THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT [1994 / 2011] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] One Of The Wildest Movies Ever Made! Wonderfully Funny! A Feel Good Movie Of The Year!
This wonderfully inventive and incomparably funny Australian film about three drag queens performers braving the vast, rugged outback that won the 1994 Academy Award® for Costume Design. Featuring fabulous and heartfelt performances from the likes of Sir Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. “One of the wildest movies ever made” said The New York Observer.
They came! They conquered! They looked fabulous! With a contract to perform a drag show way out in the Australian desert. Tick [Hugo Weaving], Adam [Guy Pearce] and Bernadette [Sir Terence Stamp], each has his own reason to wanting to leave the safety of Sydney. Christening their battered, pink tour bus “Priscilla,” this wickedly funny and high-drama trio heads for the outback . . . and into crazy adventures, in even crazier outfits. All I can say is, “You go girls!”
FILM FACT No1: Awards and Nominations: 1994 Australian Film Institute: Win: AFI Award for Best Achievement in Production Design for Owen Paterson. Win: AFI Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design for Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Film for Al Clark. Michael Hamlyn and Rebel Penfold-Russell. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Director for Stephan Elliott. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Terence Stamp. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Hugo Weaving. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Original Screenplay for Stephan Elliott. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Original Music Score for Guy Gross. Nominated: AFI Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Brian J. Breheny. 1994 Awards Circuit Community Awards: Nominated: Best Costume Design for Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel. 1994 Faro Island Film Festival: Win: Golden Train Award for Best Actor for Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp. Win: Queer Train Award for Best Feature Film for Stephan Elliott. Nominated: Golden Train Award for Best Film for Stephan Elliott. 1994 L.A. Outfest: Win: Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Feature for Stephan Elliott. 1994 Seattle International Film Festival: Win: Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film. Win: Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor for Terence Stamp. 1995 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Costume Design for Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel. 1995 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Terence Stamp. Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. 1995 BAFTA Awards: Win: BAFTA Film Award for Best Costume Design for Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel. Win: BAFTA Film Award for Best Make Up/Hair for Angela Conte, Cassie Hanlon and Strykermeyer. Nominated: Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for Guy Gross. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor for Terence Stamp. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Cinematography for Brian J. Breheny. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Screenplay for Stephan Elliott. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Production Design for Colin Gibson and Owen Paterson. 1995 Chlotrudis Awards: Win: Best Movie. Nominated: Best Supporting Actor for Terence Stamp. 1995 GLAAD Media Awards: Win: Outstanding Film. 1995 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Stephan Elliott. 2015 20/20 Awards: Win: Felix Award for Best Costume Design for Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel.
FILM FACT No2: ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ had originally been conceived by filmmakers Stephan Elliott and Stuart Quin, who were at the time in production of a film called ‘Frauds.’ They and producer Andrena Finlay initially tried to pitch Priscilla to various financiers at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, but were unsuccessful, and so instead took the film's concept to PolyGram and, with the backing of the Australian Film Finance Corporation, were able to begin production of the film on a relatively low budget of 2.7 million Australian dollars. In May 1993, after travelling around the Australian Outback searching for appropriate sites to film in, Priscilla's creators attended the Cannes Film Festival and Marche to advertise their project, hoping to capitalise on the selection of Elliot's first film Frauds which was "In Competition" at the festival and despite the fact that they had not yet confirmed any actors for the roles. Their primary choice for the role of Bernadette was Tony Curtis, who read and approved of the script, but eventually became unavailable. They then approached John Cleese, who was not interested. Many scenes, including one where Bernadette encounters a butch, bigoted, Australian woman named Shirley, were filmed at the Outback town of Broken Hill in New South Wales, largely in a hotel known as Mario's Palace (now the Palace Hotel), which Al Clark believed was "drag queen heaven." Some small scenes were filmed in the All Nations Hotel. They also decided to film at Coober Pedy, a rough-and-tumble mining town in Central Australia featured prominently in the film. An interesting side note is that the Executive Producer, Rebel Penfold-Russell appears as the marathon runner.
