So after months of nagging the fella, we finally, FINALLY, got around to watching Bohemian Rhapsody - and my leg has almost fallen off below the knee from where I've been kicking myself so much for having waited so long to watch it! And when the fella announced that our local movie theatre (goodness, I've come over all American!) OK, when the fella announced that our local cinema (that's better!) had had a sing-along night when showing Bohemian Rhapsody, I almost kicked him for not telling me before!
I have always liked Queen and thought of Freddie Mercury as the ultimate showman but after watching Bohemian Rhapsody, my admiration for the band has grown even more - as it has with most people. It's not hard to see why in the year 2019, Queen have not only a legion of fans who have worshipped them from the very beginning, but a new generation of die-hard fans who were born long after Freddie passed away. Bohemian Rhapsody has been criticised for being factually incorrect - but come on, are all music bios a hundred per cent accurate? To the best of my understanding, I think the film has done it's best to capture the essence of what the band were about - and seeing as I've never been so affected by a film about people I don't even know personally, I think it's done an outstanding job in doing so.
And of course another key theme of the movie was Live Aid and that iconic performance. My memories of Live Aid are very vague. I just remember this super long concert that was on TV all day that my Mum and my aunts got very excited about; I sadly don't remember any of the actual performances. And of course back then, I didn't know the story behind Queen being a late addition to the line-up. But the story together with the performance is the stuff legends are made of. The first thing Mr. D and I did after we finished watching the film was check out Queen's Live Aid performance. I don't have the adjectives to describe how awesome it was - and for an English teacher, that's bad! And why did I wait so long to check out that legendary performance again???? Cue much more kicking!
One thing I became painfully aware of after watching Bohemian Rhapsody was that even though I liked Queen, I had kind of taken them for granted over the years. They are one of the biggest rock bands in the world whose music was always 'there'. It was a case of hearing the music without really listening. But all that's changed now and my appreciation of Queen has grown enormously. Not a case of bandwagon jumping because of a top movie but realizing all over again just how formidable Queen are. I mean I always knew that. But now I really know!
So if there's anyone who still hasn't seen Bohemian Rhapsody and wants to know what all the fuss is about, check it out NOW! The cast were fab. Everyone's raving about Oscar winner Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury and rightly so, but all the cast gave stellar performances and really acted their socks off which was indeed a contributing factor to the film's success.
But seriously - was I the only one who kept looking at Roger Taylor and thinking, "That's Peter Beale!"
RIP Freddie Mercury. The legend lives on... And Queen continue to reign.
Photos from YouTube
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
I loved this film. I grew up with Queen as a lot of my family are fans but because Freddie died the year after I was born, I never experienced Queen mania like a lot of other people did. So this film gave me a good insight into what it was like.
Brilliant film. I could watch it over and over again.
@Bailamos - It was so beautiful. I think we'd all like to have a friendship like theirs.
Loved this film. The friendship between Freddie and Mary was so beautiful.
@Marshmallowgal: Yep. I had a bit of a lump in my throat at times too. Very moving film.