Product Details

• Actors: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson, Gia Carides
• Directors: Baz Luhrmann
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: March 19, 2002
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (294 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005V1Y0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,774 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Strictly Ballroom" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While the plot of this Australian film may seem a bit familiar (The Ugly Duckling meets Dirty Dancing), the whimsical tone and superb dance sequences will make you forget the movie's predictability. Scott (Paul Mercurio) is a champion ballroom dancer who wants to dance "his own steps." Fran is the homely, beginning dancer who convinces Scott that he should dance his own steps... with her. Complicating matters are Scott's domineering mother (Pat Thompson), a former dancer herself, who wants her son to win the Australian Pan Pacific Championship (the same contest she lost years ago), and a conniving dance committee that is determined that "there are no new steps!" The dancing is enjoyable, yet not overwhelming, and the movie strives hard not to take itself too seriously (the beginning of the film is even styled as a pseudo-documentary). Strictly Ballroom, while not so subtly imparting its moral ("A life lived in fear is a life half-lived"), is a laughable romp that's sure to be a crowd pleaser. --Jenny Brown

Product Description

From Baz Lurhrmann -- the director of the award-winning hits ROMEO & JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE! -- comes STRICTLY BALLROOM ... the hilariously funny romantic comedy that's sure to leave you laughing, cheering, and feeling great! It's the magical story of a championship ballroom dancer who's breaking all the rules, and his ugly duckling dancing partner. Together they make their dreams come true! Now celebrating its glorious 10th Anniversary -- you're sure to enjoy this exhaustively funny comedy as it dances and soars its way straight into your heart. Critics everywhere fell madly in love with this big-screen treat -- and so will you!

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 161 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a dance movie...great life lessons are here February 14, 2000

By Andy Orrock TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

Baz Luhrmann at his finest. This terrific film is really three movies in one. First, there's the tremendous dance movie whcih centers on Scott Hastings (Paul Mecurio) and his struggles to introduce 'new steps' to the sheltered world of Austrailian ballroom dancing. For dance afficiandos, despite the broad comedy that infuses the movie, the dancing is the real thing. Mecurio is a formally trained dancer and you simply can't fake, edit, or body-double the moves he pulls off in this film. Even if you're not a dancer, Mecurio's athletiscism alone is worth seeing.

The second movie is a Dirty Dancing-style, boy-meets-ugly-duckling tale. The story allows you to peek behind the covers of a first generation Australian and her awkward attempts to fit into a new culture while maintaining her European ties at home.

The third movie is what sets Strictly Ballroom apart from the field - tremendously funny, broad caricatures squabbling around the periphery of Scott and his struggle to bring his 'new steps' to the Pan-Pacific Championships. Pat Thompson is hysterical as Doug's mother Shirley, and Bill Hunter is wonderfully over-the-top as dancing kingmaker Barry Fife ('There are no new steps!'). But attention first-time viewers - keep your eyes on Barry Otto as Scott's father, Doug Hastings. This odd, seemingly shell of a man is actually the emotional core of the film. He provides the movies funniest moments (particularly - as other reviewers have alluded to - a flashback sequence so over-the-top hilarious that it defies description) and its most relevatory ones.

Play this film over and over again and you will never be disappointed.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer! A movie WALLOW! March 24, 2005

By R. L. Pulliam VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This Australian gem is one of those rare films that entertains, thrills and pokes fun at an established activiity (in this case, a ballroom dance federation).

To take this film seriously is to miss out on one of the great moviegoing/ moviewatching experiences of the 1990s.

In a nutshell, an up-and-coming champion ballroom dancer gets bored dancing the same tired steps that everyone has danced in competition the past 50 years and wants to break out and do things his way. Of course, his way is the better way, but that causes all the angst, high drama, dashed hopes and utter hilarity that ensues as forces clash to prevent the young man from taking the ballroom dancing world by storm and up to a new level.

Of course, it's what we've all, always, expected: Things don't change in such events because those who judge and teach can only judge/teach that with which they are familiar.

