In 2018, Bryan Singer directs “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a highly anticipated biopic centered on Freddie Mercury and his band Queen. The feature film was successful at the box office but was at the heart of many artistic controversies, such as that around its editing.
Bohemian Rhapsody : a triumph at the box office
In October 2018, Bryan Singer unveils his new film: Bohemian Rhapsody. Produced by the 20th Century Fox, the feature film traces the journey of Freddie Mercury, from his beginnings to his fall, through his rise to power with the group Queen. To embody the famous singer, the production chooses the talented Rami Malek. Haloed by his success with the series Mr Robotthe comedian offers a solid incarnation of the iconic singer.
Despite mixed reviews, the work was an absolute hit at the box office. Indeed, some critics have pointed to some historical inaccuracies. This did not prevent the film from bringing in more than 910 million dollars in revenue worldwide (and this for a budget of 52 million dollars). The feature film was also nominated 5 times for the Oscars and left with 4 statuettes : those for Best Actor, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing. A final award that led to a totally unexpected controversy…
An Oscar that does not pass
against all odds, this is John Ottoman (who has already worked on Usual Suspects, X-Men 2, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or Esther), the editor of Bohemian Rhapsody, who won the Oscar for Best Editing in 2019. The latter, however not very satisfied with his work on Bryan Singer’s film, won this statuette against Barry Alexander Brown for BlacKkKlansmanHank Corwin for ViceYorgos Mavropsaridis for The Favorite and against Patrick J. Don Vito for Green Book. So many films with rather relevant montages. And yet it is Bohemian Rhapsody who emerged victorious from this competition.
Shortly after the results of these Oscars, John Ottman’s editing was heavily criticized. A sequence was even pointed out to illustrate the reproaches that could be made to the editor. The scene in question, available below, takes place when the members of the group Queen meet their manager John Reid. A sequence yet simple to stage but overcut with nearly sixty shots in just two minutes. It’s hard to know if John Ottman made so many cuts to this passage to give it rhythm, but the result is a complete massacre, which even hinders a good understanding of the scene.
Interviewed by The Washington Post, John Ottman confessed to being ashamed of the editing of this scene:
Oh my God, wow! I didn’t know this tweet, but I understand its success. As soon as I see this scene again, I want to hide. Because that’s not my style at all. If there is a long version of the film, I would do it differently.
The Washington Post states in his article that the sequence in question was added during reshoot, and that it was filmed by Dexter Fletcher after the departure of Bryan Singer. The filmmaker, who also made his own biopic on Elton John with Rocketmanalso insisted on defending John Ottman:
Ottman was under pressure to get the first act moving quickly, but the audience demanded even more scenes from Queen’s debut. So he redid his edit to slow down the pace of the first part, to let these sequences breathe. Except that he did not have time to do so on this meeting.
This scene has been so talked about that there is even a smart guy who had fun re-editing John Ottman’s speech at the Oscars, in the manner of Bohemian Rhapsody. And it’s really hilarious:
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