Variety
Bright, breezy and immensely likable musical comedy, a remarkably confident film debut.
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Strictly Ballroom
The offbeat romantic comedy that introduced the talents of Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. This is the first in Luhrmann's 'Red Curtain trilogy' - followed by Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!. The story follows a maverick dancer (Paul Mercurio) who ditches the accepted rules of ballroom dancing to create his own style and choreography - a step which infuriates the dancing establishment.
Adapted from a stageplay conceived by Luhrman while studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney, Strictly Ballroom was a winner at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals, at the BAFTAs and the Australian Film Institute Awards.
Less1992Rating: PG94 minsAustralia
ComedyDramaRomance
- Director:
- Baz Luhrmann (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Baz LuhrmannCraig Pearce
- Cast:
- Paul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterPat ThomsonGia CaridesPeter WhitfordBarry OttoJohn Hannan
Strictly Ballroom | Awards
Best Foreign Film (Award of the Youth), Cannes Film Festival 1992; Best Costume Design, Original Score and Production Design at BAFTA Awards 1993; People's Choice Award winner at Toronto International Film Festival 1992
Strictly Ballroom | Reviews
91%44 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
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Time Out
Crucially, the film's enormous charm is never rammed down the throat, but acknowledged for the calculating ploy it is, with a winning, ironic wink.
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The New York Times
[This] is, in short, pure corn. But it's corn that has been overlaid with a buoyant veneer of spangles and marabou, and with a tireless sense of fun.
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Roger Ebert
The plot is as old as the hills, but the characters in the movie seem to come from another planet.
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Empire Magazine
Fluff it may well be, but a more entertaining and engaging piece of fluff you'd be hard pushed to find.
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