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Imagine

The Great Pretender

Original title: Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender
  • Episode aired Sep 24, 2012
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
S20.E2
  • S20
  • E2
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Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (2012)
  • Biography
  • History
Documentary looking at the relationships and solo career of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.Documentary looking at the relationships and solo career of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.Documentary looking at the relationships and solo career of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Rhys Thomas
  • Stars
    • Freddie Mercury(archive footage)
    • Peter Freestone
    • Roger Taylor
Top credits
  • Director
    • Rhys Thomas
  • Stars
    • Freddie Mercury(archive footage)
    • Peter Freestone
    • Roger Taylor
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos

    Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (2012)
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    Freddie Mercury
    Freddie Mercury
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Peter Freestone
    • Selfas Self
    Roger Taylor
    Roger Taylor
    • Selfas Self
    David Arnold
    David Arnold
    • Selfas Self
    John Reid
    John Reid
    • Selfas Self
    Paul Gambaccini
    Paul Gambaccini
    • Selfas Self
    Jim Beach
    Jim Beach
    • Selfas Self
    • (as Jim 'Miami' Beach)
    Brian May
    Brian May
    • Selfas Self
    Paul Prenter
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    David Wigg
    • Selfas Self
    Jim Hutton
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Luciano Pavarotti
    Luciano Pavarotti
    • Selfas Self
    • (archive footage)
    Mike Moran
    • Selfas Self
    Matt Lucas
    Matt Lucas
    • Selfas Self
    Montserrat Caballé
    Montserrat Caballé
    • Selfas Self
    Tim Rice
    Tim Rice
    • Selfas Self
    David Richards
    • Selfas Self
    • (as Dave Richards)
    • Director
      • Rhys Thomas
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Storyline

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    User reviews3

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    "I Am The Great Pretender" ! - Freddie Mercury
    Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender is an Emmy / Rose d'Or Award winning 2012 feature-length documentary about Queen singer Freddie Mercury and his attempt to forge a solo career. The documentary premiered on BBC One in edited form as part of the Imagine series, and later the Director's Cut was shown on BBC Four. It gained 3.5 million viewers when aired on BBC One in October 2012 and a further 1.2 million when shown on BBC Four.

    Reuniting the Producer, Editor and Director of Photography behind 2011's widely acclaimed Queen: Days of Our Lives BBC documentary, The Great Pretender in similar vein presents a compelling insight into its subject matter, unearthing previously undiscovered or rarely seen footage.

    Produced and Directed by Rhys Thomas, a lifelong Queen Fan and expert (to the extent that he famously broke the Mastermind all-time record points score with a specialist subject of Queen), Thomas has this time turned his attention to the Freddie Mercury archive, going back as early as 1976 in search of vintage gems which reveal more than ever before the inside story of Mercury's life and career and the solo projects he worked on outside of Queen.

    The extensive archive footage is drawn from rare interviews with Mercury, concerts, video shoots and personal material, much of it being seen for the first time, along with newly filmed contributions from fellow Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, Queen Manager Jim Beach, Soprano Montserrat Caballé, composers David Arnold and Mike Moran, lyricist Tim Rice and many more. From it emerges a portrait of a man who was very different from his flamboyant onstage public persona.

    The Great Pretender includes for the first time ever Mercury and Rod Stewart singing their 1984 demo for "Let Me Live", a snippet of the then unreleased Michael Jackson collaboration "There Must Be More To Life Than This", and Mercury with The Royal Ballet in 1979, never seen in full before.

    Courtesy of Neville Cawas Bardoliwalla OBE
    helpful•5
    0
    • SirNevilleCawasCyrusBardoliwalla
    • Nov 8, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 24, 2012 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Фредди Меркьюри. Великий притворщик
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Eagle Rock Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

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