Bill Murray Movie:

		List Price: $29.95		Label: Polygram Video Salesrank: 79539 Released: October 7, 1997
		Our Price: $27.99
		Used Price: $27.98
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:

A surprise hit in America, this 1994 Australian comedy is anchored by Terence Stamp as a transsexual who, in the company of two drag queens, travels to a remote desert location to put on a lip-synch performance--to the amazement of the locals. Getting there on a pink bus named Priscilla, the trio stop and play for people all over the Outback, getting the same homophobic, bewildered responses. The weak link in the film is dialogue that seems to have been pulled from "Queer Movie Banter for Dummies," all bitchy and cliché-ridden but fortunately salvaged by strong acting. The most fun comes whenever the three are performing; fans of Abba will be particularly pleased. --Tom Keogh

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert Extras

Watch Director Stephan Elliot talk about the film's iconic costumes.

An Interview with Priscilla Costume Designer Tim Chappel

How much of costume design is your own inspiration / how much is inspired by the character? I rarely have creative free reign like I had on Priscilla. Priscilla was one of those rare situations where the powers that be said "Go for it". The characters are my babies. All design is meant to build character and help move the story along. Fortunately Mitzi, Felacia, and Bernardette were outrageous drag queens so that was not only easy bit great fun. Hard as it may seem, there are nuances that aren't obvious. For example when the queens are climbing Kings Canyon each of their headdresses are a distillation of their individual personalities. Bernardette is the Evil Queen, Mizti has lipsticks, rollers and pacifiers, and Felecia has Cupie dolls that are staring at themselves in little mirrors. What is the process of physically rendering the costumes? Do you build them by hand? Work with a team? Hit vintage stores? I usually begin by sketching roughs. Then once everyone has had their input - or cocked their leg as it seems more of the time, I do the finished sketches. These get signed off on literally becoming a visual contract. Then they get handed to the Costumier that builds a toile (a practice one). That gets fitted on the talent and we all um and ah--hopefully more ooh and ah if it's working well. Then we have a second fitting to perfect the fit and a final fitting to see the final project. On Priscilla however I simply grabbed whatever I had around or worked out which costume could be sacrificed and started gluing and sewing and hoping for the best. If something started to break there was always the hot glue gun and a handful of glitter to disguise any lumps and bumps. The costumes were literally finished when they would tear them out of my hands. Did any of the actors on Priscilla have any costume concerns? Was anyone concerned the costume would overpower their performance? The actors were all good sports. Terence told us he wanted to look like Holly Golightly but he soon gave up on that idea. He actually looked quite beautiful at times I thought. There was a moment at Kings Canyon when Terrence said that something was bothering his forward and I looked over to see a single drop of blood run down his brow--whoops, with only $12,000 US there was no room for comfort. What's the difference between cinematic fashion and street (real people) fashion? I.e., does it have to be "bigger" if it's on the screen? There are lots of differences between what you wear on the street, on stage, or in stills. Each medium requires special attention. For example in film you have to find out what kind of film stock is being used, what kind of filters and the general visual feel that the production designer and cinematographer are trying to go for. Of course the Director is trying to convey very specific ideas and using texture, color and contrast your job is to build, along with your team, that visual statement. The use of detail is also vital; sometimes you can't even see it but the actor will know its there and much detail, even though you can't literally see it, becomes absorbed in a more subconscious way. In your opinion, who looked the most beautiful (lead roles) in drag, who was the most fun to work with? They were all beauties. Guy Pearce had a background in musical theatre so he was prone to stealing the show. They were all great fun and still people I count as good friends. Any idea the film would take off to become an enormous hit and cult classic as well as meaning so much to fans around the world? We thought we were basically making a home movie; it wasn't until we had the 15-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival that we knew we had created a DRAG MONSTER! Where did you get the inspiration and know-how regarding costumes? Was there research involved? How did you get involved in doing this movie? I started with the music and let it send me in a delirious creative free fall and took notes as I spun. We got to have a buying trip to NYC in '92--WOW. I got to meet Girlina and Lasdy Bunny and all the voguing Queens--we were doing something totally different but Queens are trick everywhere aren't they. I got involved because Stephan needed a Costume designer who could do everything: design, sew and wear--if necessary. I was working as one of a pair of male backup dancers (an "earring") for a drag-queen troupe called Glamourworld. I used to make all our costumes and we were pretty successful. We even toured Asia going to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Ho Chi Mihn city--all on DragOn Air. How funny is that? What inspires you--what movies stand out to you as having great costumes? It all goes in and just comes out this way. I don't consciously look for inspiration. I like to think of myself as a creative distillery. If you could dress Oscar (of the Academy Awards) - what would you have him wear? My Oscar was on display in Australia's National Gallery in an Exhibition called "The Sights and Sounds of Australian Film." Oscar had purple hair and a disco tube dress. I butchered a Rock and Roll Barbie. She didn't seem to mind 'cause Oscar looked roool perty!

