Customer Reviews

Becoming Queen

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wasn't expecting this "unauthorized" Queen DVD to be as good as It really is. Nothing spectacular, yet interesting. Talks about where each of the guys come from, then as Smile....and so on and so on. Many interesting people interviewed on this DVD. Including Tim Staffel, Ibex members, and etc...I just received this in the mail a few hours ago...and just finished watching it. I could watch it once again. I think it's puts into perspective just how big Queen really is..and will always be. Especially Freddie's always knowing behavior or what the right thing to do was....and we all know now just how correct he was! Of course I'm still sitting here wanting more and more info and more to watch about Queen and Freddie. But for a quick $16.00 or so....I now feel special as to having this DVD. I think any Queen fan could and would appreciate this one. I now feel that much closer to Queen as a fan and will always love Queen for what they have done and what they are continually doing. This is from a young 21 year old Queen fan. This DVD is essential to any true Queen collector or fan!!!

It's surprising that I even gave this two stars without it having even a tiny snippet of Queen music. While I am a huge Queen fan, I would be embarrassed watching it with someone who did not know what they sound like. But with that said, there were some positives to be found in this somewhat odd documentary.

I was very impressed with the time spent discussing the previous endeavors of the band members (love that baby picture of Freddie Mercury). Good interviews with their ex-bandmates as well. But when the focus turned to Queen, I think it fell apart at the seams. It moved too quickly through the band's later albums. The biggest problem, however, is it became more of a biography on Freddie Mercury. It was all Freddie this, Freddie that, etc., etc. Rather than talk about one of their biggest albums, "The Game", the documentary chose to talk about how Freddie changed his image at the time of the album. In fact, at that point in the documentary, you would be hard pressed to gain an iota of information on any of the other band members. John Deacon, who wrote a #1 song for them in the 1980's ("Another One Bites the Dust") was barely mentioned in the entire documentary.

I would have really liked to have learned more about the other members of the band. After all, the documentary starts out by saying that each member was very integral to the success of Queen. But you would never know that from watching this documentary.

I agree with the other two reviews here but I have to upgrade the stars because although it contains no Queen music, this documentary goes into wonderful depth of the often glossed over pre-Queen years of Smile, Ibex and other bands. There are in-depth interviews with people who were there and they have a unique perspective on the personalities of this amazing band. This is not a typical unauthorized quickie, but a well produced documentary giving a unique angle on the history of the band. There are also lots of great archival interviews with the band members. I was touched by this film as it reminded me of the incredible legacy of Freddie Mercury.

I picked up this DVD as I am a longtime Queen fan. While the overall product was "good", the first thing I realized is that there was ZERO Queen or Smile music on the disc. Instead, there was a quasi-soundtrack with someone playing riffs (loosely) in the style of Brian May's sound. I'm sure it's because it's an unauthorized bio, and the producers probably would have been sued if they used the official recordings. For anyone who was looking for classic or previously unreleased live concert clips, this is not the disc for you. It is however, an excellent documentary on the pre-Queen days with Tim Staffel and the members of Freddie's band Ibex, and it shows the determination of the members of Queen to become the stars they eventually became.

"Becoming Queen" is a disappointing documentary about the flamboyant rock opera band QUEEN. It literally put me to sleep, like anaesthesia. The beginning is interesting--discussing the early bands Smile and Ibex that eventually became QUEEN thanks to the force of Nature Freddie Mercury. Ironically, Freddie Mercury's bio is cursory, despite him being the front man. There's more emphasis on Roger Taylor and Brian May. Freddie Mercury becomes a cameo in his life story. The beginning is gradual, but by the time it gets to QUEEN--it moves way to fast. Suddenly, QUEEN is doing music for Iron Eagle--but Flash Gordon (Saviour Of The Universe Edition) is omitted. It goes so fast that it seems their career last 5 minutes before Mercury passes away from AIDS.

"Becoming Queen" could've been as flamboyant and fun as QUEEN's rock operatic music... instead it's a sleeper. It's a good cure for insomnia. We will, we will, bore you.

I cannot understand why some of the other reviewers gave more than 1 star to that crappy documentary. There is No queen music at all, and it's soooo soooo kitschy. A non-queen fan would start to laugh by watching freddie moving all the time like 'the number one fag' in the interface menus. It's not a representation of queen at all. Very poor and disapointing. Worst queen documentary ever. Don't buy it