May explaining how Freddie, so weak he could barely stand, downing some vodka and telling a concerned Brian that "I'll fucking do it, darling!" in terms of recording "The Show Must Go On". Listening to the lyrics, while it is about the coming end, I also saw it as a kind of "fuck you" to the disease and that he will go out on his terms.

And that seemed like Freddie Mercury, to me.  🙂

[Bill1978]

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 1:45 AM, Shannon L. said:

I saw an interesting tweet that was liked by Ryan Reynolds.  It said that the fact that BoRhap won Sound Editing (or maybe it was Mixing--I can't remember right now)  shows that the academy members don't understand Sound Editing (or Mixing).  We were talking about that last night.  One of the young women here has a mother and other family members in the business and she was talking about the film and how she thinks that people don't quite understand what they had to do to make it work.  Once she mentioned it, I understood more about why it deserved at least to be nominated.  Besides, I thought that only sound editors and mixers could vote on the sound categories.  Either way, I was surprised by the tweet.

From what I've read explaining the difference between the two categories is that Sound Editing is more about creating the Sound Effects of the movie. While Sound Mixing is obviously getting everything in the right level from the speaking being say the focus while a chirping bird in the background is muted,

Musical type films tend to be favoured for Mixing as that is where that stuff is really valued, and from what I have read the fact BoRap when Sound Editing does show that the Academy doesn't truly understand that category. From what I can tell if it was called Sound Effects Editing, people would be voting for the 'better' movies in that category.

I have to admit though that the blame does have to lie with the Sound Editors a bit, since they tend to nominate the same movies as the Mixers which makes it look like a redundant category. After the Editors have picked their top 5, the whole Academy then votes. From what I read leading up to the Awards, A Quiet Place was the better movie for Sound Editing.

[truthaboutluv]

5 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I never saw the studio stuff you did toward Freddie's end (and I don't think I'd want to), but I do remember the video for "Days of Our Lives", and he was so very gaunt, now that I look back.

There's a 10 minute behind the scenes video of the filming of that video. It's from a longer Queen documentary and it definitely shows how sick Freddie was by then. He already had the sores many AIDS victims developed and they clearly attempted to cover it with makeup but it really just made him look like a corpse. In the video Roger mentions how brave he thought it was of Freddie to do the video because they all could see how bad he looked physically. Roger wrote Days of Our Lives btw. 

8 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

I'd watched maybe half an episode of Mr. Robot, and then something came up so I never finished it and didn't watch any other episodes. But after seeing Malek in this performance, I'm interested enough to go back and watch at least a few episodes. 

Mr. Robot is a show that can be an acquired taste. I love it but I can see how some found it frustrating and gave up on it. That said, I would suggest watching at least the first season if someone wants to see how amazing of an actor Rami is and how brilliant what he did in Bohemian Rhapsody was.

Because trust me, Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot) and Freddie Mercury are night and day. You'll understand why Rami himself said even he was confused when the producers first approached him to play Freddie after having seen him on Mr. Robot. That said, both characters do have a certain loneliness. 

I am interested to see how Rami transitions out of Freddie and back to Elliot, since it's been so long since they filmed Season 3 of Mr. Robot and Freddie and the film has been his whole life for a year and a half now. 

3 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

From what I've read explaining the difference between the two categories is that Sound Editing is more about creating the Sound Effects of the movie. While Sound Mixing is obviously getting everything in the right level from the speaking being say the focus while a chirping bird in the background is muted,

Yeah that's how I've understood it as well and why others feel like you, in wondering if the voters understand the difference. Some people have even suggested they just make it one category since they clearly don't understand the difference between the sound editing and the sound mixing. 

[WendyCR72]

Per Rolling Stone's website (by way of Page Six), Queen is already considering a sequel. To be honest, I cannot see one working. While the rest of the band is no doubt talented and no doubt have their own stories, I think the main draw for Bohemian Rhapsody was, for better or worse, Freddie Mercury. Maybe it's just the usual Page Six blather, and it is just spitballing and won't ever happen.

But honestly, if it does, I cannot imagine where the band goes from here. Discovering Adam Lambert via American Idol? Their guest vocalist gigs with Paul Rodgers?

I see neither of those as big box-office draws.

[Browncoat]

I heard that on the radio yesterday, and as much as I loved this movie, I can’t imagine even bothering to see a sequel.  This one ended exactly where it needed to for the story.

[Shannon L.]

