The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The Adventures of Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla,; Queen of the Desert
	original movie poster
Directed by	Stephan Elliott
Written by	Stephan Elliott
Produced by	Al Clark; Michael Hamlyn
Starring	Terence Stamp; Hugo Weaving; Guy Pearce; Bill Hunter; Julia Cortez
Cinematography	Brian J. Breheny
Edited by	Sue Blainey
Music by	Guy Gross
Distributed by	MGM Home Entertainment
Release date	10 August 1994
Running time	104 min.
Language	English

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Oscar-winning Australian film about two drag queens and a transsexual woman driving across the outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a large bus they have named Priscilla. The film stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott. Since its release it has became a significant cult film and opened as a major musical in Star City Casino Sydney, October 2006.

Plot synopsis

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Anthony "Teke" Belrose, a.k.a. Mitzi Del Bra, a drag queen, accepts an offer to perform at a casino in Alice Springs, a remote town in central Australia. After persuading his friends and fellow performers, Bernadette Bassenger, a.k.a. Ralph – a recently bereaved transsexual woman – and Adam Whitely, a.k.a. Felicia Jollygoodfellow – an irritatingly flamboyant and obnoxious drag queen – to join him, the three set out for Alice Springs in a large tour bus which Adam/Felicia christens "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". Guy Pearce plays Adam/Felicia, Terence Stamp plays Bernadette/Ralph and Hugo Weaving plays Teke/Mitzi.

They encounter on the way the less accepting attitudes of rural Australia, sexual violence, and the problems of vehicle breakdowns. The troupe eventually arrives at their destination with costumes and dance routines prepared. Before they arrive, Teke reveals that he is married, and that the trip is a favour for his wife, who runs the casino where they will be performing. Upon arriving, they learn that Teke and his wife also have a young son.

Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (The Musical)

Priscilla was adapted as a stage musical opening at Star City Casino, Sydney on 7 October 2006.

The opening cast was as follows:
Bernadette - Tony Sheldon (The Producers)
Teke/Mitzi - Jeremy Stanford (Buddy, Certified Male, High Society)
Adam/Felicia - Daniel Scott (Dusty: The Original Pop Diva)
Bob - Michael Caton

Due to Scott being injured on two separate occasions, Nick Hardcastle was required to take over the role for an extended period of time.

The stage show which features live performances of the songs featured in the film including 'I Love The Nightlife', 'I Will Survive', 'Finally', 'I've Never Been To Me', 'Shake Your Groove Thing' and 'Go West' as well as some new additions, such as 'Confide In Me', 'Downtown', 'What's Love Got To Do With It', 'Hot Stuff' and 'Macarthur Park'.

The beauty of the outback appears on stage with over 20 full-scale production numbers and the famous battered bus itself 'Priscilla' which is on a revolving stage. The costumes of Bernadette, Mitzi, Felicia and the entire cast have re-designed by Oscar-winning duo Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is produced by Back Row Productions, a UK-based company owned by Australians Liz Koops and Garry McQuinn, best known for Dein Perry's Tap Dogs; two time Tony Award winning impresario John Frost, Michael Hamlyn of Specific Films, an original producer of the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; and acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Allan Scott, well known for the Julie Christie / Donald Sutherland psychological thriller Don't Look Now.

Cultural impact

The film achieved a strong cult status in the gay community as a camp classic. The film explored gay stereotypes without always reverting to those stereotypes just for a cheap laugh. The main characters were neither sinners, nor evil (like many gay, lesbian, and transgender characters in early films) nor perfect, saintly martyrs (i.e Philadelphia, RENT), but rather fully formed characters with strengths and flaws.

The film portrayed Australia's outback in an idyllic way, showcasing its beauty and remoteness. The story also brought together the travelling troupe with a tribe of Aboriginals, a powerful image of two often socially outcast peoples singing and dancing together under unlikely circumstances.

The film also employed unusual casting with Terence Stamp, who has otherwise portrayed masculine characters, often villains. This film was the first large-scale venue for Pearce and Weaving, both of whom have gone on to larger film success.

In 1995, an American film, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, was released, and featured a similar plot line. To Wong Foo began production during the middle of Priscilla's filming.

During the Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Priscilla was part of a parade of iconic images of Australian popular culture. A refurbished and decorated 1980 Ford Denning (the same make of bus used in the movie) featuring a giant steel Stiletto heel which extended from and retracted into the roof -- inspired by some of the scenes from the film -- was paraded around the Olympic Stadium. The bus was also accompanied by several stiletto heels tricyle floats and drag queens donning big wigs as a tribute to the film's international success and the local gay community [1].

Trivia

The bus, Priscilla, actually belonged to The Whitlams, and they toured in it, not knowing that it would soon be an icon.
In the video store is a poster for Frauds (1993), also directed by Stephan Elliott and also starring Hugo Weaving.
The line in the closing credits "Shown in Dragarama at select theatres" is a reference to some cinemas using a mirror-ball and colored lighting during the "Finally" dance number.
The famous thong dress, which led to the movie winning an Academy Award, cost only $7 to make.
Hugo Weaving's character was based on Sydney drag-queen Cindy Pastel, who like the character has a son and female companion.
Tim Curry turned down the role of Mitzi.
The opening and closing scenes were both filmed on the same day at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, a Sydney suburb.
Bill Hunter was filming Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of the country.
Due to a heavy filming schedule, lots of filming was done while the entire crew was on the road. But because the bus was such a small set, there was no room for the crew. As such in many scenes, they are actually in shot, hiding under clothes and other props.
Nikki Webster has one of her first screen roles in this film.
Referenced in The Drew Carey Show episode New York and Queens when Mimi and her cohorts have a dance-off in full Priscilla costume against Drew and his friends in their Rocky Horror Picture Show costumes.
Referenced heavily in the Discworld novel The Last Continent.
A clip from Felicia's operatic performance atop the bus was featured briefly in a montage of famous film clips at the 2007 Academy Awards.

Alternate versions

A joke – explaining where Bernadette's recently deceased husband, Trumpet, got his name – was omitted for the film's US release, but later released on the Special Edition DVD. The gag - that Trumpet lacked any musical ability, and instead had a foreskin so large that it could wrap around a biscuit - was also reintroduced to the Live Musical as performed at Star City.

The flashback to Adam's childhood was originally longer, where it was revealed more clearly that he had been molested as a child. Producers felt that it was not funny and demanded it be excised. Rather than cutting the whole scene, it was made shorter and more humorous.

External links