Rating: 
Summary: One of the great dance movies.
Review: Next to "Shall We Dance", Strictly Ballroom is one of THE great dance movies. It contains everything that makes dance movies so wonderful - an intimate romance, conflict between the powers-that-be and the pure & innocent, and stunning dance sequences obviously inspired by people who love dancing. It is amazingly funny and touching, very emotional while still remaining light entertainment. It doesn't have that "cool" thing that turns me off from so many other dance movies - you know, where the "cool" people can dance but the [others] can't... Strictly Ballroom is stricly dancing, and its story is all about dancing, told through dancing, and simply wouldn't exist without dancing. You'll want to learn dancing after you see it. Lead character Scott is a young, profesional ballroom dancer who is favored to win the next major Pan-Pacific dancing championship. His form and image are perfect, but his own deep inspiration moves Scott to dance in his own style, and this individuality sets him against the proffesional dancing leadership and threatens to derail his entire career. The group of people trying to keep Scott in line is headed by his own mother, an obsessive woman who drives her family into a frenzy to become top figures in the dance world. In the background we have Scott's friends and various partners and the organizers of the tournament, and despite the pressure Scott is still compelled to "dance his own steps." Only one person seems to believe in him, a beginning dancer named Fran, and as she starts to train with Scott a romance blooms and their courage inspires others. Still, the powers throw everything they can at Scott to knock him off course, and by the end you are on the edge of your seat. All I can really say is that the climax is wonderful filmmaking and very saticfying. My favorite thing about this movie is all the mini-stories going on about each of its supporting characters, and how the film effortlessly floats between their flavors of comedy, lost dreams, hatred, corruption, and ruthless competition. There is some spellbinding sequences about the Pasa-Double, in which Scott is taught the meaning of rythmn and the pure challenge and conflict of dance, almost like Yoda was there teaching Scott "the Force" of dancing. (haha) This film is also very topical considering the recent Olympic figure skating scandels - you can actually see how something like that comes all about in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional, Campy, Cool
Review: Unconventional, Campy, Cool really says it all. A must-see for all lovers of dance/choreography/theatre/film-making, and for those following a different drummer. "Strictly Ballroom" excites the senses, awakens forgotten passions. The viewer is pulled in quickly, driven to watch every moment, caring what will happen to the characters. "Strictly Ballroom" will find its place in your top ten favorite films, without a doubt. FYI, "Moulin Rouge" shares the same director/producers as "Strictly Ballroom", although as the title might suggest, there is no vocalization in the latter.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is so much fun!
Review: When I found out they were putting Strictly Ballroom on video, I was ecstatic! My friends and I love to get together to relax and enjoy this hilarious "mockumentary" on the sordid world of balroom dance. Unlike some other dance movies, most of the actors in Strictly Ballroom are actually primarily dancers, and it shows. This film is a bright, funny, energetic satire, and all the more impressive when you consider that this was Baz Luhrmann's first movie! The dancing is great and the characters are hilarious...and now you get to see them on widescreen!! Yes!
Rating: 
Summary: A Sweet Triumph for Baz Luhrmann
Review: Being one of the folks who genuinely enjoyed "Moulin Rouge" I may be a little biased in terms of Lurhman's ability to dissect and enchant his audiences, ensuring a novel pleasure ride every time - from his raucous "Romeo + Juliet" to his incandescant "Sunscreen" rap-graduation-speech-single. "Strictly Ballroom" is an early gem of a film that established the auteur-director in the minds of critics as a force to be reckoned with, and it's easy to see why. The movie soars like "Rocky" in its underdog and come-from-behind sequences and then boogies like "Dirty Dancing" only with far superior storytelling and plot devices that keep it fresh after repeated viewings. The principals are uniformly fine, fresh faced and passionate dancers, and Luhrman paces his show with remarkable staidness and simplicity - certainly nothing like his later edit-a-second epics. "Strictly Ballroom" is a model of restraint but dares to tell its story with guts. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Critics are want-a-be actors
Review: I was a theatre owner in south Florida when this film was released. The critics tore this film apart, maybe because it wasn't an American film. I had a 1000 seat house and i paid 45% of the gross to the studio and we made a bundle of money on this film. Three shows a day for total run of 6 weeks. If critics read this DO THE MATH! The film is wonderful and is way beyond anything that Hollywood could possibly dream of. The actors are ALL great and know that acting is far more important than special effects can ever be in a movie. I bought the VHS version some years ago and have now ordered the DVD and i can't wait to see it again. It's a super good, feel good movie with great music, the audio is well mixed, the colors and costumes are sharp and brillant. A must see.
Rating:
Summary: A TERRIFIC MUSICAL COMEDY!