My first reaction was that we would see Freddie coping with AIDS through his final days.  Given that he didn't even announce that he had AIDS until the day before he died, leads me to believe that this is not a part of his life he'd want to be made into a movie.  Anything after that isn't as interesting, imo.  I really enjoyed their concerts with Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert, but not enough to want a movie made about it.  The former would have made a powerful movie and Rami would have knocked those scenes out of the ball park as well, but they need to respect what Freddie would have wanted and let it go. 

[truthaboutluv]

I first read about the sequel idea being floated around late last year, unsurprisingly, on the heels of the movie being such a commercial success. It didn't surprise me because unfortunately that's how it goes in the entertainment industry - see all these annoying, unnecessary reboots. 

The fact is Bohemian Rhapsody in many ways turned out to be such an anomaly. Plagued with production issues, drama and early reviews saying it was okay to some calling it plain bad, and still it made massive amounts of money, making it now the biggest musical biopic ever. And of course all the film awards, particularly Rami's winning Best Actor. 

I am not surprised that after witnessing all of this success, there's some notion that they can do it again. I don't think they can though and so I hope sense prevails and it doesn't happen. Aside from what others have noted of people likely not being interested in the story of the band after Freddie, it will mean Rami likely will not be a part of that one and let's face it, he was a very significant part of what made Bohemian Rhapsody work despite all the issues and flaws. 

The fact is, a big part of what made this film resonate and touch so many IS the fact that it ended on a high note. That despite how we all know Freddie's story ended, they chose to celebrate his life versus his death and the band's success. That's why ending with the Live Aid performance was pitch perfect. Trying to recreate that is just not a good idea in my opinion. 

Edited March 12, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[Morrigan2575]

I hope they don't go with a sequel.  This movie was good but, Freddie was a very private person and i think they should end it here.

[BookWoman56]

I don't see what purpose a sequel would serve. I certainly don't want to see scenes of Freddie's physical decline and so forth, dramatized for the big screen. Now, I would probably enjoy an actual documentary about the band, that explores the rise of the band and then how they've adjusted after Freddie's death to having Paul Rodgers and then Adam Lambert take on being the lead vocalist. A lot of what I enjoyed about the movie was the look behind the scenes of the songwriting and recording process, and it would be fun to have the band members relate some of those experiences. But I would see a documentary as something intended for the small screen, like an HBO documentary or something similar. 

[WendyCR72]

3 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

I don't see what purpose a sequel would serve. I certainly don't want to see scenes of Freddie's physical decline and so forth, dramatized for the big screen. Now, I would probably enjoy an actual documentary about the band, that explores the rise of the band and then how they've adjusted after Freddie's death to having Paul Rodgers and then Adam Lambert take on being the lead vocalist. A lot of what I enjoyed about the movie was the look behind the scenes of the songwriting and recording process, and it would be fun to have the band members relate some of those experiences. But I would see a documentary as something intended for the small screen, like an HBO documentary or something similar. 

I'm sure yet another moment of glory is a bit heady for Taylor and May. And if that sounds snide, it's not how I intended it to. I'd bet many "used to be hot/famous" artists wish for another such moment. As it was, Wayne's World gave Queen a second wind, and a third is almost unheard of. So I get the idea of wanting to sustain it.

That being said, as I had stated above, I don't see a sequel generating as much interest as Bohemian Rhapsody did because of a lack of Freddie Mercury/and/or seeing Freddie succumb to death would not exactly be feel-good, which it seems many theater goers responded to, and the BTS stuff of the remaining members doesn't seem to be much of a draw, be it unfair to the rest of the band or not. And doing a story about, perhaps, Freddie's decline would just seem crass and exploitative. And as much as May and Taylor probably are enjoying yet another burst of popularity, they do sincerely seem to want to honor Freddie, so I'd think even they wouldn't cross such a line.

But then, mega-successful films always run the risk of "sequelitis" and warping what was once loved in the first place into the ground. May the members of Queen avoid that pitfall.

[msrachelj]

On 11/12/2018 at 11:14 AM, truthaboutluv said:

From the way Brian May and Roger Taylor have told it, it wasn't that Sacha wanted to focus on Freddie and little about the band that was the issue. It's that he wanted that focus on Freddie to be all sex, drugs and rock and roll. Like that's all Freddie was. Roger flat out said in an interview that they felt he didn't get and take seriously who Freddie was. And after seeing Sacha's interview on Howard Stern's show where he talked about walking away from the part, I believe the band members. And I for one am beyond thrilled that that mess did not end up happening. 

thank god. i can not stand sacha and his sense of "humor" as in disgusting 12 year old boy bathroom.  i would not have even watched the movie had he been cast.

