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Dancehall Queen [1997]


RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £4.07 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A Cinderella story from the mean streets of Kingston, Jamaica, the alternately comic and gritty Dancehall Queen is an intriguingly dark crowd pleaser. Marcia (Audrey Reid) is a single mom and street vendor barely scraping by even with a financial assist from the seemingly avuncular Larry (Carl Davis), a gun-toting strongman with a twisted desire for Marcia's teenage daughter. Complicating things is Priest (Paul Campbell), a murderous hood who killed Marcia's friend and now is terrorizing the defenseless woman. Facing three big problems--Larry, Priest, and a lack of money---Marcia arrives at an inspired solution: develop an alter ego, a dancing celebrity called the Mystery Lady who can compete in a cash-prize contest and pit both of the men against one another. Which is exactly what she does, and it's great fun watching Marcia instigate her complicated plan with a little help from sympathetic friends. Colorful, rowdy, funny, and dangerous, Dancehall Queen is a clever and ceaselessy energetic movie steeped in Kingston street life and the desire to keep body and soul together at home. Reid is a delight as the everyday figure who transforms into an icon in the evenings, and the dance scenes are amazingly bawdy. --Tom Keogh


They dont make enough like this!!
Review date: 2008-09-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

What a quality film, I previously watched this about 8 years ago, Thought i would put it on again last night and still thouraly enjoyed it, The story is about a hard working jamaican woman called Marcia, Who has to struggle and hustle her way through trying to support her family the best way she can!!
This film has an excellant soundtrack to it and will leave you wanting to watch it again.

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Reviews


Paul Campbell steals the show
Review date: 2008-02-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a gritty film about survival in the ghetto. I watch it regularly with my friends and family - who are all adults. Audrey Reid gets primary billing but the real star is Paul Campbell's who gets the Oscar as the brutal and vicious murderer Priest. His cold warning to potential informers "Walk and live, Talk and B***O Cl**t dead" has become a part of youth culture on the street. Someone broke the first copy of this DVD I owned and it took me ages to replace it. Get it if you can it will be a classic.

Old Fashion movie made straight from the heart
Review date: 2007-08-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

This movie is something else. When this was released in 1997, "Dancehall Queen" created a sensation in Jamaica, eventually surpassing Harder They Come (Deluxe Edition) as the highest-grossing film in that country's history. I remember enjoying this film when it first came out on tape and before hand created a lot of buzz. Once I'd purchased it I'd also pass it along to my friends at the time and found it very entertaining. Just recently watching this the other day gave me a great sense of recollection on how much I enjoyed "Dancehall Queen." Like the dancehall music on its soundtrack, "Dancehall Queen" has a rough, self-produced feel disguised by a technically proficient coating. Utilizing elements of techno, rap, and reggae, dancehall combines technologically advanced production techniques with unmistakably Jamaican source material.

To lesser effect, "Dancehall Queen" does the same thing as a film. Shot on digital video, which makes everything look like a British soap opera, the film concerns the struggle of a Kingston street vendor (Audrey Reid) trying to raise two children on her own. After being continually harassed by a knife-wielding thug and, in a disturbing sequence of events, encouraging her 15-year-old daughter to accept the advances of a middle-aged sugar daddy, Reid realizes that she needs to find a way out of poverty. Naturally, her mind turns to the dancehall, and she soon finds herself joining barely clad Kingston youths in a style of dance that blurs the line between dancing and performing sexual acts. Although the question of how Reid expects to make money simply by going to clubs isn't answered until near the movie's end, it's pretty clear from the beginning that "Dancehall Queen" is an old-fashioned melodrama sure to culminate in the all-important big show. You'll be mesmerize by the clothes and the wigs that these women sport. The score itself is really good featuring Beenie Man (who provides the title track), Bounty Killer, Lady Shaw, Junior Demus and Sanchez.

Taken as such and enhanced by its Jamaican setting, it's not terrible, and it does feature a guest appearance by Beenie Man. But, despite being bankrolled by Island Records, it was clearly made on the fly, and the rough edges show. As you view this the upbeat dancehall style is catchy and infectious, and the dancing scenes will certainly hold your attention and probably be part of the reason why its like so much.


Life as it could be....
Review date: 2006-03-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

One of the best Jamaican films to actually come out of Jamaica in recent years... Set in a realistic backdrop of downtown Kingston, it explores the avenues the people have to go thru in order to maintain some standard of living... proving again that for most West Indians, music is the key to get out of the ghettos. You can't help but sympathise with the struggles and celebrate the successes!!! Highly recommended!

what a waste of money
Review date: 2005-05-18 Rating: 4 out of 10

well I was very disappointed with this film, I had been searching for any Jamaica related dancehall films and found this one. Its pants. The "queen" is the least likely dancehall mover you have ever seen and there isnt anywhere near enough dancehall action in this film, its like something a bunch of students might have made for a project. Wooden, unbelievable acting, not enough music or dancehall moves and a let down - wheres the real dancehall action at? p.s. subtitles might improve it...:(

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Paul Campbell (IV)
Mark Danvers
Carl Davis (IV)
Cherine Anderson
Audrey Reid

Creators:
Audrey Reid (Primary Contributor)
Paul Campbell (IV) (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Palm Pictures
Manufacturer: Palm Pictures
EAN: 0660200309824
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, PAL,
Release date: 2008-08-25
Universal product code (UPC): 660200309824
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997-10-10
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)

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