Dance Movies

Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Baz Luhrmann and based on a 1986 play by Luhrmann and Andrew Bovell.

Style

The film plays with clichés and stereotypes, mocking and embracing them at the same time. Luhrmann has also commented that the film revolves around stories similar to David and Goliath, Cinderella and The Ugly Duckling.

Original play

The film was an adaptation of an original short play of the same name created by Luhrmann and first staged in 1986. At the end of 1988, Luhrmann was approached by producer Tristram Miall to transform his play into a movie.

Luhrmann told Playbill that he would revive the play onstage sometime in 2005, but this never happened.

Awards

Strictly Ballroom was a huge hit at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the “Award of the Youth” prize in the foreign film category. It was sought after by distributors from across the world. Immediately after its showing at Cannes, it was sold to 86 countries for more than $10 million. It has been placed as the film option on the British, South-African and Irish school leaving examinations for English, alongside such classics as On the Waterfront and Ten Little Indians, and is studied for the Australian Higher School Certificate English course.

Cast

• Paul Mercurio as Scott Hastings
• Tara Morice as Fran
• Bill Hunter as Barry Fife
• Pat Thomson as Shirley Hastings
• Gia Carides as Liz Holt
• Peter Whitford as Les Kendall
• Barry Otto as Doug Hastings
• John Hannan as Ken Railings
• Sonia Kruger as Tina Sparkle
• Pip Mushin as Wayne Burns