The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

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

1994 1h 43m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 963🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●70Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 60,452

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“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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Cast

Hugo Weaving
Anthony 'Tick' Belrose / Mitzi Del Bra
Guy Pearce
Adam Whitely / Felicia Jollygoodfellow
Terence Stamp
Bernadette Bassenger
Bill Hunter
Bob Spart
Sarah Chadwick
Marion Barber
June Marie Bennett
Shirley
Rebel Penfold-Russell
Logowoman
John Casey
Bartender

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephan Elliott
Writers: Stephan Elliott
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $30M — a 14.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephan Elliott, shot by Brian J. Breheny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Guy Gross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sue Blainey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephan Elliott directs. Brian J. Breheny behind the camera. Guy Gross scores. Sue Blainey cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $30M — a 14.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
332 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.
5Part of the "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Stephan Elliott, shot by Brian J. Breheny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Guy Gross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Sue Blainey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Finally, a comedy that will change the way you think, the way you feel, and most importantly... the way you dress.".
11IMDB entry: tt0109045 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 22 themes, including "australia", "van", "homophobia", "drag queen".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian J. Breheny
Original score: Guy Gross
Editing: Sue Blainey
Production design: Owen Paterson
Costume design: Lizzy Gardiner
Makeup / hair: Cassie Hanlon
Sound: Guntis Sics
Stunt coordinator: Robert Simper
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $29,700,000
Return: 1485% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 70/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 60,452 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 11 wins & 20 nominations total

AACTA Award for Best Production Design
AACTA Award for Best Costume Design
Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Collection

A series of comedy-drama films about a trio of friends – two drag queens and a transwoman – who travel across the Australian outback in a fixer-upper bus christened Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Also by

Stephan Elliott

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Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2024-04-05
★ 5/10
A “gay friendly” film with some qualities, but which seems unfinished in some important aspects. This has been one of the most beloved films among the transsexual community, even though it seems obvious to me that being a transvestite and transsexual are not identical things. A transvestite is anyone who wears clothing belonging to the opposite sex to look like that. A transsexual is anyone who believes that they should have been born with the opposite sex to the one they have, and who, not infrequently, begins to undergo medical treatments in order to achieve the physical appearance they desire. What do they have in common? Both are minorities of little expression within the “gay” movement and, despite being visible, they have demands that sometimes contradict those of the homosexual movement, leading to some internal friction. None of this really matters, but it helps to understand why the group keeps this film on their favorites list. Filmed in Australia, it shows us the bumpy journey of a troupe of transvestites through the Australian desert to a remote town, where they are supposed to have some shows. The film has an intelligent script, where the adventures and misadventures of the trio intersect with other caricatured characters and, of course, with the intolerance and homophobia of isolated rural communities, where the “gay friendly” film takes the opportunity to make certain criticisms of these attitudes. Unfortunately, the film doesn't give us more than this, the characters are poorly developed and the feeling that remains is that of a project made to please a niche audience and not to tell a good story. The cast has three strong names at the front who ensure consistent protagonism: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. The three actors are solid bets and do a very decent job with the material received, with Pearce, more extravagant and bizarre, being the one who least satisfies me. The character he offered us is a caricature and not a credible human figure. He is the one who purchases the tourist bus that will be used on the trip, and which he bizarrely names Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. On a technical level, the film does not present great quality scores, for which it deserves special praise. With a couple of exceptions: the first is the design of the costumes worn in the film by the trio of main actors, full of bizarre details that allude to the world of the show; The second is the cinematography, very well conceived and crafted, and to which the exquisite choice of desert filming locations and, also, the good filming and lighting work largely contributed.
CinemaSerf2024-05-02
★ 7/10
Drag queen "Tick" (Hugo Weaving) gets the offer of a gig in Alice Springs and suggests to fellow artiste "Bernadette" (Terence Stamp) that they both go. How to get there? Well that's where their headstrong young pal "Felicia" (Guy Pearce) comes in. He has no compunction in using a bit of emotional blackmail to extort cash from his mother. Next thing, the three have an old (soon to be pink) bus and are winging their way from Sydney at the start of their 1700 mile trip north. Like any trip in a confined space, tempers flare and these three, already near the top of the histrionics chart, provide us with some entertainingly profane language that make you smile and wince at the same time. As they travel, they tentatively explore more of each other's foibles and personalities as well as a terrain which isn't always the most hospitable. En route, they encounter "Bob" (Bill Hunter) who might just offer an hint of romance for the trans "Bernadette" who is suffering from a bit of ennui with life in general. Their eventual arrival tops a journey of discovery for all of them, but especially "Tick" who's in for quite a surprise! A great soundtrack and some earthy and witty writing help out enormously here, but it's essentially the three men whose ridiculously exaggerated characterisations and temper tantrums of an existence that make this a journey you'd love to watch but are very glad you're not actually on. There were a few popular films made that challenged the global stereotype of Australian machismo and bull-headedness but by taking this into the outback, this offers everyone a chance to contrast the open-mindedness of some with the opposite in others - all whilst keeping sight of the fact that this is a comedy, and a satirical and delightfully sarcastic one at that.