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Sir Terence Stamp, Rebel Penfold-Russell, John Casey, June Marie Bennett, Murray Davies, Frank Cornelius, Bob Boyce, Leighton Picken, Maria Kmet, Joseph Kmet, Alan Dargin, Bill Hunter, Julia Cortez, Julia Cortez, Daniel Kellie, Hannah Corbett, Trevor Barrie, Ken Radley, Sarah Chadwick, Mark Holmes, Tim Chappel (Drag-Queen in Barber's Chair uncredited), Al Clark (Priest uncredited), Stephan Elliott (Doorman uncredited), Lizzy Gardiner (Naughty Maid at Hotel uncredited), Margaret Pomeranz (Adam's Mum uncredited), Christian Stead (uncredited) and Nikki Webster (uncredited)
Director: Stephan Elliott
Producers: Al Clark, Grant Lee, Michael Hamlyn, Rebel Penfold-Russell, Stuart Quin (uncredited) and Sue Seeary
Screenplay: Stephan Elliott
Composer: Guy Gross
Cinematography: Brian J. Breheny (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Português: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Italian: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
German: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Spanish [Castilian]: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Hungarian: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Polish: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Thai: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Turkish: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish [Castilian], French, Português, Italian, German, Spanish [Latin], Chinese [Traditional], Chinese [Mandarin], Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Thai and Turkish
Running Time: 103 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ [1994] beneath the outrageous wigs, the film is quintessential about Australian values: self-deprecation, blunt humour and determination in the face of adversity. The “Road Movie” goes drag in Stephan Elliott's film ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ and like any good “Road Movie,” the journey through the Australian outback slowly reveals itself as a spiritual awakening for all those involved and a kind of contemporary walkabout for the more open-minded, progressive age. A job offer to perform at a hotel casino resort in a far-off, secluded town prompts three Sydney friends to face one of the planet's most sweltering and dangerous terrains. Using only their wits and humour to survive, they each discover a little more meaning to their lives; if not at least a different perspective and respect for the world they live in.
Then again, we can't positively pinpoint what exactly the youngest of the trio takes away from the experience. Though it doesn't mean we can't speculate based on what the writer/director Stephan Elliott provides. Guy Pearce makes his big-screen debut as the ultra-confident and flamboyant Adam [aka Felicia Jollygoodfellow], who exudes a great deal of pride and assurance in his lifestyle. The story never criticises or looks at him in a disapproving light and he actually brings out most of the movie's comedic elements, and Guy Pearce is outrageously marvellous in the role. But there's definitely something being said when the character sees fit to mask the homophobic hatred directed at him and his friends by painting their bus lavender.
The other two characters, we can tell, have had enough exposure to such contempt and bigotry that they know how to deal with it in their own way. Their days of sitting on top of a giant, glistening high-heel shoe in the most ostentatious and theatrical manner possible are already over. Or at least coming to a close, which is part of the dilemma afflicting Tick [Hugo Weaving]. As the unspoken-leader of this colourful motley troupe, he planned the entire excursion, but conceals the real reasons for it. Alice Springs holds a secret past which Tick has kept hidden, even from himself. Confronting it rejuvenates his passion for dressing in dazzling, gaudy frocks for the entertainment of a screaming audience.
Sir Terence Stamp gives one of the finest performances of his career as Tick's transgender best friend, Bernadette, which is also the most convincing of the entire film, though Weaving and Pearce do amazing in their respective portrayals. Retired from the limelight, Bernadette seems the most secure and composed of the group, finding little use for words useless spoken with the conviction and wisdom of a true cynic. Her concerns are more deeply internal. Her new status as widow raises questions of ever finding another love that's just as understanding. But as would be expected, their open-country voyage brings back hope in the guise of middle-aged mechanic named Bob [Bill Hunter] and out in the middle of nowhere!
