Released 28 November 2011 (31 January 2012 in North America)
Length 164 minutes (DVD) and 221 minutes (Blu-ray)
Part 1 (59 minutes)
Part 2 (59 minutes)
Additional Videos (24 minutes):
Seven Seas Of Rhye / Killer Queen / Somebody To Love / We Are The Champions / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Under Pressure / Radio Ga Ga
Additional Scenes (28 minutes):
From Magic To Miracle 1986-1989 / Going Slightly Mad - The Making Of Innuendo 1990-1 / Made In Heaven
Blu-ray Only Additional Scenes (38 minutes):
Bohemian Rhapsody / Don't Stop Me Now / Flash Gordon / Leaving John Reid, 1978 / Making Videos / Queen On Tour 1974-5 / Queen: The Beginning 1968-1973 / Scrabble Wars / Working Together
Blu-ray Only Additional Interviews (19 minutes):
Another One Bites The Dust / Brian's Health Scare, US Tour 1974 / B-Sides / Freddie Legless / Freddie's Outfits / Highlander / Manager Jim Beach Meets The Band, 1975 / Return To Imperial / The Show Must Go On / The Songwriting Balance Changing In The 1980's
Directed by Matt O' Casey
Produced by Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas
Bonus footage produced and directed by Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas
Edited by Christopher Bird
Additional audio production and mixing by Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J. Macrae and Kris Fredriksson
Queen management by Jim Beach
Supervising producer for Eagle Rock - Andrew Winter
Executive producer for the BBC - Adam Barker
Executive producer for Queen Productions - Jim Beach
Executive producers - Lesley Douglas, Iain Funnell and Richard Cook
This is a DVD and Blu-ray release of the two part documentary which was originally shown on BBC2 on 29 and 30 May 2011 at 9:40pm. The documentary tells the story of Queen, from the pre-Queen days of 1984 and Smile, to the 'Made In Heaven' album. It features brand new interviews with Brian and Roger, roadie Peter 'Ratty' Hince, manager Jim Beach, former manager John Reid, former keyboard player Fred Mandel, and various journalists, aswell as archive interviews from all four members of the group. It also features footage from numerous promotional videos and live performances, as well as previously unseen footage from tours, recording sessions, video shoots, and previously lost 'Top Of The Pops' performances.
Altogether this is a very good documentary, with the balance between music and personal life much better than some others. However, there are still some fairly big omissions, as neither the 'Flash Gordon' nor 'Highlander' films are discussed at all, the 'A Kind Of Magic' album is only briefly mentioned, and all post-Freddie activities (including the 'Made In Heaven' album and 'We Will Rock You' musical) are covered in the closing five minutes.
The DVD and Blu-ray release both add seven bonus promo videos, newly created for the release, and three additional scenes which expand on the period from 1986-1995 in more detail than the main documentary. The Blu-ray release adds further scenes covering numerous subjects, most notably the formation of the group and early touring. Details of these are given below, and are available on Youtube.
The Japanese release featured alternate bonus features as follows:
Teo Torriatte (2005)
I Was Born To Love You (2004)
First visit to Japan 1975: Japanese Tea Ceremony and Press Conference
Live at the Budokan 1975: Killer Queen / In The Lap Of The Gods.... Revisited
Live at the Seibu Lions Stadium, 1982: Love Of My Life / We Will Rock You
Freddie Mercury: The Official 65th Birthday Video
When the DVD first loads, it automatically plays the two part documentary and the bonus sequences (title 7; 2:19:27 total) followed by the bonus videos (title 17; 24:35) before going to the main menu. The main menu is based on the 'Innuendo' promo video and features an excerpt of the song; the first time it is shown the excerpt begins with drums, and subsequent visits feature a slightly shorter version which fades in at the start. The main menu allows you to play part 1 (title 1; 59 minutes), part 2 (title 2; also 59 minutes), play all (which plays part 1, 2, the bonus sequences, and bonus videos, title 8 followed by 17) or select the 'Bonus Features' or 'Subtitles' menus. When you select these last two options, a shorter excerpt of 'Innuendo' is played.
The 'Bonus Features' menu features footage of Freddie from the 'Radio Ga Ga' video and plays an excerpt of 'The Kiss (Aura Resurrects Flash)'. It allows you to select the 'Additional Scenes' or 'Additional Videos' sub-menus, and plays a shorter excerpt of 'The Kiss' when you select one.
The 'Additional Scenes' menu features an a-capella excerpt of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and allows you to play three bonus sequences (titles 3-5) or play them all (title 6; 20:59), which feature additional footage from the period 1986-1995 which was not included in the main programme.
