Bohemian Rhapsody: A Near Perfect Biopic

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As promised, I have watched Bohemian Rhapsody, and here I am to discuss the movie.

First of all, as I stated previously, Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic on Freddy Mercury's life and his tenure with Queen. The movie is nearly accurate in records to what happened; however there are a few subtle differences.

The GOOD:
The movie overall reflected the entire recording career of Queen. With the exception of the Jazz sessions and post-Live Aid records, the movie caputres the band's history in two and a half hours time.

The BAD:
What may shock many is the fact that the movie is not entirely in order. One thing that made it harder for me to follow personally was that it tends to "jump around." For example, it tends to show their 1978-1979 tour before even showing the making of A Night at The Opera (1975). It even shows the recording of We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions, AFTER showing Mercury's redesigned image There is also NO mention of Roy Thomas Baker, or the band playing for the people of Kampuchea. Furthermore, many may question the historical accuracy (we'll get to that in a while).

How true is it?

 This may be the BIGGEST question many of you may have regarding the movie whether you have seen it yet or not. I had slight difficulty with following because I did not refresh myself on the band's history. Therefore, it may help for you to do a Google search to learn the band's backstory, or if you know it, a refresher wouldn't hurt either.

So here goes the fact-checking:

The band's formation: Contrary to what the movie shows, Tim Stieffel had not yet left the band when Mercury talked to Brian May and Roger Taylor about joining. The truth is, the lineup was meant to be Mercury-May-Stieffel-Taylor." Also unknown to many is that before John Deacon, there were three other bass players; however Deacon was, in fact, the last member to join.
Is Ray Foster real? This one may be plaguing many of you out there. During the movie, there is a meeting scene regarding the release of Bohemian Rhapsody as the lead single from Opera. The REAL person was EMI Executive Roy Featherstone who actually liked the band even though he, like many others, thought Bohemian Rhapsody was too long to be released as a single (by the way while we're on that subject, the Kenny Everett thing at the radio station REALLY DID happen).
Mercury Going Solo: Mercury WAS NOT the first Queen member to release a solo record and there was NEVER a plan for Mercury to sign a deal with CBS Music. Although it was Michael Jackson, who had already goine solo by then, who suggested that Another One Bites the Dust be released as a single in 1980. The first Queen member to drop a solo album? Roger Taylor!
While we're at it folks, it is worth mentioning that Mercury's solo debut, Mr. Bad Guy, was released in April 1985 and the band recorded The Works (1984) partly in Munich. The band DID NOT split up to begin with.
Mercury's sex life: The movie did not portray the complete picture of Mary Austin and Jim Hutton. Contrary to populr belief, Mercury DID NOT meet Mary Austin on his first night with Queen.
Mercury's AIDS diagnosis: Folks this is probably the BIGGEST hiccup made by the producers of the movie and I'm surprised nobody every got on them other than the critics. It is generally agreed upon that Mercury's AIDS diagnosis was made between 1986 and 1987, but the other three members knew nothing about it until 1989.

Overall, this is a great movie and Queen fans will rejoice in the memories. As for me,d I think Mercury had so much to life for and one can only imagine what would happen if he was still here. My guess is they would be on their farewell tour now and may have even played at the Super Bowl if he was still here (imagine We Will Rock You there)...

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