Beyond The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Cross-Dressing 101

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

More from MGM

Stills from The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Reviews:
The Outback Will Never Be the Same
2009-10-08 - On September 19, 2009, in London I saw the new wildly popular cult musical "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" which is based on the Australia movie of the same name. The musical was extremely well-done, well-staged; innovative, all-in-all a hoot. The bus taking up most of the stage could be turned around to show interior and exterior shots. The principals did their own singing, and as far as I could discern, unlike the movie, there was no Abba. The fast-paced show delighted audience members, many of whom seem to have seen it before.
In this film two drag queens and a transsexual (Terence Stamp, born in 1939) travel in a rickety, quirky bus from Sydney to Alice Springs to perform in a casino night club where one of the performer's ex-wife works. The photography of the Australian outback, the rock formations, the skies, the landscape is overwhelming and stunningly beautiful, almost worth the admission price.
In the movie (1994) some of the staging of the musical numbers did not even pretend to be realistic. That bus couldn't possibly hold all of the costumes and props. The instantaneous changing of costumes in the Alice Springs number is mind-boggling. Some of the movie scenes are surreal and eerily transcendent. The two diva opera numbers atop the bus are beautifully done, but not in the least realistic.
When the three divas are performing, they never get more than a lukewarm reception from their audiences except for the aborigine group they meet. In their long odyssey they have two homophobic encounters with the cowboy-types of the Outback.
Terence Stamp's performance is spot-on, and he deserves high praise for his acting. The movie has brief flash-backs to the characters' pasts that really aren't necessary.
The movie has a strong plot, good by-play among the various characters (Bernadette and Felicia are constantly spatting), and a sense of purpose that becomes apparent after a viewing. The London West End musical version cleaves very closely to the movie's plot, but seems more light-hearted. The movie is well worth seeing. It's a trip in every sense of the word.



Australlan comedy
2009-09-14 -
A delightfully bawdy comedy, but so Australian. They love shows with cross dressers. It must go back to Elizabethan times, when males played all the roles.

memorable, bold and even wonderfully decadent
2009-08-11 - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is both shocking and extremely entertaining; it grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the very final moment of the picture! The acting is extremely convincing; I really like that. The musical score is excellent, too.

When the action starts, we meet three people who perform a cabaret act in outrageous extremes of drag; they are "Tick" or Anthony who also goes by Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Adam or Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp), a man who had surgery to become a woman. Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette get dressed up in their costumes (most of which are not terribly pretty although the film did win an Oscar for Best Costume Design) and lip-synch their way through musical numbers to an enthusiastic crowd in a bar in Sydney, Australia. However, life takes its twists and turns and for their own individual, personal reasons Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette decide to take a road trip to perform in Alice Springs, way out in the middle of Australia. It isn't long after that Felicia gets an old, run down bus for them to use as transportation.

Along the way the trio has quite a few experiences although not all of them are bad. They are greeted warmly by a group of Aboriginals who even join them dancing and playing music into the night; and Mitzi, Bernadette and Felicia have a lot of fun teasing each other while they're riding on the bus through the outback. On the other hand, they enter a town in which there is a great deal of prejudice; after a night of harsh words, verbal threats and a drinking contest between Bernadette and a local lady named Shirley (June Marie Bennett), the three of them awake to find some mighty nasty graffiti written on the side of their bus. They wisely decide to promptly head out of town and they continue on their way to the hotel in the outback where they have their upcoming gig--and all is well until their bus breaks down. After a day or two of being stranded in the outback desert, they finally meet Bob (Bill Hunter), a thoroughly good sport who lives in the outback with his mail-order bride Cynthia (Julia Cortez).

Bob fixes the bus and they go on their way with more adventure; and Adam/Felicia re-paints the bus lavender to erase the graffiti. As they get closer to their destination, however, one of them drops a huge bombshell on the others. I also got the feeling that Bob and Bernadette might be starting to be more than just friends.

Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here--which one of them reveals something major than the others didn't know before? It's his real reason for taking the gig in the outback. What about Bob, Cynthia and Bernadette--how will all that play out? Sorry, no spoilers here--watch and find out!

If you get the "extra frills" edition of this movie, tune into the excellent audio commentary. There is behind the scenes footage; interviews with cast and crew and more!

If you want an excellent movie and you're not averse to this subject matter, this will provide you with excellent entertainment and you should add this to your DVD collection. I also recommend this film for members of the GLBT communities.

You can not BE ready for this Movie
2009-07-16 - Three drag queens go off on a bus (to be painted pink and named Priscilla) for a four week gig in Alice Springs. AS is in the middle of the Australian outback and close to nowhere. It began as the middle stop on the cross-country road from the south to Darwin in the north. There is truly nothing there or anywhere near it.

So the three drag queens go off into the outback where they have a whole cavalcade of adventures while practicing for their show and making friends almost everywhere they go. Next to the costumes (all over the top) we see some of the most starkly beautiful country on this globe. They even throw in some Abos just to make every one feel at home (yes they cook on the barby every night).

Most of this is very trite and maudlin but somehow it never gets that depressing feeling or 'feel sorry for me' attitude. This is a 'this is who and what I am movie and if you don't like it, stick it up your arse' so there. Great fun if you have a slightly tilted sense of humor.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Priscilla Reigns!
2009-06-05 - This has it all-great acting,awesome scenery [the Australian Outback, etc], and mindblowing costumes and song and dance numbers.
An absolutely perfect way to escape,when life just gets too doggone dreary and humdrum. Great tounge in cheek, just plain old FUN.
Get it-you won't be sorry. It's become one of my favorite 'funky mood, it's been raining forever, I need to escape' movies.
Terrance Stamp is amazing-well, they all are, but the biggest scene stealer is the Australian Outback. Pick it up, pop it in the DVD player, and just lose yourself for a bit.
If it hadn't been in widescreen, I'd have given it 5 stars-but that's just me-I like my movies taking up the entire 40" of my screen.