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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 22:44)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, French, English - Visually Impaired
  Extras
  • Audio commentary
  • Photo gallery - With commentary
  • Documentaries

Strictly Ballroom: SE

20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox . R4 . COLOR . 90 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Internationally successful Australian films were not exactly numerous before Strictly Ballroom in 1992. Since then there has been a mini-boom of successes including Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, and Moulin Rouge. While Strictly Ballroom cannot really lay any significant claim to being the film that sparked the boom, it certainly can claim to be successful, and the first major effort from Baz Moulin Rouge Luhrmann.

Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) is an amateur ballroom dancer with dreams of winning the Pan Pacific Championships. He has the support of his parents - themselves former dance champions - the local ballroom dancing society, and the state and national ballroom dancing federation. He has the talent, he has a wonderfully skilful partner in Liz Holt (Gia Carides), but he also has dreams of doing it his way. As his family and 'support crew' are ever keen to remind him, ballroom dancing is not about free form expression. It is adherence to an existing and acceptable set of moves.

Scott insists on dancing his own moves at the championships, is dumped by his dancing partner, and has to endure the hysterics of his mother, and the blackmail of the federation president, Barry Fife (Bill Hunter). His father seems lost in his own little world, and the only one who truly supports him is beginner dancer, and ugly duckling, Fran (Tara Morice). She plucks up the cheek to ask to be his partner at the championships that are just three weeks away, even though he has made it clear he needs a top-level partner to fulfil his dream.

Unable to find a suitable replacement, and realising that he may have misjudged this ugly duckling, Scott finds himself slowly drawn to Fran. Despite fierce opposition from his mother, Fife and Fran's own family, he decides that she is the only one that has truly believed in him from the start. That has to be worth something.

Strictly Ballroom may revolve around the world of ballroom dancing, but this is not the crux of the film. It is a film about self-belief, expression, and the courage and conviction needed to follow a dream. There is romance in the film, and although it looks traditional, there is some uniqueness to it. The hero, Scott, is essentially a weak hero, and he is finding things just as tough as Fran, but for different reasons.

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."

The performances are solid, and the dancing is incredibly good from the essentially non-dancing cast. Sure, Mercurio was principal dancer at the Sydney Dance Company at the time, and Morice had played the same role in various stage productions of Strictly Ballroom, and they are superb in their roles. The support cast reads like a who's who of the Australian film industry, and the costuming, direction from Luhrmann, and camera work is excellent. It's all colour and movement, colour and movement.

The almost cartoonish appearance of many of the sequences, the over the top acting and melodrama from the cast, and the tragic campness to the whole thing helps viewers appreciate that a film doesn't have to take itself seriously, to be funny, dramatic, warm, and uplifting. This is a film that can be enjoyed on many levels, and an appreciation or love of dancing is in no way a prerequisite. There are laughs aplenty, excellent dance sequences, and there is always something stirring about seeing the little guys sticking two fingers up in the face of stuffy authority types.

  Video
Contract

Strictly Ballroom is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. This is the same as the theatre release and looks better than it ever has on VHS or television. The most striking feature of this movie and transfer is the overuse of stark and bright colours. The costumes in particular look fantastic, and every colour imaginable has been employed. There is some discolouration throughout the film, however, and black levels quite regularly appear more like a very deep blue. The overall image is quite sharp, though there are some pieces deliberately in softer focus, and there is intentional use of grain. Colour filters have been employed at various times, and skin tones are often deliberately orange. There is very clever use of colour throughout the entire film, one which helps give it a kind of surreal and cartoon-like appearance.

There are some minor film artefacts spread across the film such as white specks, but they are very minor and not distracting. Shadow detail is fair at best, but mostly this is a good transfer. It is only ten years old, but at times it's starting to show its age. Still, it was filmed on a small budget and in all the results are good.

The layer change is placed mid-scene at 22:44, but is surprisingly fluid.

  Audio
Contract

There are two choices on offer being French and English Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. Being a film featuring dancing, it doesn't take a genius to conclude that music plays a very important role. This film uses a variety of wonderful pieces and all make full use of the 5.1 speakers. Dialogue may be placed almost solely in the centre speaker, but the music most definitely makes itself heard and felt in the front and rear speakers. There are some other ambient sounds placed in the rears, but much of the track is placed along the front.

There is some noticeable panning of sounds, and low-level sounds round out the bottom end of the soundtrack nicely and are not aggressive or threatening. All vocals are clear and synchronisation is fine.

  Extras
Contract

This special edition has a few little extras that add incentive to buy. The first is a 30-minute Australian documentary called Samba to Slow Foxtrot. Filmed in 1985, it is an inside look into the lives of a few serious ballroom dancers and includes dance footage and interviews. It is not narrated, and is rather loosely edited, but it works well. It is presented in full frame ratio and has been transferred from VHS and while it is more than watchable, it is far from reference quality.

Design Gallery is a great little set of extras that sadly are all too short, totalling just over seven minutes. The five short photo galleries come with commentary from Luhrmann and cover such topics as casting, promotion, and the music of the film. Very interesting, very informative, and very short.

There is also a rather full-on Audio Commentary from Luhrmann, production designer and co-costume designer, Catherine Martin, and choreographer, John O'Connell. As far as commentaries go, this is quite good. There are few pauses, though the scenes themselves are referred to infrequently and most of the time the three are talking in general terms about the film and the making of it. The three are obviously proud of the final result, but don't expect too much in the way of directorial secrets, tips, or lessons.

  Overall  
Contract

Strictly Ballroom is a film that deserves its place in the history of Australian cinema. It has a charming uniqueness and quirkiness; that something indefinable yet distinctly Australian. There is comedy, romance, drama, excellent dance routines, and a fine and fabulous cast. Luhrmann's first feature film is a must have for any collector of Australian films and forms part of the fabulous Red Curtain Trilogy that also includes Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2001
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      And I quote...
    "Great music, fantastic dancing, plenty of laughs, a corny romance, cartoon-like characters, all topped off by a good transfer and respectable extras... "
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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