There is no denying ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ is essentially a standard “Road Movie” fare, but with a lot of flamboyant panache, and an obvious pilgrimage towards self-discovery. But it's a flashy and fantastic adventure dressed up in high heels and ABBA tunes, the dramedy which introduced mainstream audiences to the world of drag queens. What it lacks in original plot device, it more than makes up in its hilariously unique characters and their personal journeys outside the comforts of Sydney. With impressive photography of the Australian outback by cinematographer Brian J. Breheny, director Stephan Elliott ['Easy Virtue'] delivers a terrifically memorable film of some unforgettable individuals. By the way, a reminder to people who have viewed the film before and forgotten what happens at the very end, with the brilliant End Credits, which are filled with joke references; for example, the film was supposedly filmed in “DRAGARAMA,” and Libby Blainey is credited for the Title Design and Bad Acting , and Matt Inglis is Best Naughty Boy. But of course it is a totally brilliant great soundtrack, which includes all standards awesome hits by Village People, Lena Horne, Patti Page and, of course, Abba. If you really want to experience the full soundtrack experience, then I suggest you purchase the Compact Disc Soundtrack, like I did, as it has all the best songs in full and that way you get to experience some of the best big hits of its time and it is totally brilliant and the jewel case is in stunning pink!
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THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT MUSIC TRACK LIST
I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME (Written by Ken Hirsch and Ronald Miller) [Performed by Charlene]
GO WEST (Written by Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and Victor Willis) [Performed by The Village People]
BILLY DON’T BE A HERO (Written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander) [Performed by Paper Lace]
MY BABY LOVES LOVIN’ (Written by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway) [Performed by White Plains]
I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (Written by Susan Hutcheson and Alicia Bridges) [Performed by Alicia Bridges]
CAN’T HELP LOVIN’ THAT MAN (Written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II) [Performed by Trudy Richards]
E strano! Ah fors e lui (Written by Giuseppe Verdi) [Performed by Joan Carden and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra]
FERNANDO (Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson) [Performed by ABBA]
I WILL SURVIVE (Written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren) [Performed by Gloria Gaynor]
SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING (Written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren) [Performed by Peaches + Herb]
A FINE ROMANCE (Written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields) [Performed by Lena Horne]
I DON’T CARE IF THE SUN DON’T SHINE (Written by Mack David) [Performed by Patti Page]
FINALE (Written by R.K. Jackson), Ce Ce Peniston, Felipe Delgado and Elbert Lee Linnear) [Performed by Ce Ce Peniston]
TAKE A LETTER TO MARIA (Written by R.B. Greaves) [Performed by R.B. Greaves]
MAMMA MIA (Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson) [Performed by ABBA]
SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST (Written by Wendy Waldman, Jon Lind and Phil Galdston) [Performed by Vanessa Williams]
A DESERT HOLIDAY (uncredited) [Performed by Guy Pearce]
I DON’T CARE IF THE SUN DON’T SHINE (uncredited) (Written by Mack David) [Performed by Guy Pearce]
THIS OLD MAN (uncredited) [Performed by Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving]
TEN FAT TRANNIES (uncredited) [Performed by Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving]
MY DARLING, CLEMENTINE (uncredited) [Performed by Hugo Weaving]
I WILL SURVIVE (Written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren) [Performed by Hugo Weaving] (uncredited)
I DON’T CARE IF THE SUN DON’T SHINE (Written by Mack David) [Performed by Terence Stamp] (uncredited)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents you a totally brilliant and stunning 1080p high-definition image that also gives you a splendid colourful image performance all round. Primaries are richly saturated and vividly rendered, bringing the film's brilliant spirit to the forefront, while the other hues come across as more natural and accurate. Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the contrast is bright and crisp, giving the transfer a brilliant glow and a sunny disposition. Black levels are on the money and often inky and shadow details are plainly visible in any given scene. Facial complexions appear healthy with excellent, revealing texture. Definition and resolution, to be frank, are extraordinary, with consistently clean and distinct lines in everything. Viewers can distinguish every intricate feature in the elaborate costumes as well as see clearly the rough, coarse arid terrain Priscilla drives on. The Australian outback has never looked so gorgeous and majestic. Only drawback is noticeable dirt specks that creep up in several scenes, but overall, the image presentation is totally fantastic on this Blu-ray disc.