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:

Finally, a comedy that will change the way you think, the way you feel, and most importantly... the way you dress.

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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

According to director Stephan Elliott, he took the three leads out in drag prior to the beginning of filming. None of them was recognized: Guy Pearce took the opportunity to be outrageously rude, Terence Stamp eventually forgot he was in drag and started hitting on girls, and Hugo Weaving got super-drunk and lay under a table for hours, tapping his finger in time to the music. This last detail was incorporated into the film in the hotel room scene.

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Goofs

Tick is practicing their dance routines and he is wearing a green dress and he's got a cigarette in his hand. In one shot the cigarette is there and in the next, which is far away, it's not there.

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Quotes

Felicia: [to Tick] Do you think I'm going to let you walk away with all the attention? No chance, come on girls. Let's go shopping.

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Crazy Credits

A scene after the credits finish shows an Asian garden where a blow up doll (released earlier in the movie in Australia) lands on a man, who looks quite puzzled.

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Alternate Versions

A joke, explaining where Trumpet got his name, was omitted for the film's US release.

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Connections

Featured in The Hidden History of Homosexual Australia (2005)

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Soundtracks

I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
(uncredited)
Written by Mack David
Performed by Guy Pearce

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.