The 'Additional Videos' menu features an instrumental excerpt of 'Good Company' and allows you to play seven new promo videos (titles 9-15) or play them all (title 16; 24:35), which mostly feature unseen footage, alternate camera angles, and promo-video out-takes.
The 'Subtitles' menu features an instrumental excerpt of 'You're My Best Friend' and allows you to select subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or turn them off.
Below is a brief guide to the contents of each title, which I have divided into sections. Any rare or previously unseen footage is highlighted in red.
The 'Queen On Tour 1974-5' featurette features an almost complete performance of 'Now I'm Here', while the Japanese release adds 'Killer Queen' and 'In The Lap Of The Gods.... Revisited', all recorded at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, on 1 May 1975. This footage was later released on the 'A Night At The Odeon' DVD and Blu-ray in 2015.
Details of the two recording session excerpts of 'We Are The Champions' can be found on the Queen Demos pages. - Footage of Freddie at Wembley Stadium ('forget those rumours' etc) and footage of 'One Vision', with a montage of footage over the years and various new and archive interview snippets
- Archive news footage of Imperial College, and interviews with Brian about the college, 1984, finding Roger, and Smile, with an excerpt of 'April Lady' and footage of the band at the Royal Albert Hall
- Interview with Chris Smith (Smile keyboardist) about Freddie's unique style
- Excerpt of an early live version of 'Big Spender', and interviews with Freddie, Chris Smith, Brian and Roger about Freddie's early days and wanting to join the band
- Archive interviews with Freddie and Roger about the formation of Queen, the name, and further interviews with Brian at Imperial College about early concerts there, Rosie Horide and Tony Stewart (music journalists) about Freddie's stage persona, and a clip from the 'Liar' promo video.
- Interview with Roger and archive interview with John about joining the band
- Interviews with Roger, Brian and Roy Thomas Baker about signing to Trident and recording the debut album, with an excerpt of 'Keep Yourself Alive'
- Excerpt of 'The March Of The Black Queen', and interviews with Roger about the 'Queen II' album, studio techniques, and over-production of the track
- Interview with Paul Watts from EMI about Queen's breakthrough with 'Seven Seas Of Rhye', with lost 'Top Of The Pops' footage of the track, and interviews with Roger and Brian about the filming and the impact
- Interviews with Brian, John and Freddie, about songwriting and royalty arguments
- Excerpt of 'Now I'm Here' with backstage footage from the Rainbow concert, and interviews with Brian and Roger about touring with Mott The Hoople, the US tour, and being ill with Hepatitis
- Footage of 'Killer Queen' from 'Top Of The Pops', and interviews with Tony Stewart, Brian, Roger, Freddie and Paul Watts, about the song and 'Sheer Heart Attack' album, with live footage from the Rainbow, and lost 'Top Of The Pops' footage of the track
- Interviews with Roger, Brian, Paul Watts, Peter 'Ratty' Hince (Queen's roadie) and Rosie Horide about financial problems, with an instrumental excerpt of 'Death On Two Legs', and further backstage footage from the Rainbow. Further interviews with Brian, Roger and John Reid, about moving management to him
- Piano version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', and interviews with Brian, Freddie, Chris Smith, Roger, Roy Thomas Baker and Peter Hince, about the song and the recording of the album, with clips from Hammersmith 1975, the original promo video, and the original vocal takes
- Interviews with Brian, John Reid, Freddie, Roger, Rosie Horide and Paul Watts about the song, leaking a copy to Kenny Everett, and the promo video
- Live footage of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (Hyde Park, 1976), interview with Brian, and footage of 'Ogre Battle' (Hyde Park, 1976)
- Interviews with Roger and Brian about 'A Day At The Races' and 'Somebody To Love', and it's inspiration, with footage from the 2011 promo video, with archive interview from Freddie, and further interviews with Brian and Roger about harmonies
- Interviews with Paul Watts, Rosie Horide and Brian about the press dislike of the group, and interview with John Reid about not giving interviews
- Interviews with Paul Gambuccini, John Reid, and Tony Stewart about the punk revolution, and the 'Is This Man A Prat?' NME review.