[WendyCR72]

Sacha Baron Cohen would have maybe resembled Freddie Mercury more, but his take seemed to just want all the glitz and debauchery without the humanity Rami Malek infused. Maybe it went too soft with Malek's casting, but at least Mercury wasn't treated like the clichéd rock star brought to his knees by AIDS as a sort of "punishment", so to speak.

If this biopic had to go only those two ways, I much prefer what the public was presented with.

[Inquisitionist]

This movie has finally hit HBO, so I was able to watch it recently.  For me, the film's main virtue is that it sent me to youtube to look for footage of Queen's actual Live Aid performance.  Rami Malek did a very commendable job, but there's nothing like watching the real Freddie Mercury in action. 

[WendyCR72]

14 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

This movie has finally hit HBO, so I was able to watch it recently.  For me, the film's main virtue is that it sent me to youtube to look for footage of Queen's actual Live Aid performance.  Rami Malek did a very commendable job, but there's nothing like watching the real Freddie Mercury in action. 

I remember being 12 years old and watching it on MTV. Freddie had the crowd mesmerized.

[Queena]

Back in 2011 during a very sad and lonely time of my life I ran across Queen on YouTube. Somebody to Love touched me, I swear that almost every time I would play it my now husband would call or visit. I've always thought that BR was a masterpiece (oddly enough I don't remember it from my childhood, and I grew up listening to soft rock and pop) but as a whole Queen was the best. Freddie had such a versatile voice. I'm pissed that he wasn't able to live long, but I've read that he had HIV/AIDS since the mid to late 70's. I thought that Rami did a excellent job. I thought that the movie was fantastic. 

[BitterApple]

I saw the movie last weekend on HBO and I thought it was incredible 

[MissT]

I finally caught this movie on HBO and I was sucked right in!!!  I loved it!  I was at Live Aid in Philadelphia - 18 at the time... not in the stadium, but with the thousands of people along Broad Street.  It was a truly incredible experience even though I didn't actually "see" anyone singing.  I always liked Queen and Freddie had an incredible voice.  You know who it is as soon as he starts singing.  Rami Malek did him justice. Yes I went online and watched the performance.  Gave me chills.

Edited July 16, 2019 by MissT

[AgentRXS]

My uncle was obsessed with Queen, so as a child they were my introduction to rock music. I love everything about Freddie. I was so excited to see this movie.

That being said, the Live Aid performance was the only thing that saved this dreck for me. Rami was excellent at capturing Freddie on stage, not so much on his real life charisma and cattiness.  I wish it was more substance and less beloved-pop-star-falls-into-traps-of-fame-but-everyone-comes-together-in-the-end. Just felt like Freddie deserves more than the predictable tropes--his life was so much more than that. 

Edited July 27, 2019 by AgentRXS

[outofbounds]

On 7/27/2019 at 5:00 PM, AgentRXS said:

My uncle was obsessed with Queen, so as a child they were my introduction to rock music. I love everything about Freddie. I was so excited to see this movie.

That being said, the Live Aid performance was the only thing that saved this dreck for me. Rami was excellent at capturing Freddie on stage, not so much on his real life charisma and cattiness.  I wish it was more substance and less beloved-pop-star-falls-into-traps-of-fame-but-everyone-comes-together-in-the-end. Just felt like Freddie deserves more than the predictable tropes--his life was so much more than that. 

Maybe.  Maybe not.  Freddie did fall into the traps of fame, as most folks in the 70s and early 80s did.  So it's not like it made that part up.  

I feel like a lot of people romanticize Freddie into this "being" that was much more than human and therefore expected his movie to be what they think he was.  And hey, no one loves that man more than I do so I get it.  

I thought the movie did him and his life justice.  He was about the music, so much so that he was recording up until he died.  That's what the movie showcased, his enormous talent for creating music and performing onstage.  If he was still alive, I doubt he would've been happy with a movie that highlighted his life outside of that considering he was so intensely private.  

All the complaints that it watered down his gay lifestyle or other things about his life...eh...Freddie would've never been a part of a movie that did nothing but parade him around as the poster boy for homosexuality or gave a detailed timeline of his life and times.  But as the creators so succinctly put when presented with criticisms...they weren't making a documentary.  

[hoodooznoodooz]

I was never a huge fan of Queen. I think that I liked some of their music, but then every sports event starting using those three songs, and I was kind of over it.

