(^66) [ April May 2019 [soundandvision.com
The indisputable success of Bohemian Rhapsody confirms what many
of us have known for decades: Queen was one of the biggest rock
bands in the world, and their late frontman Freddie Mercury was one
of the singularly most polarizing and mesmerizing popular-music
performers of the 20th century.
Rami Malek gives a beyond-worthy Best Actor Oscar-anointed
performance as the man born in Zanzibar as Farrokh Bulsara in 1946. It’s
truly uncanny how seamlessly Malek embodies mannerisms both flam-
boyant and subtle of the man with the unapologetic overbite in a way
that’s 180 degrees opposite of his self-contained, withdrawn, and mostly
sullen portrayal of vigilante hacker Elliot Alderson in the dystopian sci-fi
TV show Mr. Robot (which won him an Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Drama Series Emmy in 2016).
While certain band sequences are set in dark or dramatically lit
period concert halls and/or dank clubs and backstage areas, a good bit
of Bohemian Rhapsody’s color palee leans more toward the brighter
side of life, with members of Queen and their entourage sporting much
light-colored clothing at various points throughout the film without
any washouts. This is where Ultra HD/HDR literally shines, as it does in
conveying the textures on the white terrycloth bathrobe Mercury wears
while talking on a payphone and the mostly white ensembles Queen
sport during their iconic 1985 Live Aid performance—most especially
Mercury’s tight, scoop-necked sleeveless t-shirt and Adidas boxing
shoes. As the band moves and grooves in front of a massive, all-white
stage backdrop on an off-white stage surround by eggshell-white moni-
tors, nothing is lost from shot to shot, ensuring that these may be the
whitest whites you’ll see this side of using OxiClean laundry detergent.
Sonically speaking, the Cinema Audio Society award-winning tandem
of production mixer John Casali and re-recording mixer Paul Massey
have masterfully deployed the Atmos soundtrack (DTS-HD Master
Audio 7.1 on the included 1080p Blu-ray disc version) in all the right
places, whether it’s the percussive foot-stomping collective that triggers
the creation of the bed track for “We Will Rock You,” the pounding, all-
channel rain splaer that falls during one of Mercury’s lowest personal
points outside his house, or the rapturously repeated double-claps
during the chorus of “Radio Ga-Ga” and the elegiac “ayy-ohh!” call-and-
response interactivity Mercury has
with 100,000 concertgoers strong
at Wembley Stadium during the Live
Aid performance denouement.
The frenetically edited creation of
the movie’s titular song in a remote
barn-cum-recording studio is fun
to observe, especially the constant
layering and overdubbing of its über-
operatic multitracked-to-the-max
background vocals (“higher!”) onto
a well-worn, stretched-to-the-max
master tape. (Speaking of that ubiq-
uitous title track, be on the lookout
for a bearded, dark-bespectacled
Mike Myers, playing a record-label
executive who semi-ironically
delivers a verbal Easter egg sure
to please everyone who knows a
certain in-car headbanging Wayne’s
World sequence by heart.)
While Mercury remains the focus
of the narrative, the other bandmem-
bers’ personalities do get some
semblance of play throughout the
film—most likely due to original
Queen guitarist Brian May and
drummer Roger Taylor oen being on set to ensure authenticity—
though I would have liked to have seen a sequence, however brief,
where May discusses (or even is shown) building his signature Red
Special guitar from scratch with his father, since its unique sound
shaped many of the band’s most majestic recordings.
Amongst the extras, the full 20-minute breakneck Live Aid perfor-
mance itself is a shot-by-shot recreation for the ages. I did my own
separate, side-by-side Live Aid comparison of Malek and Mercury
together on a split-screen in real time, and it’s absolutely mind-
boggling to confirm the actor’s precision in embodying the frontman
from stem to stern. Every strut, pout, fist pump, tongue flick, and
microphone-grip difference between Mercury’s le and right hands
are conveyed by Malek to virtual perfection. Even more impressive
is hearing producer Graham King reveal the Live Aid sequence was
the first major thing that was shot for the film, barely three weeks aer
Malek began preparing for the role.
Given the reception that Bohemian Rhapsody has received from
both the public and their peers, Queen have quite handily proven
they’re the undisputed champions of the world, darlings. Long may
they reign. OMIKE METTLER
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY UHD BLU-RAY
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox, 2018
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
HDR FORMAT: HDR10+ and HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with
TrueHD 7.1 core
LENGTH: 134 mins.
DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer
STARRING: Rami Malek, Lucy
Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy,
Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen,
Allen Leech, Tom Hollander,
Mike Myers
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