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer brings you a brilliant 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Though audio work is made more apparent by the higher resolution audio, dialogue reproduction is consistently strong and clear in the centre of the screen. Acoustics and fidelity are totally satisfying, giving the imaging a wide sense of space and airiness. The mid-range is clean and well-balanced, and bass is kept light throughout, coming in typically during the unique song selection. The sound mix is mostly a front-heavy affair, but there are moments when back speakers offer some pleasing atmospherics. It's not something that will impress or create an immersive audio experience, but it makes for an enjoyable audio experience that is very entertaining with a fun cast of characters.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary By Director Stephan Elliott: Here Stephan Elliott explains that when he did this audio commentary he informs us that it was nearly 10 years after he shot the film ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ and you have to excuse his memory as it is slightly faded and fuzzy, but reassures us that he will do his best explaining different aspects of about the film. At one time with his first visit to the Cannes Film Festival to put his film ‘FRAUD’ into the competition and had a totally horrendous experience, especially as it was his first film and certain people removed the film from him and was shipped back to Los Angeles without his permission and so walked out of the Cannes Film Festival very wounded and when he got back to Australia, he just kept walking around Sydney in a complete daze, confusion and really felt totally let down by the film industry in general. At around the 1990s, Sydney had come of age, especially where the gay culture had exploded and the dance party scene had taken off and the Drag World was evolving, and also being excessively naughty, and just like what you see at the start of the film, Stephan Elliott feels it is just like a Hollywood musical and felt instinctually that there was something there to put towards a screenplay and show us that there was a great deal of fun to be had, and probably be able to make some kind of musical film out of the scenario. So Stephan Elliott went to loads of gay bars, especially where drag artists appeared and collected all the vicious gay banter insults and risqué jokes from the drag artists that he could hopefully use in the film he was keen to make, and in about two weeks produced his first draft of a screenplay. But of course stupid narrow minded women rights in Australia condemned the film as misogynous and crude, but Stephan Elliott dismissed this out of hand and carried on regardless, as it is a film that is about having fun and also poking fun at typical stereotypical Australian men’s outlook, and especially one’s with wigs and drag outfits. Stephan Elliott also at times of writing the screenplay, the Sydney Mardi Gay Parade was in full swing and was hoping to steal a lot of the frocks, but the organisers were 100% against the film in general, so Stephan Elliott had to go via another route and held regular dinner parties and his two costumer designers he used for the film turned up and also some drag artists turned up, but Stephan Elliott felt he was getting nowhere, but then out of the blue the Working Title people and PolyGram read the screenplay and were very interested in the project, and of course all the money was eventually raised, which came to AUS $3,000,000. When you see the funeral scene, some drag artists were there, but a lot stayed away, but the ones that did turn up were given AUS $50.00 and an extra AUS $50.00 to appear in the film, but because it was extremely hot, people were not very well. When Stephan Elliott went to the Cannes Film Festival with the outline of the film in order to raise the money, but at the time Stephan did not have an agent, but eventually got signed up with the William Morris Agency. Stephan Elliott also wanted to do certain remixes to songs, but could not get the rights to do this, well PolyGram said also no he could not do this, but had to use the PolyGram Catalogue for his soundtrack songs, but some of the artists were totally negative and associated towards their songs being used in the film, which made Stephan Elliott even more determined to use the songs. Stephan Elliott talks about the filming on the Priscilla bus and what you see is what was filmed actually on the bus, but of course to film with the crew they had novel ways to conceal themselves and you will have to listen to Stephan Elliott comments to find out what they did, especially regarding lampshades. But of course as filming proceeded things did go wrong, like they encountered the worst heavy rain fall and also the money started to run out. The character of Tick [Hugo Weaving] was actually based on a real drag artist who had a son and