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

Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.

Director:

Stephan Elliott

Writer:

Stephan Elliott

Stars:

Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugo Weaving	...	Tick / Mitzi
Guy Pearce	...	Adam / Felicia
Terence Stamp	...	Bernadette
Rebel Penfold-Russell	...	Logowoman (as Rebel Russell)
John Casey	...	Bartender
June Marie Bennett	...	Shirley
Murray Davies	...	Miner
Frank Cornelius	...	Piano Player
Bob Boyce	...	Petrol Station Attendant
Leighton Picken	...	Young Adam
Maria Kmet	...	Ma
Joseph Kmet	...	Pa
Alan Dargin	...	Aboriginal Man
Bill Hunter	...	Robert 'Bob' Spart
Julia Cortez	...	Cynthia Campos

Storyline

Two drag-queens (Anthony/Mitzi and Adam/Felicia) and a transgender woman contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. They head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla. En route, it is discovered that the woman they've contracted with is Anthony's wife. Their bus breaks down, and is repaired by Bob, who travels on with them.

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Plot Keywords:

bus | desert | drag queen | on the road | homosexual | 

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Taglines:

It's the Australian film that blitzed overseas box offices. It caused a near riot at the Cannes Film Festival. It won an Academy Award®. It's fun, daring, over-the-top and unforgettable. It's a road movie with attitude and the occasional frock.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sex-related situations and language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Filipino

Release Date:

10 August 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Priscilla

Filming Locations:

The Breakaways, Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Gross USA:

$11,220,670

Company Credits

Production Co:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC),Latent Image Productions Pty. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Hunter was filming Muriel's Wedding (1994) and Priscilla at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of the country.

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Goofs

When they are in the bar in Broken Hill, Old Shirl comes over and slaps her right hand down on Bernadette's. Then, in the next camera shot, it's her left hand.

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Quotes

Tick: What do you assume I do? Lie?
Marion: Assumption, my dear Mitz, is the mother of all fuck-ups.

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Crazy Credits

In the greetings, they distinguish some people: Extra Special Thanks (with cream on top) Special Thanks (no cream, cherries optional) Quite Special Thanks (hold the sweetener)

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Alternate Versions

The film was "Shown in Dragarama" at select theatres at the time of release. This involved some theatres using a mirror-ball and colored lighting during the "Finally" dance number.

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Connections

Referenced in The Drew Carey Show: Drew's Dance Party Special (1998)

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Soundtracks

A Fine Romance
Written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields
Performed by Lena Horne
Published by PolyGram International Publishing Inc.
Courtesy Castle Communications (Australasia) Ltd

User Reviews

Toward the Acceptance of Diversity

This is a film that every straight person should see. The screenwriter created three drags queens from the cloth of everyday life — an older person (who happens to be transgendered), an average guy next door and a pretty muscle boy. You can say that this film is about "the great reach of little lives" (a comment originally applied by Donald Spoto to Tennesee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie.") We also see, in Anthony Bellerose's story, that sexuality is not a cut-and-dried affair. Underneath it all, we see that these people aren't much different from those we meet ion our daily lives. A screening of "Priscilla" would do more good than a hundred lectures to high school kids on the acceptance of diversity.