- Footage of 'The Millionaire Waltz' from Earl's Court with an excerpt of the album version, and interviews with Tony Stewart, John Reid, Roger and Freddie about the press
- Excerpt of 'Fight From The Inside' and interviews with Peter Hince, Roger and Freddie about recording 'News Of The World' at Wessex Studios, and meeting the Sex Pistols
- Excerpt of 'Sheer Heart Attack' and interviews with Roger and Brian about changing styles, with an excerpt of 'Get Down, Make Love'
- Interview with Brian about the origins of 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions' at Bingley Hall, Stafford, and the audience singing along during and after the concert
- Interviews with Peter Hince and Brian about the recording of the 'We Will Rock You' stomps and claps, and footage from the promo video
- Interview with Freddie about writing 'We Are The Champions', with footage of the recording of the track and original vocal takes, interviews with Brian and Roger about the track, and footage from the promo video
- Excerpt of 'Spread Your Wings' with unseen footage of the 1977 US tour, and interviews with Roger, Peter Watts, Rosie Horide, Harvey Kubernick (Melody Maker), footage of 'We Will Rock You' (Houston, 1977), and an interview with Roger about audience participation
- Footage of 'Love Of My Life' (Houston, 1977), and interviews with Roger and Brian about Madison Square Garden, and an interview with Brian about making his guitar and flying his parents out to see the show
- Archive interview with the whole band about tax, then interview with Roger and Brian about recording 'Jazz' in France
- Footage of the 'Bicycle Race' promo video (from 'Greatest Video Hits II'), and interviews with Brian about the Tour De France inspiring the track and 'Fat Bottomed Girls', with footage from the naked bicycle race and interviews with Roger and Roy Thomas Baker about the video
- Interviews with Brian, Roger and Peter Hince about the album launch party and rumours, with an excerpt of 'Fat Bottomed Girls'
- Footage of the 'Don't Stop Me Now' promo video, and interviews with Brian and Paul Gambuccini about the song, the New York gay seen, and an archive interview with Freddie
- Interviews with Paul Gambuccini, Harvey Kubernick and Roger about the album and singles success
- Interviews with Brian, Peter Hince and Mack, about Freddie writing 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', and it's success, with footage of the 2011 promo video
- Interviews with Brian, Paul Gambuccini, John, Mack, and Roger about 'Another One Bites The Dust', with clips from the promo video, and interviews with Roger, Brian, Mack, Harvey Kubernick and Paul Gambuccini about the dance style of the track, Michael Jackson's involvement in releasing the single, and it's success, with clips of the track from 'Queen Rock Montreal'
- Interviews with Roger, Brian and Paul Gambuccini about the group's success, and further footage from the 'We Are The Champions' recording sessions
- Excerpt of 'Was It All Worth It', with a montage of clips and interview snippets, as a preview of part 2
- Excerpt of 'Flash', with short video clips and captions to summarise 'the story so far', followed by interview snippets with Roger, Jim Beach, Freddie and Brian, with clips from throughout the 1980's
- Interviews with Roger, Brian, Jim Beach and Peter Hince about touring South America, with backstage footage from the tour, and an excerpt of 'The Ring'
- Footage of Freddie being interviewed on Brazilian TV, and interviews with Roger and Brian, with footage of 'Tie Your Mother Down' (Sao Paulo, 1981)
- Interview with Harvey Kubernick, and footage of Freddie's Singalong (Sao Paulo, 1981)
- Interviews with Jim Beach, David Richards and Brian, about the Montreux recording studio, with an excerpt of 'Las Palabras De Amor', and footage from recording sessions
- Interviews with Brian, Freddie, Mack and Roger about recording with David Bowie and the bass riff, with footage of the 2011 promo video, and further recording session footage
- Interviews with Brian, Roger and Mack about Musicland studios, the disco feel of 'Hot Space' and Freddie's assistant Paul Prenter's influence, with an excerpt of 'Back Chat' and footage from the video
- Interviews with Jim Beach, Roger, Brian and Peter Hince about increasing tensions in the band, and the Munich lifestyle, with footage from the 'Body Language' promo video
- Interviews with Paul Gambuccini about Freddie's attitude to AIDS, a news clip about the 1982 US tour, a clip of Freddie from the Milton Keynes show, and interviews with Jim Beach, Mack and Roger about the sales of the album
- Footage of a US TV interview with Roger about his 'Strange Frontier' album, with footage of the 'Man On Fire' promo video, and an interview with Brian about the 'Starfleet Project', a clip from the promo video, and coming back to Queen
- Excerpt of 'Man On The Prowl', and interviews with Freddie, Roger, Fred Mandel, Mack, and John, about moving to Los Angeles, the recording of 'The Works', and songwriting
- Excerpt of 'Machines', with recording footage from the 'One Vision' sessions, and interviews with Mack, Roger and Brian about Fred Mandel's synthesiser solo on 'I Want To Break Free'
