Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Written by
Jude Bautista
Brian May (Gwilym Lee): See, we don’t want to repeat ourselves the same formula over and over.Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek): Formulas are a complete and utter waste of time.Ray Foster (Mike Myers): Formulas work. Lets stick with the formulas. I like formulas.Freddie: We’ll call the album A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. Ray: Are you aware that no one actually likes opera? Miami Beach (Tom Hollander): I like opera.Ray: Do you?John Reid (Aidan Gillen): I do.
Mike Myers as Record Exec Ray Foster; Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Freddie: Don’t misunderstand darling, it’s a rock and roll record but the scale of opera, the pace of Greek tragedy, the wit of Shakespeare, the unbridled joy of musical theater. It’s a musical experience rather than just another record. Something for everyone, something…that will make people feel it belongs to them. We’ll mix genres; we’ll cross boundaries. We’ll speak in bloody tongues if we want to. John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello): There’s no musical ghetto that can contain us. Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy): No one knows what QUEEN means because it doesn’t mean one thing!
from left: Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury)
and Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon).Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Their era was a time when rock stars were like gods and there was no bigger name than QUEEN. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, the movie will take fans on that journey from obscurity to possibly the greatest band of all time. I feel this is the best rock roll movie ever made since PURPLE RAIN from the late great Prince. It’s the best two hours you can spend inside a darkened cinema without having sex or foreplay. All the intimate moments, sometimes tumultuous that resulted in some of the greatest lyrics and music ever writtenand performed are shared and recreated here.
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The Greatest Ever?
The consensus that THE BEATLES is the greatest is up for debate especially when you watch this film. QUEEN is up there in terms of numbers and popularity: the biggest crowd ever assembled for a concert 130,000 in Brazil, their song WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS was voted as the greatest rock and roll song in a global music poll and the greatest rock performance of all time: QUEEN in LIVE AID. Their album sales topped 300 million worldwide making them as one of the best selling artists.
They also produced the top stadium anthems played over and over in all of the biggest sporting events around the world: WE WILL ROCK YOU, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS and RADIO GAGA. Music critic Paul Gambaccini made note of the fact that Freddie Mercury never saw a single football match in his life; from QUEEN MERCURY RISING video documentary.
QUEEN Mercury Rising
More than that is the experimentation in sound and the sheer audacity of crossing genres from opera to ballads to disco from what is essentially a heavy metal band.
from left: Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon) and Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
In terms of experimentation no one could never touch the creativity of QUEEN. Other bands all mostly stayed in their lane while QUEEN at its worst most criticized album HOT SPACE, dominated the disco charts. Which is unthinkable for a guitar screeching, rock laden, metal band.
right: Gwilym Lee (Brian May) explains his audience participation concept to Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
That same album also happened to have UNDER PRESSURE their collaboration with David Bowie which received critical praise decades after it was first released. The dialogue above (and many others in the movie) helps viewers understand the band’s mind set as far as breaking barriers in music is concerned.
NEW TRESemmé Range
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Freddie’s Vocals
Apart from the creative side of writing lyrics, music conceptualizing music videos, costumes etc is the performance side. That is where the consensus falls in favor of Freddie Mercury. No one in recent history, in any genre can match the colossal vocal range he was capable of. Youtuber POLYPHONIC in his video ‘The Secret Behind Freddie Mercury’s Legendary Voice’ was able to collate the research from the past decades concerning his voice.
Polyphonic video
His voice ranged from a Low F2 to a Soprano F6 but more than this is his ability to use it and maximize it to his advantage. Spanish Opera singer Montserrat Caballé said, “The difference between Freddie and all other rock stars was that he was selling the voice. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right coloring or expressive nuance for each word.” The song that illustrates this (according to the video) is SOMEBODY TO LOVE.
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
2016 Research
In 2016 a group of researchers published: FREDDIE MERCURY ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF SPEAKING FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY, VIBRATO AND SUBHARMONICS. It discovered that Mercury, ‘frequently sang in the tenor register, his natural voice was actually a baritone. It was no trouble at all for Freddie to jump out of his natural range throughout his career’.
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
He also had a highly irregular and unique vibrato that made his voice standout. He was also able to use subharmonic tones although the study did not determine if this was something that Mercury did intentionally or out of instinct. The unique vibrato can be heard in the hit WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.
Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
What the fresh research and scientific analysis gives us is empirical proof of Freddie Mercury’s superiority if you will over names like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones). We see that Mercury’s vast vocal range combined with his unique use subharmonics gives him a quantitative edge over other vocalists of some of the ‘Greatest Ever Rock Bands’. This is based on measurable data and analysis.
Gwilym Lee (Brian May); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Brian May: Among The Top Guitarists of All Time
Just as distinctive as Freddie’s voice is the aggressive guitar solos of Brian May.Whether it is in the epic BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, KILLER QUEEN or SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE to the HIGHLANDER theme WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER (which May wrote and composed) what distinguishes Brian May is that he not only plays lead guitar but actually writes or composes his own guitar solos for these legendary songs.
Queen – Who Wants To Live Forever (Official Video)
Brian May learned and played the guitar at a young age starting with the ukelele. Since they could not buy him an electric guitar he made his own with his father Harold. This early creation has now earned several names: Fireplace or The Old Lady. The name comes from the sources of materials. May shared, “The oak panel on the back is from an old table top, the neck is from a fireplace which was 100 years old at the time. The dot markers were from my mom’s button box…I think this was also the first guitar in the world to have a tremolo with almost zero friction.”
from right: Gwilym Lee (Brian May) and Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Credible Proof from Steve Vai
Multiple Grammy winner and one of the world’s top guitarists himself, Steve Vai said, “I don’t think enough is really said about the brilliance of Brian May’s guitar playing, in the sense that it’s overshadowed by the greatness of the music itself. The QUEEN II album was one of those pivotal moments that just nailed me to the wall.”
