Strictly Ballroom [DVD] [1992]

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Kevin Clifton is a revelation. Of course he can dance a dream but it turns out his singing is more than serviceable and his acting is really rather decent – he’s thoroughly convincing as he essays Scott’s journey from arrogant wunderkind to perfect partner. He’s even pretty good at the Aussie accent – maybe it’s all those years spent with Antipodean Strictly colleagues. And while initially dubious at the fact Clifton is about twice as old as his character, his natural boyishness soon has one forgetting such stuff. The film was released on DVD on 19 March 2002 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. [7] Reception [ edit ] Rivero, Enrique (7 March 2002). "Director Luhrmann Is Busy On the DVD Front". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2002 . Retrieved 10 September 2019. Kieran Cooper, a graduate of Edinburgh’s MGA Academy of Performing Arts, plays Scott’s pal Wayne, who’s far more desperate to learn the bogo pogo move than any sane man should be. It’s a shame he’s saddled, for no obvious reason, with a ginger fright wig.

Brookes dazzles as Fran (‘Just Fran’), a relative beginner who wants to twirl with golden boy Scott Hastings (Clifton) after he loses longtime partner Liz. She’s flounced off, after the dance floor rebel Scott’s insistence on using his own, crowd-pleasing moves in their routines loses them competitions. It’s strictly ballroom, you see. This is one of my all time favorite movies, one I watch even when it's on regular tv, cut to pieces. It goes from the sublime to the ridiculous and pretty much stays there for 90% of the time, but it's a fun, musical ridiculous, with plenty of songs I enjoy hearing over and over. Emma is an experienced entertainment news journalist with NCTJ accreditation and a First-Class Honours Degree in Journalism. Having started her career as a broadcast journalist, Emma’s voice has been heard on varying radio stations across the UK including Absolute, Magic, BBC Three Counties Radio, LBC London News and more. Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his " Red Curtain Trilogy" of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1996's Romeo + Juliet and 2001's Moulin Rouge! [2]It’s a shame theatre stages – even one as large as the Playhouse’s – don’t allow for expansive dance floor action, but Revel Horwood’s canny direction makes the most of the space. And there’s a moment towards the end which translates one of the film’s most memorable moments into a piece of theatrical magic. By the time the final number arrives – the whole cast singing Love is in the Air – pretty much the whole audience was on its feet and ready to throw the proverbial shapes. Scott and his dancing partner Liz Holt lose the Southern Districts Waratah Championships due to Scott dancing his own steps. Three days later, Liz leaves him to team up with Ken Railings, the recent Waratah Championships winner; his partner Pam Short has broken both her legs in a car accident. With Scott now alone only three weeks until the championships, Shirley teams up with his coach Les Kendall, her co-instructor at the studio, to start desperately hunting for a new partner for him. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to both, Scott is approached by Fran, an overlooked "beginner" dancer at the studio. He eventually agrees to partner with her, intrigued by her willingness to dance "his way". Strictly Ballroom competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival and won the Youth Award for Foreign Film. It received thirteen nominations at the 1992 Australian Film Institute Awards and resulted in eight wins, including Best Film. The film earned eight nominations at the 46th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film; it won Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Film Music. It was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 51st Golden Globe Awards. If you’ve ever been even a little bewitched by the glamour of the glitterball, Strictly Ballroom: The Musical will send your spirits soaring.

As previously announced ex EastEnder, 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist and Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Children In Need Special champion Maisie Smith will make her musical theatre debut alongside her 2019 Strictly pro-partner Kevin Clifton in the new production of the hit romantic comedy set within the sequin-drenched world of competitive ballroom dancing. During the competition, Doug explains to Scott that Fife lied: Fife had convinced Shirley to dance with Les instead of Doug so that Fife could win the competition. It is also revealed that Fife is plotting to sabotage Scott in favor of audience favorite, Ken. Scott runs after Fran and persuades her to dance with him. In addition, the film was screened at several notable festivals to great critical acclaim, winning some major accolades, including the People's Choice Awardat the Toronto International Film Festivaland the Most Popular Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. What is Strictly Ballroom all about? I suppose this is the time that I should be issuing spoiler warnings. But, as the great man himself once said about his work, “within the first ten minutes you know how it’s going to end.” I think I can be allowed a bit of latitude when it comes to a thirty year old film! A Beginner Has No Right To Approach An Open Amateur There then follows all manner of completely predictable situations. Fran teaches Scott something. Things start to go right but get dashed. Fran gets more and more beautiful. Scott learns the true spirit of Latin American dance. Barry Fife’s lies are uncovered. Ultimately, everything resolves to a happy ending. There is trope upon theme upon motif but, guess what…IT DOESN’T MATTER!!! Doug and Shirley HastingsAn expanded version of the play became a success at the Czechoslovakian Youth Drama Festival in Bratislava in 1986. In 1988, it had a successful season at Sydney’s Wharf Theatre, where it was seen by Australian music executive Ted Albert and his wife Antoinette. They both loved it, and, they went to Luhrmann with their plan to transform his play into a film. He agreed on the condition that he would also get to direct it. So, while Strictly Ballroom may have been his debut, there’s no doubt Baz had a very firm vision of how the finished film should look. Fran and her usual partner The three films that make up the trilogy are Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge! Those three films don’t share any plot or character relationships, rather like Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy. What they do share are theatre motifs; dance in Strictly Ballroom, poetry and language in Romeo + Juliet, and song in Moulin Rouge! Fran – Before & After In May 2011, it was announced that Strictly Ballroom would be adapted into a stage musical and premiere at the Sydney Lyric theatre. It premiered on 12 April 2014. [4] The production moved to Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne in January 2015, [22] and the Lyric Theatre, QPAC in Brisbane in September 2015. [23]