The cast is perfect, from the dashing young lead embodied by Australian ballet principal Paul Mercurio to the shy, at-first clumsy female lead played by Tara Morice (who also lends her vocals to Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" in a stunning rooftop pas de deux as she starts learning how to dance with him).

Paul's mother -- beautifully and hysterically portrayed by Pat Thomson -- and his seemingly introverted, odd father -- a wonderfully giddy Barry Otto -- are perfectly realized, as are all the other roles, including Bill Hunter's terrifically change-resistant Barry Fife, president of the dance federation.

This is probably Baz Luhrmann's most mainstream movie, since it's more firmly grounded in the now than anything else he's done....

Be on the lookout for a stunning cinematic moment during an outdoor sequence at the girl's house with the lead learning from her father how to correctly dance the Paso Dobles. When it's clear he's gotten the hang of it, the camera does a closeup on him turning and then cuts to an oncoming train, that parallels the house, sweeping down the lower right of the screen. It's one of those Luhrmann touches that set him apart from most other working directors.

"Strictly Ballroom" is a wonderful entertainment that flows along so quickly..and has dramatic highs...and even more thrilling dancing highs...that most of you will be very sorry when it's over.

But never fear...it holds up very well on repeat viewings. It's one of my most-played videos. Read more ›

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My anti-depressant June 6, 2003

By Wanda D

Format:VHS Tape

Okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but the first time I watched this movie, I checked it out of the library. I was a recently divorced single parent of two, struggling with a house note and bills I couldn't pay. On this particular day, I was fighting a bad cold, and feeling generally tired and unhappy. I took this movie out based only on the "Two Thumbs Up" recommendation of Siskel & Ebert at the bottom of the case. After viewing this film, I felt energized and full of good humor. I eventually bought it and have shared it with my mom, sister, kids, friends, and new husband. They all loved it! Where do I start? 1. The performances. Everyone in this movie is wonderful. They are believable and credible even though the material is completely over the top so much of the time. I love these people. 2. Then there's the romance. The main love story is very sweet, but all throughout the film, you feel like romance is literally in the air. It's also amazing how much sensuality is conveyed without any overt sexuality. 3. The dancing. I never gave ballroom dancing a thought until I saw this movie. Now, I love watching it. 4. The family relationships. They may seem unbelievable, but that mother is all too familiar to me. 5. Paul Mercurio--he's hot! Enough said.

This movie is funny, touching, and like nothing I've ever seen before or since. I can't even compare it to anything else. I'm happy to see how favorably other people have reviewed it.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "A life lived in fear is a life half-lived" March 20, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

A lot of good movies come out of Austrailia, & this is one of my favorites. An unlikely couple upset the comfortable (& lucrative) applecart of the ballroom dancing establishment. Champion dancer Scott has been groomed from birth by his domineering mother to realize her vicarious dream of winning the Austrailian Pan-Pacific Championship. But Scott has become bored with being "strictly ballroom"--the wretched boy wants to 'dance his own steps!' Not only is this heresy, but a threat to the very livelihood of his teachers & 'mentors', retired champion dancers themselves.

He's encouraged by ugly duckling novice dancer Fran, who wants to be his partner. Aided & abetted by Fran's Latin father & grandmother, the couple show the phoney world of ballroom dancing what 'Latin' dancing is all about--not glitz & formality--but passion & a feeling for the beat that comes straight from the heart.

Love & rebellion are in the air, & the dancing is spectacular. Some wickedly funny & campy parody deal the stilted & controlling world of competition ballroom dancing a well-deserved kick in the teeth. (Anyone who watched in disbelief as Torvill & Dean were cheated out of their comeback bid for Olympic gold in ice dancing [the figure skating equivalent of ballroom dancing] by the same sort of stupid & arbitrary rules about 'steps' will chortle with glee.)

But, more than anything, Strictly Ballroom is about having the courage to be yourself. As Scott's father (once a great & original dancer himself, now a sad & henpecked shadow of his former self) says to him: "Don't make the same mistake I did....a life lived in fear is a life half-lived." Truly uplifting to the spirit & heart!