- Interviews with Roger, Freddie, Fred Mandel, and Paul Gambuccini, about the writing and recording of 'Radio Ga Ga', with live footage of the track from 1985, and promo video out-takes, interview with Harvey Kubernick about audience participation, clip of the track from 1985, and interview with David Richards
- Footage of the 'I Want To Break Free' video, and interviews with Roger, Freddie on Australian TV, Paul Gambuccini, Brian, Fred Mandel and Harvey Kubernick, with promo video out-takes
- Interviews with Jim Beach and Brian about losing the US market
- Promotional clip for Sun City, and interviews with Paul Gambuccini, Freddie, Brian, Roger, and Jim Beach, about the concerts and apartheid
- Footage of the 'Living On My Own' promo video, and interviews with Freddie, Jim Beach and Mack, about the 'Mr Bad Guy' album and solo activities
- Footage from a TV-AM feature about 'Live Aid', with excerpt of 'Is This The World We Created?', and interviews with Paul Gambuccini, Roger and Midge Ure
- Footage of 'Hammer To Fall' Live Aid rehearsals, interviews with Peter Hince, Paul Gambuccini, Roger, Midge Ure, Brian, John, and Jim Beach, with footage of Status Quo's performance, 'Hammer To Fall' and 'We Are The Champions'
- Interviews with Brian, Roger, and Jim Beach, about the recording of 'One Vision' and The Magic Tour, with footage of the group in Munich, the 'One Vision' recording sessions, and the track from various concerts
- Footage of 'God Save The Queen' from Wembley 1986, and interviews with Roger, Freddie and Jim Beach about Freddie's deteriorating health
- Footage of 'The Miracle' promo video, and interviews with Brian and Jim Beach, about Freddie telling the band he was ill, and the recording of the album
- Footage of Queen receiving the 1989 Brit Award, and interviews with Fred Mandel, Roger, Brian, and Paul Gambuccini, about Freddie's health and press intrusion, with footage of the Scandal promo video
- Interviews with Roger and Brian about recording in Montreux, and Freddie's bravery, with footage of the 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' promo video and outtakes
- Interviews with Brian and Roger about recording and filming, with outtakes of the 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' video
- Interviews with David Richards, Brian and Roger about the post-Innuendo recording sessions, with an excerpt of 'Mother Love'
- Interviews with Jim Beach, Brian and Roger about seeing Freddie for the last time, with an excerpt of 'Bijou', and footage of Freddie's statue in Montreux
- Interviews with Brian and Roger about The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with footage of Roger announcing the concert at the Brit Awards, clips of the various performers, David Bowie's prayer, and George Michael performing 'Somebody To Love'
- Excerpt of 'The Show Must Go On', and interviews with Jim Beach, Brian and Roger about Made In Heaven, and clips of various live performances and the 'We Will Rock You' musical
- Footage of 'A Kind Of Magic' from Budapest 1986, and finally a clip of Freddie's singalong at Wembley 1986
(24 minutes) With the exception of 'Under Pressure', these videos feature previously unseen footage, camera angles and out-takes. - Seven Seas Of Rhye
A compilation of footage of 'Top Of The Pops' performances and live footage from the Rainbow Theatre 1974. It features a slight edit of the track, fading out earlier than normal. - Killer Queen
A compilation of two 'Top Of The Pops' performances, one unseen since 1974. It features a slight edit of the track, fading out earlier than normal. - Somebody To Love
A new promo video featuring footage from all four video takes of the track, some of it in split-screen. - We Are The Champions
This features the band recording a new version of the song, with footage of the band in the studio, alternate musical elements, alternate vocal-takes, many missing vocals, and some dialogue in places. It is similar to the footage used in the documentary itself. - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
A new promo video featuring alternate shots and out-takes from the video shoot. - Under Pressure
A new promo video featuring footage of the track from 'Queen Rock Montreal' in 1981 and with David Bowie at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. It features an edit of the track, which omits some of the intro, outro, and one line of vocals. - Radio Ga Ga
A new promo video featuring alternate shots and out-takes from the video shoot. It is an edit of the track, which loses a number of sections.
- From Magic To Miracle 1986-1989 (4:59)
Footage of the end of 'We Are The Champions' from Knebworth 1986, and interview with Roger and Brian about personal problems, with an excerpt of 'Forever'.
Footage of the 'I Want It All' promo video, out-takes from the making of 'Breakthru', and interviews with John, Brian and Jim Beach about the album and shared songwriting credits - Going Slightly Mad - The Making Of Innuendo 1990-1 (9:10)
Footage of Queen receiving an award on the 'Goodbye To The 80's' TV show, excerpt of the 'Innuendo' promo video, and interviews with David Richards, Roger, Brian and John about recording the album.
