Strictly Ballroom

1992 Directed by Baz Luhrmann

A life lived in fear... ...is a life half lived

Brave new steps put Scott's career in jeopardy. With a new partner and determination, can he still succeed?

Paul Mercurio Tara Morice Bill Hunter Pat Thomson Gia Carides Peter Whitford Barry Otto John Hannan Sonia Kruger Kris McQuade Pip Mushin Antonio Vargas Armonia Benedito Lauren Hewett Steve Grace Paul Bertram Todd McKenney Kerry Shrimpton

Alternative Titles

Ballroom dancing, 댄싱 히어로

romance drama comedy

94 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Jonathan White ★★★★½ 18

It doesn’t matter that it’s a cliché. It doesn’t matter that it’s predictable. It doesn’t matter that the story is a well-worn hat. The only thing that matters is it works, and it works so charmingly well.
Despite funding and distribution obstacles, not to mention the death of his producer before production even started, first time film director Baz Luhrmann brings heart and humor to the screen in perfect proportion.
It’s hard to pinpoint why something works so well … Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally is another example .. but it’s a confluence of all the film arts, and also the right actors bringing the characters to the screen. Leads Paul Mercurio and Tera Morice just fit like hand…
Review by Marian ★★★★

i can always count on baz to give me some absurd drama and sparkly costumes for my nerves
Review by Freddy Thornton ★★★★★ 3

this is the greatest film ever made dont even fucking test me
Review by cuckoochanel ★★★½ 14

I recall being a pre-teen when I first saw Baz Luhrmann’s debut film, Strictly Ballroom; impressionable and impressed was I by the garish neon-hued costumes, the brash Australian accents, and the campiness of everything from the ballroom competition storyline to the performances of its obscure cast. The first of Luhrmann’s “Red Curtain Trilogy”, Strictly Ballroom is set within the cutthroat world of dancesport, where rising star, open amateur Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) is on the precipice of winning his first Pan Pacific Grand Prix title—only he wants to abandon regulations and dance his own original steps, much to the chagrin of federation President Barry Fife and his own mother, retired dancer cum cosmetics consultant Shirley Hastings (in a spirited performance…
Review by liam f ★★★½

you ever watch a film so many times over the years that the DVD literally stops working
Review by Richard Chandler ★★★ 2

"He resorted to his own flashy, crowd-pleasing steps."
Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom is a trifling prance through the hothouse Australian competitive dance scene. The scenario manages something of a feat by being both convoluted and predictable. Scott (Paul Mercurio) is a skillful but unorthodox dancer with a browbeating stage mother and a cowed, insecure father. Abandoned by his shrill dancing partner on account of his maverick sensibility, he learns to trust his instinct that free expression means more than competitive glory by mentoring another heretical hoofer for the upcoming competition; sparks fly when his protege transforms from depressed-Mia-Farrow-in-the-1980s-with-bad-skin to suddenly being really hot. With their union (romantic and professional) all but certain fate intervenes in the form of a sought-after…
Review by andrea g. ★★★★★ 1

DIRTY DANCING EAT YOUR FUCKING HEART OUT
Review by Paul Elliott ★★★½

Ambitions and passion join together in Baz Luhrmann’s directorial début, which is an extravagantly theatrical story concerned with conquering fear. It rigorously incorporates laughter and tears along with mockumentary-style interviews into a narrative that observes the phenomenally galvanised desire of an independently minded dancer to dance idiosyncratically; jeopardising his career opportunities with unprecedented routines and a new partner.
It develops to a somewhat inevitable yet commendable melodramatic culmination when the central protagonists of Scott and Fran, played by Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice, put on a display at the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championships. Catherine Martin relinquishes some marvellous production design, and together with the paradisaical costumes and Jill Bilcock’s pleasing editing, Strictly Ballroom not for a moment fails to deliver a whirlwind of comedic fantasy. Luhrmann arranges the beautiful results together with some poignant tragedy to develop a bizarre cinematic world of artificial caricatures yet one which contains a tangible heart and soul.
Review by Ayo Edebiri ★★★½ 3

sometimes a movie is 3 and 1/2 stars out of exasperation. sometimes it is 3 and 1/2 stars out of love.
this particular 3 and 1/2 stars is out of love.
Review by russman ★★★½

That has to be the sparkliest product placement I have ever seen
Review by 🌻 lindsay 🌻 ★★★★ 2

Baz Luhrmann’s voice is so strong that even his debut, where most people are still finding their footing, screams his name. Bright colors, full of love, full of chaos, full of pain wrapped in a thick layer of fun. I really enjoyed this. It was loud and frantic but incredibly watchable. The dancing was impossible to look away from and I loved it. The energy!! This is just a great time.
Review by Fake Shemp

The dvd case still had the receipt inside, from 2006, £2.99, Virgin Megastore.
Truly a Relic.

Recent reviews

Review by Lucy ★★★★

For some reason everything I knew about Baz Luhrmann’s style left my brain, and watching this was triggering all my memory so I felt like I was discovering something new! Obviously as a Strictly Come Dancing freak I love the world of ballroom and I loved this. There’s so many creative ways of storytelling and the filmmaking feels so alive. Favourite part that spoke to me: the retelling of the dad’s backstory. Loved, loved loved how that was executed, so silly and joyful.
Review by suguitan

It's definitely got that ostentatious, visually opulent, manic energy that would become Luhrmann's signature, but I think what makes this his best film is that he's forced by the budget to tell a simple story about a handful of characters. His subsequent films seem to operate under the philosophy that more is always more and that if he just puts pedal to metal until he runs out of gas, the result will necessarily be spectacular. What we get in Strictly Ballroom is something more economical, something leaner, something that feels proud rather than self-indulgent.
Review by cgwor ★★★½

Studios should give Baz Luhrmann a shoe-string budget more often
Review by Sydney ★★★★

this film is pure, sparkling joy
did i cry at the final number? YOU BET I DID
Review by Jack Carter ★★★★

Absolutely electric and ridiculously funny! Nothing but crazy camera moves and good vibes 😝
Review by Steph Green ★★★

the only baz lurhmann film I haven't hated!
Review by Rhys ★★★★½

Moulin Rouge is on Disney+ which is great, but I've been told that it's part of a trilogy and so I think I better watch this and Romeo+Juliet before I revisit the masterpiece.
I can see why this is put with that film. It's cheesy and corny and cliched as hell. The story has been told a million times, but man the music and the costumes and the dancing and the performances are great. Great colourful fun!
This reminded me so much of Cars.
Review by Kevin Hempstead ★★★½

Joyfully silly and dumb, but you won't care because everything sparkles and shines with colour and energy. Reminds me of the films of Christopher Guest, but with better dance moves.
Review by Chuck Forsman ★★★★★ 1

Shame on me. Should've watched this long ago. Delightful.
Review by Lori ★★★★

This felt like a sparkling fever dream
Review by Dana Scott ★★★★★ 1

dirty dancing wants what this has
Review by Melissa Mendes ★★★★★ 2

ONE POWER SLIDE TO RULE THEM ALL