The feel-good story of the rule-breaking dancer and the shy outsider who transforms into the perfect partner first hit the stage as a student play. The play was then transformed into a film by Luhrmann and designer Catherine Martin before the duo working with Terry Johnson, who joined the team to adapt the original book, to return to the stage in its musical incarnation at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2014. a b c d e f g h i Albert, Jane (2010). House Of Hits: The Great Untold Story Of Australia's First Family Of Music. Richmond, Australia: Hardie Grant Books. pp.316–331. ISBN 978-1740668811. There is a delightful reworking of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time sung by Tara Morice. It’s used to link the early “getting to know each other” scenes between Scott and Fran. It drifts in and out between shots of Scott and Fran and whatever else is going on around the dance studio. It starts at 21:38 and finishes at 31:15; the ten minutes fly by! A favourite with fans of the BBC celebrity dance show, international Ballroom and Latin champion, Clifton made his musical theatre debut in Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych in 2010 and returned to play Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer for a limited London season at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. With glittering costumes, a clever, adaptable set, and sharp lighting, the designs match the performances. The players make the most of an occasionally hilarious script – Clifton’s comedy moves are used to great effect – while the band led by Dustin Conrad is on fire.Strictly Ballroom is based on a critically acclaimed stage play, originally set up in 1984 by Luhrmann and fellow students during his studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney. An expanded version of the play became a success at the Czechoslovakian Youth Drama Festival in Bratislava in 1986. In 1988, it had a successful season at Sydney's Wharf Theatre, where it was seen by Australian music executive Ted Albert and his wife Antoinette. They both loved it, and, when Albert, soon after, set up the film production company M&A Productions with ex- Film Australia producer Tristram Miall, they offered Luhrmann their plan to transform his play into a film. [3] He agreed on the condition that he would also get to direct it. [4] Plot [ edit ] During its successful run at the Wharf, the play was seen by an influential Australian music executive. Ted Albert was a leading record producer and music publisher, best known in Australia as the discoverer and original producer of 1960s pop sensations The Easybeats. By the time he saw Strictly Ballroom, Albert was the managing director of his family-owned music publishing company Albert Music (formerly J. Albert & Sons) and its subsidiary, the highly successful record label Albert Productions, which scored a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s with acts including John Paul Young and AC/DC. One of the best scenes is when his character's taught how to do the Paso Doble as it was intended. The man teaching him is the man who choreographed it for the movie, a truly great dancer in his own right. And the g irl playing Fran, a non-dancer in real life, learned all the dances just for this film. Plot: What’s it about? Video: How does it look? Audio: How does it sound? Supplements: What are the extras? Plot: What’s it about?

Fidler, Richard (11 February 2014). "Conversations with Richard Fidler: Baz Luhrmann". ABC Radio: Conversations with Richard Fidler. Australian Broadcasting Company . Retrieved 21 May 2015. For full terms and conditions and information on the application process please visit our Strictly T&Cs. In the next round, Scott and Fran make a dramatic entrance and begin dancing, immediately riveting the audience. Fife tries to disqualify them, but Scott's friend Wayne Burns, having overheard Fife's treachery along with his partner Vanessa Cronin, disconnects the PA system, allowing Scott and Fran to dance a Paso Doble routine that impresses the audience. Desperate, Fife tries to turn off the music, but Scott's younger sister Kylie and her partner Luke interfere until Fife's girlfriend Charm Leachman disconnects the sound system. Fife then disqualifies Scott and Fran, but Doug begins clapping out a beat to enable the pair to continue dancing. The audience claps along, as Scott and Fran resume dancing. Liz, having had a change of heart, turns on Fife and Leachman and restores the music, and Scott and Fran's spirited dancing brings down the house. Doug asks Shirley to dance with him and the whole audience joins them on the floor. As the performance finishes, Scott and Fran kiss. Barry Fife! introduces us to the show’s larger-than-life Australian Dance Federation chief in fantastic style, as Gary Davis belts out the big number. The actor has even more fun with New Steps Nightmare, joined by members of the excellent ensemble in their undies.The show received its British premiere on 30 November 2016 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. The show had its North American premier in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre on 25 April 2017. Dean, Jodie (10 September 2015). "Strictly Ballroom the Musical sweeps Brisbane QPAC crowd off their feet". Brisbane Times . Retrieved 17 August 2017. Directed and co-choreographed by the hard-to-please King of the Saturday night put-down, Craig Revel Horwood, and co-choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing’s creative director Jason Gilkison, the production is due to launch in Portsmouth on 26 September 2022, before dancing into venues across the UK with the tour taking its final bows in Bristol in July 2023.