Stephan Elliott feels Hugo Weaving really holds the film together. When Stephan Elliott was thinking about the male lead actor to star in his film, he got Jason Donovan and Rupert Everett in a room together to rehearse and it was a total disaster. When you see Hugo Weaving step out the bus with his flip flop sandals outfit, this actual cost AUS $11.00 and was made by Tim Chappel’s mum. The hotel all three actors stay the night, we actually the famous Mario’s Palace in Broken Hill and the owner Mario you see introducing himself, and all the mural paintings were done by Mario. Stephan Elliott also informs us the character of Sir Terence Stamp is actually based on a real friend of his, who had the operation and was originally called Barry. When you see then enter the all-male bar to order a drink and encounter the belligerent woman, who is in fact a famous Australian actress and to get her to look rough, was rolled in mud. With the drinking session with Sir Terence Stamp, they were only drinking water and the Australian actress drank 9 litres of water, but with Hugo Weaving, he was actually 100% drunk and smashed with the scene in the bedroom. When you see the vast Australian outback where the bus had broken down and everyone was doing their own thing, well when you see the flies around Sir Terence Stamp, well this was filmed in Australia’s “fly time” where you get millions of flies around you and all the crew had to wear nets over their head to keep the flies out, as if not, you would get at least 40 flies in your mouth. When you get to see the scene in the bust with Guy Pearce and Sir Terence Stamp talking about the special ABBA souvenir, well when the ABBA fan club in Australia saw the film they were totally incensed, furious and enraged by this sequence in the film, and so sent out a letter to all ABBA fans around the world to totally boycott the film. The scene in the bar with the oriental lady doing the ping pong act, well this was Julia Cortez and suddenly out of the blue turned up on hearing about the part in the film and was not an actress and of course was quite extraordinary in her performance. When Stephan Elliott went to Los Angeles to show the film, but at the time he encountered a horrendous earthquake and there was no electricity, but in the meantime met this “A” list top Hollywood Producer who was interested in seeing the film, but pointed out he already knew about the film and Stephan asked how could this be, so he produced a VHS tape of the whole film with timing code on it and of course was totally shocked and incensed what he viewed, and so Stephan Elliott hired so private detectives to investigate and eventually the source of these illegal tapes were confiscated. Stephan offered all the cast and crew to take a small production bonus on the profits of the film and of course the rest is history and of course everyone made a lot of money out of the film’s massive box office success, and every couple of months people get a nice cheque in the post. When the bus arrives at the Alice Spring Motel where they do their final performance, as the actors walk into the motel, they passed Stephan Elliott standing by the entrance greeting everyone as a cameo performance and also when they leave to get on the bus. Before heading off to the Cannes Film Festival to a do a midnight screen, stopped off in San Francisco to do a first screening with 15,00 people and it was a massive smash hit, and at the end of the film the people went wild and clapped for ages, and Stephan Elliott will never forget the extraordinary experience, but he decided to do a Q&A session, but sadly got negative comments thrown at him and in so many words told those nasty people where to get off and a lot of people applauded Stephan Elliott for his outburst comment. But with the big spectacular final performance at the end of the film, it too a day and a half to shoot and the background scenery was all hand painted by everyone. When everyone finally go the Cannes Film Festival for the midnight screening, the cinema was totally over booked and Stephan Elliott and the cast nearly didn’t get in for the screening, the crown did polite laughter, but when the film finished the crowd went absolutely wild and Stephan Elliott got very emotional, and the clapping went on for ages. As we get to the end of the film, Stephan Elliott is very proud of the film and the three principle actors and since the film was released it has gone onto make AUS $60,000,000 and of course with the further releases via VHS Tapes, LaserDiscs, DVDs and now Blu-ray discs, it has of course made even more profits. Stephan Elliott once went to an outdoor screening on a beach and there were well over 100,000 people watching the film and of course the entire crowd knew all the words and the songs and felt very honoured. Stephan Elliott was asked if he made the film today would he do it totally different, but gave a resounding NO! Finally, Stephan Elliott thanks everyone and says “Goodnight!” One final word from me, do give this audio commentary a listen, as it is totally brilliant and definitely gets a five star rating from me.
