Between Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star is Born and the up-and-coming Rocketman, audiences are truly spoilt for choice right now when it comes to music-fueled biopics focused on great singer-songwriters.
A Star is Born is the real outlier, of course, as it’s already been made several times, but in the case of Bohemian Rhapsody, we’re about to witness Rami Malek disappear into the role of Freddie Mercury, Queen’s iconic frontman who redefined the parameters of pop music.
Suffice it to say, the actor has some pretty big boots to fill, but judging by the early reviews, it seems he’s nailed the role. Though the film itself only holds a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, much praise has been showered on the Mr. Robot star and if nothing else, it seems Bohemian Rhapsody is worth seeing for his performance alone.
Be that as it may, fans shouldn’t expect to see quite as much of Freddie as the filmmakers wanted to show us, as Fox apparently cut out a good chunk of footage from the movie and in a recent interview with the cast, Collider was able to get the scoop on what didn’t make it into the version you’ll be able to view in theaters.
Here’s the list in full:
- The complete Live Aid set.
- More of Freddie Mercury when he was clubbing in NYC in the 80s.
- How Freddie came up with Crazy Little Thing Called Love in the bathtub.
- Longer scenes of Freddie and Mary in their apartment.
- How Freddie came up with the Queen emblem for the band.
- How John Deacon joined the band.
- The band played ’39 when on tour in Japan.
While the film seems to be doing alright overseas (where it’s already showing), it’ll be interesting to see if it can escape its troubled path to theaters and perform well at the global box office. You may not remember, but production was halted last year when it was alleged that erstwhile director Bryan Singer (X-Men) had become unstable and lost control of things on set.
In his place, Eddie the Eagle helmer Dexter Fletcher was quickly brought in to finish off the remainder of the shoot, and ultimately helped push Fox’s starry biopic over the finish line. Whether Bohemian Rhapsody will be able to overcome all that and go down as a successful portrayal of the music icon, we’ll know in time, but regardless, you can expect it to recount the life and legacy of Freddy Mercury and his beloved Queen when it arrives on November 2nd.
