The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stephan Elliott

Writer:

Stephan Elliott (written by)

Release Date:

10 August 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

It's the Australian film that blitzed overseas box offices. It caused a near riot at the Cannes Film Festival. It won an Academy Award (Registeration Symbol). It's fun, daring, over-the-top and unforgettable. It's a road movie with attitude and the occasional frock.

Plot:

Two drag queens and a transsexual get a cabaret gig in the middle of the desert.

Plot Keywords:

Drag | Desert | Bus | Drag Queen | Australian

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Hugo Weaving	...	Tick / Mitzi
Guy Pearce	...	Adam / Felicia
Terence Stamp	...	Bernadette
Rebel Penfold-Russell	...	Logowoman (as Rebel Russell)
John Casey	...	Bartender
June Marie Bennett	...	Shirley
Murray Davies	...	Miner
Frank Cornelius	...	Piano Player
Bob Boyce	...	Petrol Station Attendant
Leighton Picken	...	Young Adam
Maria Kmet	...	Ma
Joseph Kmet	...	Pa
Alan Dargin	...	Aboriginal Man
Bill Hunter	...	Bob
Julia Cortez	...	Cynthia

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English | Filipino

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:16 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Company:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

The line in the closing credits "Shown in Dragarama at select theatres" is a reference to some theatres using a mirror-ball and colored lighting during the "Finally" dance number.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the bus breaks down for the first time in the Australian outback, and Tick (Hugo Weaving) has just given up on trying to fix it, he sits down to eat breakfast with Bernadette (Terence Stamp). In the exchange, a cameraman and some crew members are visible in the reflection of Bernadette's sunglasses.

Quotes:

[First Lines]
[Tick is hit in back of head with beer can, falls]
Felicia: Are you Okay?...
[Felicia grabs mic]
Felicia: Oh that was fucking charming, you gutless pack of dickheads.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Drew Carey Show: New York and Queens (#2.24)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

I Will Survive

I'll never look at those three guys the same way again...

...and that's a GOOD thing. Basically, before I truly became aware of "Priscilla", I had only thought of its three central actors as just regular, boring guys who were fine enough at acting, but really weren't anything special. Wrong. I had heard about this mysterious movie once or twice, but had no idea who was in it, nor what it was about (beyond the rather vague concept of drag queens/transvestites), and when I decided to read more about it, and find out who was in the cast - SURPRISE! Guy Pearce (of whom I had had a bad first impression when I discovered him in that travesty "The Time Machine"), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith himself!!!), and Terence Stamp (whom I don't think I ever saw in any films, but whom I still knew a fair bit about)! How genius is that? I had to see this to believe it, and when I did, I was not let down! Beautiful scenes, costumes, dialogue and music made this probably one of the most interesting and memorable movie experiences of my life! I wasn't the least bit uptight about it (as some people were turned off by the flamboyant behaviour and distasteful jokes, which I found refreshingly great!), and delighted in the campy antics of this fantastic trio! It's a beautiful, feel-good comedy that I recommend to anyone with a catty sense of humour (and a VERY open mind).