I never knew that Freddie Mercury was a big deal. I was not aware that he was gay (I know, right?). But I was surprised and impressed that he was able to hit those really high notes. 

So, I liked this movie a lot. It’s not a great movie, but it’s very entertaining. Exuberant.  Rami was amazing. His eyes are so expressive. But if they are going to give him different teeth, they should give him teeth that look more like FM’s, not just a very tidy extreme overbite.

This movie made me appreciate their music more. Some of it is absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking. 

I would have liked to have seen more of what was gnawing at FM. In his first conversation with Jim, he references nasty demons, or something to that effect. I realize that his father was a factor. Mary needing to be with a man who physically wanted her. But I wanted to see more. 

In the scene after Jim, Mary and David exit the Live Aid trailer, when Freddie asked the band members what they thought of David, I thought that he was asking what they thought of Jim. So Freddie saying, “I think he’s gay” made me laugh. 

Also loved the other band members’ performances.

Edited August 1, 2019 by hoodooznoodooz

[Shannon L.]

2 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

But if they are going to give him different teeth, they should give him teeth that look more like FM’s, not just a very tidy extreme overbite .

They tried, but they were too big for Rami's mouth, so they had to make them a bit smaller. 

[shang yiet]

Lovely film and I can understand the focus on Freddie and his lifestyle but I wish the other three were more well-fleshed out. They had hardly any scene without Freddie in it. I had little idea what they were doing off-screen when Freddie's not around.

[SunnyBeBe]

I finally watched the movie on HBO.  I liked the movie okay, but, it's not at all like I had expected.  It inspired me to look up more things about Freddy Mercury.  While I always loved Queen's music, I didn't know that much about them, except their songs. It was interesting to find out the band's history and see their journey.  I found the performance depicting Freddy to be somewhat distracting.  I get why though. I think they may have overdone the thing about his mouth.  But, as a movie overall and based on the lead, I thought Rocketman was better by far.  No real comparison for me.  But, perhaps, I am biased.  There's no denying that Freddy was a musical genius.  That's for sure, but, I don't think anything more than that was captured in the film.  It's a good story, but, I wasn't blown away.  

[Inquisitionist]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

But, as a movie overall and based on the lead, I thought Rocketman was better by far.  No real comparison for me.  But, perhaps, I am biased.  There's no denying that Freddy was a musical genius.  That's for sure, but, I don't think anything more than that was captured in the film.  It's a good story, but, I wasn't blown away.  

I finally saw Rocketman a few weeks ago and totally agree that it was a better piece of film-making.  It is rather surprising that Rami won the Oscar and Taran wasn't even nominated.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I finally watched this movie and it was fine, but after it was over Mr. EB and I both said, "That was an Oscar winning movie?" It was a perfectly serviceable music biopic that hit the major events of a band's career, but nothing about it blew me away. I don't think it was a bad movie, but it just wasn't one of those OMG THIS IS AMAZING movie experiences.

Although I understand why the movie focused on Freddie as the main character, it would have been nice to see the lives of the other band members a little more fleshed out instead of being turned into minor characters who floated in and out to argue with Freddie.

[bijoux]

I really feel this is a movie to be seen on the big screen. It sweeps you up in the theatre (at least it did me) even if it's far from perfect. I think this gets lost if you watch it at home. 

[truthaboutluv]

9 hours ago, bijoux said:

I really feel this is a movie to be seen on the big screen. It sweeps you up in the theatre (at least it did me) even if it's far from perfect. I think this gets lost if you watch it at home. 

Someone said the same thing about A Star is Born. Maybe that's just a common thing for musical-inspired films.

Bohemian Rhapsody was not a perfect film by any means. But I feel like it's success was a combination of nostalgia, excellent campaigning by Rami and his team, with regard to his win (I saw a lot of "he's just so likeable" in all the Awards talk) and anti-backlash sentiment. 

In other words, all the hate and negativity towards the film, some even before it came out, did the opposite and made some rally harder behind it. The Singer stuff was a big misstep. I read pieces where people felt even more protective of Rami when that stuff started, some saying that they felt like there was a witch-hunt against the cast and crew and it was unfair. 

All of this created a perfect storm to where the film ended up exceeding anything people could imagine. Including that billion dollar box office ticket sales. The way things played out was also kind of very in line with Queen. That's been the story of their success - critics crap on them and yet the people love it.

See the song Bohemian Rhapsody's success. Today critics try and rewrite history and call it one of the greatest songs of all time. But back when it first came out, it was crapped on and mocked mercilessly. But then it became a smash hit. The stage play about their career was trashed by critics and that too was a huge success. 

