Oscar-nominated Bohemian Rhapsody is a musical biopic that follows the formation and rise to stardom of the British rock band Queen. Zanzibar-born Forrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) moved to England when he was little, and in 1970, he is now in his mid-20’s, and works as a baggage handler at Heathrow airport. However, his first love is music and performing. So when local pub group Smile loses their lead singer, Forrokh sees an opportunity to step in and join the group—lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), bass guitarist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello), and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy). Forrokh is a highly unique and creative individual who doesn’t follow the rules, or let himself be limited by what everyone else deems to be “normal”. He transforms himself into flamboyant superstar Freddie Mercury, and the new band, now called Queen, quickly rockets to superstardom.

The film follows Queen through its highs and lows, taking viewers on a wild ride with band, mixing concert performances of some of the band’s biggest hits with the character drama. While they have their arguments and disagreements, the band members function more like a family who are always there for one another. The film has been criticized for glossing over some of the darker, seedier aspects of Mercury’s life, such as the excessive sex, drugs and AIDS, but I rather enjoyed the fact that it was more of a celebration of the band and their music rather than a darker expose. That said, the film does not completely shy away from exploring Mercury’s struggle with his sexuality and his relationship issues.

The film does a great job of re-creating some of the milestone events of the band’s career, like the crazy recording studio session that resulted in the incredibly unique Bohemian Rhapsody—a song that completely defied common sense and the record label’s low expectations. We also see the group filming their cross-dressing music video for “I Want To Break Free”. And the film culminates in a perfect re-creation of Queen’s comeback performance at Live Aid in 1985. The level of detail put into this scene is astonishing—from the wardrobes and stage, down to the number and layout of the plastic cups sitting atop the piano. If you compare side-by-side with the real Live Aid performance, it’s nearly identical.

Rami Malik is amazing in this role, transforming himself physically to match the iconic singer, even down to his overbite. All of the main four actors learned to sing and perform their songs, and the results are phenomenal. There is so much excellent music in the film—many songs that I didn’t even realize were originally created by Queen! Having the original members of the band as producers on the film really helped give this film a more authentic look and feel—some of the wardrobe even came from their personal archives.

FOX’s Blu-ray release provides excellent audio and video that really enhances the viewing experience. The picture is clean and crisp, and captures the colorful, glitzy performances and costumes wonderfully. The audio track provides clear dialogue as well as a booming, immersive experience when it comes time for a musical performance. The film’s culmination in the 1985 Live Aid concert looks and sounds amazing! The Blu-ray and DVD discs come packed in a standard multi-disc HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover, along with a code for the digital copy. The disc includes over an hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes and the full 20-minute Live Aid re-creation, plus a bonus 6-minute behind-the-scenes featurette about re-creating the crazy “Bohemian Rhapsody” recording session available via iTunes. The only thing I wish has been included was Queen’s original Live Aid performance, but that can easily be found on YouTube.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:15:19)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD:

• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Surround Dolby Digital 2.0, French Surround Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
• Closed Captions

Digital HD

• HD Movies Anywhere copy of the film.

Extras:

• Thunderbolts and Lightning: Recording Bohemian Rhapsody​ (5:48)
  In this iTunes-exclusive bonus feature, the filmmakers talk about how the iconic song came about, depicting this on the screen, and the studio reaction to this unusual song that mixed genres. They also talk about the friendship and camaraderie and family-like nature of the band. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with producer Graham King, executive music producers Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) & Brian May (Queen guitarist), and stars Ben Hardy (“Roger Taylor”), Gwilym Lee (“Brian May”), Rami Malek (“Freddie Mercury”) & Joe Mazzello (“John Deacon”).
• The Complete Live Aid Movie Performance (21:04)
  The full version of the film’s Live Aid performance re-creation, including performances not seen in theaters. The set list includes “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Partial), “Radio Ga Ga”, Vocal improvisation (A-oh), “Hammer to Fall”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (this wasn’t in the theatrical release), “We Will Rock You” (first verse and chorus only) and “We Are the Champions”.
• Rami Malek: Becoming Freddie (16:13)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about how Rami Malek got cast in the role and how he transformed himself vocally and physically into the iconic flamboyant singer. They talk about finding the right mannerisms, teeth, nose, hair, mustache, and clothes, and discuss Freddie Mercury’s inspiring story. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with producer Graham King, executive music producers Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) & Brian May (Queen guitarist), movement coach Polly Bennett, music supervisor Becky Bentham, vocal coach Annie Skates, director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel, make-up and hair designer Jan Sewell, costume designer Julian Day, and stars Rami Malek, Joe Mazzello, Gwilym Lee, Lucy Boynton (“Mary Austin”), Ben Hardy & Allen Leech (“Paul Prenter”).
• The Look and Sound of Queen (21:44)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about bringing the story and world of Queen to life. They discuss trying to bring the essence of these real people to life through the casting, having the actual band members as producers and resources, learning to play the instruments, the hair and clothes, recreating Freddie’s party, finding and decorating locations, and re-creating the details of the recording studio. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with producer Graham King, executive music producers Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) & Brian May (Queen guitarist), make-up and hair designer Jan Sewell, costume designer Julian Day, production designer Aaron Haye, supervising sound and music editor John Warhurst, and stars Rami Malek, Joe Mazzello, Gwilym Lee & Ben Hardy.
• Recreating Live Aid (19:56)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about the 1985 Live Aid concert, the set list, the audience reaction to the performance, and what it did for the band. The cast talk about shooting this scene their first week of filming. Plus a look at the painstaking level of detail that went into recreating Wembley Stadium, the costumes, the 100K person crowd, and Queen’s performance. (The way they digitally created the massive crowd is fascinating!) Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with producer Graham King, executive music producers Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) & Brian May (Queen guitarist), production designer Aaron Haye, director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel, concert lighting director Tony Simpson, costume designer Julian Day, make-up and hair designer Jan Sewell, DNeg 2nd Supervisor Andrew Simmonds, visual effects supervisor Paul Norris, DNeg supervisor May Leung, supervisor of R&D of VFX sprite system Ted Waine, visual effects producer Tim Field, and stars Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy & Joe Mazzello.​

Final Thoughts:

Bohemian Rhapsody is a thoroughly-entertaining celebration of Freddie Mercury and the music of Queen. Rami Malik does an amazing job of bringing this rock icon to life on the screen, and he and the other actors do an excellent job of re-creating the band’s wonderful music. FOX’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and includes a wonderful assortment of bonus material as well as a digital copy of the film. This is a Must Own for any fan of the band, and Highly Recommended for anyone looking for an interesting and entertaining musical biopic.