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

Written By: Elisa

Priscilla is, with Ballroom, the reason why I love Australian movies. Both movies are exaggerated, with an use of color that serves to punch you on an eye and force your attention. In Priscilla I think the colors, in the dresses of the drag queens, are at the same way protection and declaration: with the exaggerated colors Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette are claiming, we are here and we are beautiful, but they are also protecting themselves, since in no way they can be mistaken for "real" women. When Felicia tries to do that, the consequence is no good, and it's not a coincedence that Bernadette, the transgender of the three, is also the one who wants to be classy and sometime "out of the group", dressing like a real lady.

I love Patrick Swayze, but the remake they did in the USA of this movie is not the same, is a totally different thing, and so, I highly recommend to track down this version of the movie.

"great music!"

Written By: James W. Samples

The movie is pretty good, BUT the music is SUPER and should not be missed!

"fun film, with a great message!"

Written By: chris galbreath

i always forget that this isn't just a few great old songs and awesome costumes. there's a great message between the lines about the relationship between these three characters. the one our parents always tried to teach us about accepting and loving people for who they are, not what they look like, who they love or what god they worship. and there's awesome costumes, great old songs and lots of guy pearce's butt. gets me every time i watch this movie.

"The Outback Will Never Be the Same"

Written By: John F. Rooney

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"

Written By: Rosemary Morice

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.