On the flipside, A Star is Born had the opposite happen where all the hype and praise turned some people off and Gaga's pretension that escalated to new heights, really annoyed people. And by the end, many were just kind of over it. I have to say I'm kind of really over the whole Bohemian Rhapsody vs. Rocketman discussion and many fans of Taron acting like his not being nominated for an Oscar was somehow Rami's fault. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[Shannon L.]

16 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I have to say I'm kind of really over the whole Bohemian Rhapsody vs. Rocketman discussion and many fans of Taron acting like his not being nominated for an Oscar was somehow Rami's fault. 

I loved both movies, both performances, thought Rocketman was a better movie and that Taron was better than Rami (although, I was thrilled for Rami's win), but blaming Rami?  That's ridiculous.  How could it possibly be his fault? 

[truthaboutluv]

4 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I loved both movies, both performances, thought Rocketman was a better movie and that Taron was better than Rami (although, I was thrilled for Rami's win), but blaming Rami?  That's ridiculous.  How could it possibly be his fault? 

I'm not speaking literally. However, 90 percent of the time when I read comments of some disappointed at Taron's not being nominated, it's tied to Rami's win and Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Like you will read people say, "I was bummed Adam Driver didn't win for Marriage Story because I thought he was better than Joaquin Phoenix in Joker." Fair enough, because they were competing against each other. 

No one says, "I thought Taron was better than Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time and enjoyed Rocketman more than Once Upon a Time or Joker or The Two Popes" or whatever.

No, it's always Rocketman was a better film than Bohemian Rhapsody and Taron did his own singing and was better than Rami, so why does Rami have an Oscar and Taron wasn't even nominated. It's never about the films and performances Rocketman and Taron were actually up against.  It's all about a film and performance that was in a whole other year of contention. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[Shannon L.]

5 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

No, it's always Rocketman was a better film than Bohemian Rhapsody and Taron did his own singing and was better than Rami, so why does Rami have an Oscar and Taron wasn't even nominated. It's never about the films and performances Rocketman and Taron were actually up against.  It's all about a film and performance that was in a whole other year of contention. 

lol!  And here I did exactly that same thing  ::blushes::  Ok, the only movie I didn't see was Pain and Glory, but based on the other ones, I'd have given Adam Driver the win over Joaquin Phoenix by a slim margin, but I think Taron was better than all of them, so I still, to this day, remain flabbergasted. It's one of the very few Oscar "snubs" that I haven't been able to shrug and get over.  There are also 10 slots in the BP field and I think Rocketman deserved one of them.  In fact, I'd have replaced Little Women with it.  What I think is bs is the "been there, done that just last year" attitude, but I don't vote, so.....

To bring it back on topic, I agree with you about why BoRap did so well.  However, even I was shocked that it picked up so many nominations beyond Best Actor.  One of the sound awards was understandable (I think the biggest complaint was it winning sound mixing, right?), but BP?  Nah.  It was a fun movie and as I've said many times before, it was my favorite movie of the year, but even I recognized that it wasn't up there with the top 10 best. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Shannon L.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/19/2020 at 2:21 PM, bijoux said:

I really feel this is a movie to be seen on the big screen. It sweeps you up in the theatre (at least it did me) even if it's far from perfect. I think this gets lost if you watch it at home. 

I'm a strict big-screen viewer.  I chose not to see Bohemian Rhapsody, but then it showed up when I had a free preview of HBO so I watched it out of curiosity. 

I think the teeth would have driven me insane on a big screen, but I also think the Live Aid performance suffered greatly on the small screen.  As I was watching, I was imagining it on a big screen with great sound, and how fabulous that would be.  And since that was at the end of the movie, I can see that the high it created would remain on people leaving the theater, which might affect how they felt about the rest of the movie.

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

(I think the biggest complaint was it winning sound mixing, right?

No, the biggest complaint was it winning Best Film Editing. There was a whole 20 minute video on YouTube someone put together showing how poor, in their opinion, the editing for the film was. So a lot of people were baffled it was even nominated, much less won that category.

That said, there was a very simple reason why the film won Best Editing. I found out that for the editing category, most times the voters are voting off a submitted clip. And I remember a movie critic in her prediction saying that guaranteed, they likely submitted the Live Aid sequence and if a voter went off just that clip, especially side by side to the real Live Aid performance, she could see how they would be swayed to vote for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Btw, what was funniest about that whole reaction about Bohemian Rhapsody winning the Oscar for Best Film Editing is that while all these so-called experts on social media and YouTube were insisting how awful the editing was and it was the worse edited film ever and their even being nominated was a travesty, the American Cinema Editors, as in essentially the Guild for film editors, also awarded Bohemian Rhapsody the win. Guess they don't know anything about film editing either. 

