Queer Prizefight: Rocky Horror Vs Priscilla Queen of the Desert

This is a rather personal edition of Prizefights, as these are two of my favorite movies, a psychologist would probably tell me that this is a disturbing fact, but these were two of the films that i first felt defined me, the films that made me know who i wanted to be, and what i aspired to. I saw Rocky Horror first, and it gave me a sense of self and a sense of belonging. Next i saw Priscilla, and again the pop culture references and liberal sprinklings of ABBA music were just my thing, and i have mow seen it in excess of fifty times, these films are two of the most personal to me and to others.

 Both The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert are hugely important films in the history of gay culture, when Rocky Horror was first released, it became a cultural phenomenon, it was denied a regular theatrical release, and so it became a midnight movie, shown after hours to groups of misfits soon amassing a huge gay following. The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was released in 1994, and while Rocky Horror introduced fringe themes to the mainstream gay community, Priscilla introduced the gay community to wider straight audiences. While these films are not exactly the same, they are both films that are hugely beloved, and while i see that it may be impossible to choose between them, i will attempt to analyze them based on their following, music and costume design.

Both films have dedicated fanbases, though fortunately neither gives their followings punny names. The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert has a much larger and much more mainstream fanbase, the music of the film is well known, and the soundtrack was commercially successful, the songs in the film are of particular interest to the gay community, but are also well known universally. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an original musical, featuring songs written by Richard O'Brien. The Rocky Horror Show started out as a musical, played on the west end with much of the same cast before being adapted to film. The adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was later adapted to a musical which premiered in Australia before moving to the west end and Broadway. Both shows were hugely successful, and both continue to show to this day.

Both also have fantastic costume design, being gay movies though, this is superfluous information. The costume design of Rocky Horror is now iconic as it has been replicated by fans for the last forty years, the character of Frank-N-Furter is a transvestite, and thus wears an outfit consisting of lingerie, heels and a black velvet cape. Riff Raff and Magenta dress as a typical butler and maid, and Columbia wears a delightfully effervescent covered in gold sequins, also imitated is the heavy make up that Frank wears, which has also been reproduced by fans. The costumes of Priscilla are also typically overstated, as only a film about a group of drag queens could be, the costumes are larger than life and over the top, and the film is like a typical drag show on GHB.

Both Rocky Horror and Priscilla are fantastic films, both have great music and an absurd sense of fun. It is emotionally impossible for me to choose between these films, i love them both too much, they are both a part of me and I don't think it is possible to say that one is better than the other. Both are great cult classics, and both deserve a unique place in cinematic history.