Special Feature: Birth Of A Queen: Directing A Drag Classic [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [29:20] M-G-M Home Entertainment and Stephan Elliot [Writer/Director] presents us with an in-depth look at the film ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ that takes a look at Australia in the late 1980s when everything came alive with the gay scene, as it especially has the biggest gay population in the world, and especially in Sydney. As Stephan Elliot talks about the film, we get headings to take a closer look at the film and the process of getting the film up and running and also we get lots of clips from the film. THE SCRIPT: Stephan Elliot informs us that it took only 12 days to get a screenplay up and running. Also when you see the Priest doing the funeral service, this is in fact was Al Clark the Producer. FINANCING PRISCILLA: Here Stephan Elliot informs us to finance the film Priscilla, the Australian Government gave AUS $1,000,000 up front as an incentive that Stephan Elliot had to also raise another AUS $1,000,000 to be given the go ahead and of course it all eventually happened and then they were raring to get the film started. CASTING: The first actor that Stephan wanted to secure was Sir Terrence Stamp, who at the time was on the verge of quitting as an actor, as he was totally fed up with the roles he was getting in films, but after a meeting threw the script at Sir Terrence Stamp and he agreed to be in the film 100%, as he was very enthusiastic and excited. Next to be signed up was Hugo Weaving, but was also told and was insisted that the third actor had to be pretty looking, and so Guy Pearce was the third actor to be signed up, and was also very excited, but of course steals all the scenes with his over the top acting. But of course you have to realise that all three actors were 100% heterosexuals and of course Stephen Elliott had quite a challenge on his hands, but convinced the three actors they would be absolutely perfect for the film. TRANNY TRAINING: Because of the three main actors had never tackled their characters in the film, Stephen hired some trannies to train the three actors on how to walk and act like drag artists. BOARDING THE BUS: We hear about the logistic nightmare on how they were going to film on such a confined bus, but through clever ideas it all came together very smoothly and we hear of some funny moments. When you see the bus break down, well this happened five times for real when filming had stopped. COSTUMES: This was of course the pivotal part of the film and Stephen wanted then to be outrageous, colourful and well over the top designs, so that they contrasted against the desolate landscape of the Australian outback and all the fabulous designed clothes that had a budget of AUS $5,000, were by Lizzy Gardener and Tim Chappel who were the Co-Costume Designers, and by the way, you see Tim Chappel appearing with the end credits at the end of the film. The big production number at the end of the film with three costumes changes took a whole day to shoot, and the costume changes took at least one hour and thirty minutes turn around. THE SOUNDTRACK: People classed all the music in the film as disco, but in fact it had all types of music. But Stephan was a massive fan of ABBA, especially when growing up in Australia in the height of the ABBA craze and of course Stephan was desperate to have some ABBA songs included, but had to do a lot of drawn out negotiations with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, but eventually of course they gave the green light to allow the particular songs to be allowed in the film. A DRAG CLASSIC: On the eve of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival the director was shown a rough cut and begged Stephen to show the film and it was a massive success and the crowd went wild at the end of showing the film. We see a clip from a dubbed version of the film and it is hilarious. When 9/11 happened in America, they of course had to ban any films relating to violence, so instead they put on the film Priscilla and of course it helped to take the minds off the tragic event that happened on the that day. Even today Stephan Elliott gets massive amounts of fan mail, with people telling them how the film has affected them, which brings him great joy that he was able to produce a film he feels very proud of what he achieved. Contributors include: Stephan Elliott [Writer and Director of ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’], Tim Chappel [Co-Costume Designer of ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’] (archive footage), Al Clark [Producer of ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ and cameo as a priest from this film] (archive footage), Lizzy Gardiner [Co-Costume Designer of ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’] (archive footage), Bill Hunter [Robert 'Bob' Spart] (archive footage), Guy Pearce [Adam/Felicia] (archive footage), Sir Terence Stamp [Bernadette] (archive footage) and Hugo Weaving [Tick/Mitzi] (archive footage).