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

but I think Taron was better than all of them,

I didn't feel that way at all, which I guess is maybe why I've never been outraged by his snub. I do think a nomination would have been nice but I never thought he had a chance in hell of actually winning. Politics aside, the reason I don't get up in arms about snubs and wins/losses is because these things are so subjective. And the reality is most of these people are freaking talented as hell in their own right. So you can make a case for any of them. 

I love Rami, but I wouldn't have been outraged if Christian Bale had won instead or Bradley Cooper. Because while I firmly believe A Star is Born was vastly overrated and I still don't know how anyone thought Gaga was deserving of Best Actress, Bradley Cooper did the damn thing in that film. 

But I think Bradley and his team made the critical error of focusing a lot of his campaigning on getting a Director nod, which made no sense to me, seeing as he had no shot in hell of winning. Alfonso Cuaron had that shit on lock. And all the time he spent campaigning for a nomination that he didn't even get, Rami and his team were quietly shoring up his Best Actor chances. 

And as for this year, aside from the fact that I knew Joaquin had this thing in the bag as soon as I saw Joker, other factors, as they always do, come into play with these things. He'd been nominated many times before, he'd been one of the most respected actors without a win, River's legacy was really being pushed this past year, so there was that.

And again, just personally I loved his performance. Was it over the top and Oscar baity...sure. And in less capable hands, it very easily could have been very hokey. But I didn't find it to be that. I found that film very, very uncomfortable to watch but in the best way. And as for Adam Driver, I thought that was one of the most brilliantly subtle performances I'd seen in a long time. 

 

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

No, the biggest complaint was it winning Best Film Editing. There was a whole 20 minute video on YouTube someone put together showing how poor, in their opinion, the editing for the film was. So a lot of people were baffled it was even nominated, much less won that category.

That said, there was a very simple reason why the film won Best Editing. I found out that for the editing category, most times the voters are voting off a submitted clip. And I remember a movie critic in her prediction saying that guaranteed, they likely submitted the Live Aid sequence and if a voter went off just that clip, especially side by side to the real Live Aid performance, she could see how they would be swayed to vote for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Btw, what was funniest about that whole reaction about Bohemian Rhapsody winning the Oscar for Best Film Editing is that while all these so-called experts on social media and YouTube were insisting how awful the editing was and it was the worse edited film ever and their even being nominated was a travesty, the American Cinema Editors, as in essentially the Guild for film editors, also awarded Bohemian Rhapsody the win. Guess they don't know anything about film editing either. 

Thank you for explaining all of that, it was interesting and informative, and I agree the editing was terrible, but I thought I saw a comment going around about the fact that BoRap won either sound editing or mixing proved that most people in Hollywood don't know what that really is.  Maybe it was film editing and I'm misremembering.

42 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

I didn't feel that way at all, which I guess is maybe why I've never been outraged by his snub. I do think a nomination would have been nice but I never thought he had a chance in hell of actually winning. Politics aside, the reason I don't get up in arms about snubs and wins/losses is because these things are so subjective. And the reality is most of these people are freaking talented as hell in their own right. So you can make a case for any of them. 

 

Oh!  I probably should have pointed out that while I thought it was "snubbed" for not being nominated.  I could have coped with someone else winning--Adam Driver and Joaquin were wonderful-- but the not being nominated for anything (the movie, the costumes, Taron) except the song, I think, will stick with me for a while.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

I found out that for the editing category, most times the voters are voting off a submitted clip.

Words fail.

[truthaboutluv]

49 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

but I thought I saw a comment going around about the fact that BoRap won either sound editing or mixing proved that most people in Hollywood don't know what that really is.

There's always a whole thing about sound mixing and editing, which is why people for years have been saying they need to just make it one category, which I do think they are doing starting next year. Because they tended to award the same film both mixing and editing even though it is two different things.

And so yeah some felt that Bohemian Rhapsody had good sound mixing but not necessarily sound editing. But again, the voters tend to give one film both. Although this year they did split it - Ford v. Ferrari won Sound Editing and 1917 won Sound Mixing. But people were more outraged by the Film Editing win than the sound awards. 

 

3 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Words fail.

Be glad if all of them even watch it, versus just picking the one they "heard" was the best.