Episode 77: Elvis and Strictly Ballroom

Cinema in Context

Baz Luhrmann's oeuvre. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the most recent Luhrmann film Elvis (2022) and his first film Strictly Ballroom (1992). We begin by discussing Baz's visual style, especially his use of computer generated images. We move into a discussion of Elvis and how successful we each feel the film was. We move into a conversation of Strictly Ballroom, with William watching it for the first time, Sarah for the second time and Jeremy for the... countless next time. We refer to Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Australia (2008), The Great Gatsby (2013) and The Get Down (2016). We also connect Strictly Ballroom to Christopher Guest films, like Waiting For Guffman (1996), and Australian classics Muriel's Wedding (1994), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). We discuss the nostalgia that both Elvis and Strictly Ballroom evokes. We connect to Sam Neill's concept of the Cinema of the Unease and consider how such a reading of New Zealand film might connect to Australian cinema of the same time. We further connect the film to Cosi (1996), Quills (2000) and Lantana (2001).