Footage of the 'Headlong' promo video and interviews with Brian, Roger and Jim Beach about touring to promote the album.
Interview with Fred Mandel and Jim Beach about Freddie's illness, with out-takes from the 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' promo video, and an excerpt of 'Bijou' with footage of Garden Lodge.
Footage of Brian and Roger on TV-AM talking about Freddie and his death, and footage of Queen receiving the Brit Award for 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' - Made In Heaven 1995 (6:49)
This feature includes new interviews with Brian and Roger about recording the album and working with Freddie's material, and features excerpts of 'Made In Heaven', 'A Winter's Tale', 'You Don't Fool Me', 'Too Much Love Will Kill You', 'Let Me Live', 'Mother Love', 'Heaven For Everyone' and 'I Was Born To Love You', with footage from various promo videos and Montreux
(Blu-ray only; 38 minutes) - Bohemian Rhapsody (1:06)
Interviews with Brian, John and Freddie about releasing the track, the risks, and an edited version which John produced, with an edited excerpt of the promo video to show how odd it sounded - Don't Stop Me Now (2:52)
Interviews with Brian and Roger about the full guitar track not being used, with excerpts of the 'Long Lost Guitar' version and footage of the track from the Concert For Kampuchea at the Hammersmith Odeon, 1979 - Flash Gordon (3:01)
Interviews with Roger about the film and album, intercut with footage from the alternate promo video - Leaving John Reid, 1978 (3:14)
Interviews with John, Brian, Roger, John Reid and Jim Beach, about having John Reid as a manager, splitting, and signing the contracts in Freddie's Rolls Royce at the 'We Will Rock You' and 'Spread Your Wings' promo shoot, with out-takes from both videos - Making Videos (3:59)
Interviews with all of the band about promo videos, and Brian and Roger's dislike of making them, with footage from the 'Radio Ga Ga' 'photo book', the 'It's A Hard Life' promo video, and out-takes from the 'We Are The Champions' and 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' video shoots - Queen On Tour 1974-5 (11:17)
Interview with Brian about headlining a tour for the first time and the Rainbow Theatre, with footage of the band backstage, the intro to 'Ogre Battle', 'Liar', and the full performance of 'Stone Cold Crazy'.
Interviews with Roger and Brian about touring in Japan, with footage of their press conference, Japanese tea ceremony, messages to fans, and footage of 'Killer Queen' (intercut with interviews) and 'Now I'm Here' (almost complete, without interruptions), both from the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, on 1 May 1975 - Queen: The Beginning 1968-1973 (8:19)
Interviews with all of the band about early groups, Smile, forming the band, making the debut album, trying to get a record deal and early styles, with excerpts of 'Blag', 'The Night Comes Down', 'Great King Rat', 'Keep Yourself Alive' and 'Liar' - Scrabble Wars (1:24)
Interviews with Brian and Roger about the band's love of Scrabble, and footage of the band playing during the 1986 Magic Tour, with an excerpt of the instrumental version of 'I Want To Break Free' - Working Together (2:50)
Footage of 'Tie Your Mother Down' from a soundcheck in Houston 1977, and interviews with Brian, Roger and John about soundchecks, arguments and egos, with an audio excerpt of an argument between the band
(Blu-ray only; 19 minutes) - Another One Bites The Dust (1:08)
Interview with John about writing the song, the early 'cowboy' version, and recording the track - Brian's Health Scare, US Tour 1974 (3:45)
Interview with Brian, covering his time in hospital, writing 'Now I'm Here', and recording the 'Sheer Heart Attack' album - B-Sides (2:12)
Interview with Brian about B-side tracks and the impact on royalties - Freddie Legless (1:55)
Interview with Roger about Freddie getting drunk with Tony Hadley and sobering him up in time to perform in New Zealand, 1985 - Freddie's Outfits (0:39)
A brief interview with Roger about seeing Freddie's harlequin costume for the first time - Highlander (1:09)
Interview with Roger about becoming involved with the project, and seeing the first film rushes - Manager Jim Beach Meets The Band, 1975 (1:31)
Interview with Jim Beach about first meeting the band - Return To Imperial (3:34)
Interviews of Brian walking around Imperial College, about the college itself, early concerts, and auditioning Roger, with excerpts of 'Polar Bear', 'Blag', 'Doing Alright' and 'Liar' - The Show Must Go On (1:23)
Interview with Brian about writing the track, and how Freddie hit the high note - The Songwriting Balance Changing In The 1980's (1:49)
Interview with John about his and Roger's increasing songwriting contributions