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:56] Here you get view four deleted scenes with their explanations and they are as follows: How Trumpet Got His Name: Because it was thought that foreign audiences would not understand this reference to a particularly Australian brand of biscuit, this was excised from the film prints shown Internationally [1:11]. Check-in at the Checkers Motel: This is a prelude to the night roadside scene in which Tick and Bernadette lock Adam out of the car [1:28]. An Outtage Before Dinner: Bob and Cynthia invite the girls in for a bit of super [1:49]. Auntie Picks Up the Pieces: This is an extended version of the scene in which Bernadette cares for Adam after he’s been beaten up by a bunch of rough locals [2:38].
Special Feature: Titbits From The Set [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:08] Here we get to view thirteen single-question interviews with the cast and crew, which are as follows: Titbit #1: Why is Terence Stamp so attractive?; Titbit #2: Why Make “Priscilla?”; Titbit #3: What kind of movie is “Priscilla?”; Titbit #4: What will we see in “Priscilla?”; Titbit #5: Describe the story of “Priscilla?”; Titbit #6: How is Terence Stamp as a woman?; Titbit #7: Were you tempted to go out in drag?; Titbit #8: What happened when Terence Stamp went out in drag?; Titbit #9: What do you love about drag acts?; Titbit #10: Could you show something in the wardrobe bus?; Titbit #11: What are the themes of “Priscilla?”; Titbit #12: Whay did you cast Terence Stamp? and Titbit #13: Who are your icons? Contributors include: Sir Terence Stamp [Bernadette], Stephan Elliott [Writer/Director], Al Clark [Producer], Guy Pearce [Adam/Felicia], Michael Hamlyn [Producer], Lizzy Gardiner [Co-Costume Designer] and Tim Chappel [Co-Costume Designer]. As usual you can either watch each one separately or Play All.
Special Feature: The Bus From Blooperville [2005] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:35] This compilation offers a pretty standard set of goofs and flubs. The ones with the drag compilation outtake gives the “Bus” a whole new meaning and definitely a slightly different edge, and is sort of entertaining. It must be the longest blooper reel I have encountered and some of the outtakes are worth watching. Contributors include: Bill Hunter [Robert 'Bob' Spart] (archive footage), Guy Pearce [Adam/Felicia] (archive footage), Sir Terence Stamp [Bernadette] (archive footage) and Hugo Weaving [Tick/Mitzi] (archive footage).
Trailers: Here we get to view two trailers for the film ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ and they include Theatrical Trailer [1994] [1080i] [1.78:1] [2:37] and Theatrical Teaser Trailer [1994] [1080i] [1.78:1] [1:52].
Finally, ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ was a really daring film of its time when it was released in 1994 and it has lost none of its potency still for modern audiences. Perfectly cast and is loaded up with a plethora of a brilliant music compilation of different styles and it proves that little films can have tremendous lasting power. The transfer looks better than it did in cinema and that makes it a must-own for fans of this positively good and on top of all that, not your typical conventional “Road Movie,” because we find out where the characters learn a great deal about themselves and each other by the end of the film. ‘THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT’ is still an outlandishly good time from director Stephan Elliott. With hilarious performances by Sir Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pearce, the comedy drama features an engaging story and gorgeous cinematography of the Australia's outback. The Blu-ray arrives with a great image transfer and a strong audio presentation, and while supplements are the same as before, the package is an excellent upgrade for fans and recommended viewing for the curious. But sadly it would have been nice to see some new supplements, but that didn't happen. Regardless, the movie holds up incredibly well and this release comes highly recommended for any fan of the film and I am a massive fan of this brilliant well thought out film that is character driven, which I like in a film. On top of all that, what also makes this film totally brilliant is all the fantastic music that was so well throughout your viewing pleasure and really makes you sometimes want to get up and boogie. If you want to get even more enjoyment out of this film, then I totally recommend the Compact Disc Soundtrack, as you get to hear the music and songs in full and is in a nice pink jewel case. So to sum up, this is a brilliant funny tour-de-force film that will entertain you throughout the 103 minutes and I know when the credits appear at the end of the film, you wished it would last a bit longer and so of course I am so honoured and proud it has been added to my Blu-ray Collection. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