Review: THIS IS THE STORY OF A YOUNG BALLROOM DANCER
NAMED SCOTT WHO'S FROM A WELL KNOWN FAMILY OF
DANCERS IN AUSTRALIA. SCOTT'S THE UPCOMING
STAR OF THE PAN PACIFIC WORLD OF COMPETITION
DANCING. THE YOUNG MAN GETS A LITTLE BORED
WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT ARE IMPOSED
ON THE DANCERS AND PLANS TO TRY SOME NEW STEPS
IN HIS ROUTINES. A SHY AND SEEMINGLY PLAIN GIRL
NAMED FRAN BELIEVES IN HIS DREAM AND OFFERS TO
BE HIS DANCE PARTNER. SCOTT'S FAMILY AND THEIR FRIENDS ARE SCANDALIZED THAT HE'S WILLING TO RISK HIS CHANCE OF WINNING
A MAJOR COMPETITON BY NOT OBEYING THE RULES. HIS
CHOICE OF A PARTNER DOESN'T HELP THE SITUATION
BECAUSE FRAN IS CONSIDERED TO BE AN AMATEUR
AND A LIABILITY TO THEIR DANCE TEAM. THE SUPPORTING CHARACTERS ARE WELL PLAYED AND
BRING IN THE COMEDY. THE EXAGGERATED HAIRSTYLES
AND FLASHY COSTUMES OF SOME OF THE DANCERS ARE
HILARIOUS TO SEE. THE DANCING IN THIS FILM IS JUST SO MUCH FUN TO
WATCH, AND A LITTLE ROMANCE ADDS ZEST TO THE STORY. THIS IS A MOVIE THAT YOU WON'T FORGET.
Rating:
Summary: Ah, the beauties of nonconformity
Review: This film is as much about ballroom dancing as Gladiator is about gladiating. Dancing is the device that drives the film, but the story is about nonconformity, something Baz Luhrmann should know a lot about, and boy is it driven well. I thoroughly enjoyed this film mainly because its so much fun and ingeniously crafted with a very witty and richly detailed script. Its not visually veracious like Moulin Rouge or even Romeo + Juliet, but its just as stimulating. The plot revolves around Scott, who is a very talented dancer who is currently training to go to the PanPacific Nationals (or something like that, I forget) which is the biggest dancing tournament in the area. To be in that torunament he has to dance like everyone else, but he wants to dance his way because he finds dancing in a manner of strictly ballroom dull, but to dance "his way" would be going against the wishes of his hyper controlling mother and instructor. He can find no partner to dance his way and eventually finds a completely untrained partner, Fran, who is willing to throw away standards and go wild. It escalates from there.
Luhrmann doesn't expect us to know anything about ballroom dancing restrictions, regulations, standards. He tells us what we need to know to make an incredibly liberating film. The last time a story was told like this, that I can remember, was the Gary Cooper film "Fountainhead" which is a very dark and expressionistic film. This film tells the same story of fighting a system (inobscure, other than and small than legal, medical, social etc.). Here it's ballroom dancing, there it's the architecture circles. This film is fun, it's silly, and it's fresh. It's NOT a teenybopper film, it's high quality. Some of the actors play ridiculous characters and do it with ease and grace and great comic agility. Like in Moulin Rouge, the cinematography utilizes odd angles to help us in forming our opinions of people. The choreography is fantastic, and it tells stories. The dance steps of everyone else seem silly and forced, yet Scot and Fran's makes sense and are exhilarating, they seem correct. Funny, considering most of us shouldn't really have an opinion on the correct function of ballroom steps. Yet that is where Luhrmann and Pearce (his co-writer) and the cast succeed. They, the creators and actors, make us care about characters and what they want to achieve. And this is done very unconvetionally. Most of all this film makes you feel like you can break free from whatever you are doing and just go...dance.
Rating:
Summary: Strictly Ballroom
Review: I love this movie! Strictly Ballroom is just the right blend of humor, some drama and of course dancing. I also enjoyed the movie soundtrack. This is the movie that really highlights Baz Luhrmanns' abilities as a director/producer not Moulin Rouge. Strictly Ballroom is worth watching, (but, you will end up wanting to watch it more than once).
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute gem!!
Review: If you missed this Australia gem, don't fail to get it when it comes out soon. The Aussies are rabid about their ballroom dancing, and this movie pokes gentle fun at their obsession with classy wit that is incisive and yet endearing. The whole movie is stocked with super performances in this tale of the ugly ducking turning into a swan simply because she wants to dance ballroom. The characters, editing and delivery of all the actors keep this on the cutting edge that make it one you will want to view again and again.
Absolutely one of the best!!!
Rating:
Summary: This is my favorite movie!!!!!!!
Review: This australian epic by director Baz Luhrmann is part one of his "Red Curtain" trilogy. This three part series portrays love in three different ways; through dance in Strictly Ballroom, through spoken word in 1996's Romeo and Juliet(the one with Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes), and lastly, through song in 2001's Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. All three films are in my top 5 list and will be in yours as soon as you see them, but when you do, please see them in order!!
This beautifully done picture will make you laugh, cry and fall in love! Giving away the plot would destroy the movie, so I won't.
It is true, some critics don't like the films, call them mellodramatic and so on, but fankly, these critics obviously don't understand the genious behind them. If you long for love in the pit of your soul, the essence of our being, you'll love all three.
This is my favorite movie, so please rent it and if you love it as much as i do, buy it!
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