Vai is able to put May in context against other great guitarists as well, “He’s probably one of the top identifiable guitar players, even more so than Beck, Page and Clapton. They’re all so identifiable, but Brian May had such a tone in his head and in his fingers. It speaks volumes. His contribution to orchestrated guitars is unprecedented. There was nothing like it before him. He’s a class act from head to toe, and it shows in his playing. I can listen to any player and pantomime their sound, but I can’t do Brian May. He’s just walking on higher ground.” The description is from Guitar World magazine’s article entitled: Thirty Great Guitarists — Including Steve Vai, David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen — Pick the Greatest Guitarists of All Time
Brian (ranked 26) is listed higher than John Lennon (ranked 55) but lower than George Harrison (ranked 11) in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists. Every other list, however,has May higher than Harrison. In Guitar World’s Greatest Guitarist of All Time Reader’s Poll – Brian May finished second to Eddie Van Halen. It was a mammoth 132 guitarist tournament that spanned 6 months and got more than half a million votes. The two beat out the likes of Jeff Beck, Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads and a host of others. George Harrison ended up at no. 25 in this exhaustive poll.
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
The Ultimate Live Experience
Its almost cliché when other bands say they are the best live performer but QUEEN delivered this in every aspect. Apart from the sheer vocal power of Freddie it was his ability to enunciate each word clearly and add the right emotional phrasing. This enhanced his ability to literally command tens of thousands of audience members to sing with him and basically do whatever he wants.
Before anyone else they defined audience participation by incorporating it in their songs, that’s why they became arena anthems. In concerts upwards of 100,000 the experience was far more powerful and exhilarating than any other band could muster. You had tens of thousands singing along, clapping and chanting in unison whether its WE WILL ROCK YOU, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS or RADIO GAGA. Add the matchless guitar playing of Brian May, powerful drum beats of Roger Taylor and haunting bass line of John Deacon QUEEN is the ultimate live band.
Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
People will get to see an enhanced version of QUEEN’s LIVE AID segment in the movie. It’s better than the actual footage because there’s better camera movement and editing. The band’s actual audio or sound performance is seamlessly mixed into the movie, along with vocals of Rami Malek and American Idol Alumnus Adam Lambert. With today’s Dolby ATMOS Surround sound system in cinemas, I feel its better than live.
foreground: Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor)– (nearer audience) from left: Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury) and Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
QUEEN’s Head To Head Battle
LIVE AID in 1985 was so monumental because the simultaneous concerts raised £150 million pounds for the benefit of the Ethiopian famine. All of the biggest names in the music industry were there. Of particular interest were the legendary bands like THE WHO, surviving members of LED ZEPPELIN, vocalists Mick Jagger (THE ROLLING STONES), even Paul McCartney (THE BEATLES). Both Mick and Paul however, jammed with other artists instead of their original bands.
Mike Myers (Ray Foster) photo bombs cast mates. Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
All of these bands mentioned above were all ranked higher than QUEEN in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. But LIVE AID was the singular biggest collection of artists that allowed people to see, hear and experience them in one concert, perhaps compare them side-by-side.
from left: Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon) and Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
While it’s not a definitive competition, it’s a strong indication of how these bands perform live. And it was QUEEN who was hands down able to steal the show from all of them. They not only had the biggest audience reaction at Wembley but their performance actually inspired a wave of phone calls from TV audiences to donate to the cause. Organizer Bob Geldof himself attests to this. What happened in LIVE AID bolsters the belief that QUEEN is the greatest band ever.
Watchmojo actually considers QUEEN’S LIVE AID appearance as the best not just for that event but THE GRATEST live performance ever. Their selection spans concerts from the 1950’s with artists like Elvis, The Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash to the most recent DAFT PUNK appearance at Coachella.
Top 10 Greatest Live Musical Performances
Greater Together
This is where the movie BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is able to illuminate the true story of QUEEN. We find out that drummer Roger Taylor did a lot of vocal work in Bohemian, albeit under the direction of Freddie. Taylor also wrote a ton of QUEEN’s hits: THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1991) etc. Bassist John Deacon composed the basic rhythm of ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST and BODY LANGUAGE, which took the band in the new and different direction of disco.
from left: Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon), Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Gwilym Lee (Brian May) and Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Gerard Way of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE credits QUEEN as their biggest influence. He said, “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is arguably the greatest song ever written. I’m sure people told them it was too long or had too many movements. But then it came out and just took hold of the world. When you’re in a band and you find something that breaks every rule, it gives you creative hope. And QUEEN were always trying something new; none of their hit songs were paint-by-numbers.”
Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
Sometimes it’s the conflict, the push and pull between great minds that result in landmark work. That’s what we witness throughout the movie. The real secret is that it wasn’t just about Freddie or Brian, it was about each of them working, creating this genius we all know and love as QUEEN.
It’s easy to think or to say they had the best vocalist and guitarist but they were actually more than that. Whatever your basis, sheer popularity, musicality, talent, breaking norms and genre barriers, they’ve achieved it all. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts that’s why QUEEN is the greatest band of all time.
Watch out for part 2 of this series, which talks about the cast of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY.
from left Gwilym Lee (Brian May),Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury) and Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon).Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
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Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
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Gwilym Lee (Brian May); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
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from left: Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon) and Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor). Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
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Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury); Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas.
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Catch BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in Shang Plaza Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Eastwood City Mall and Resort’s World Manila Cinemas. Photo from Official facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/BohemianRhapsodyMovie
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