The Making Of 'A Night At The Opera'


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Queen 'The Making Of A Night At The Opera'

Released on 20 March 2006 as a single or double DVD set.
Length 98 minutes (disc 1) and 43 minutes (disc 2).


Executive producers for Eagle Rock Entertainment: Terry Shland and Geoff Kempin
Executive producers for Isis Productions: Jamie Rugge-Price
Series Producers: Nick de Grunwald & Martin R Smith
Edited & directed by Matthew Longfellow


This is a DVD concentrating on the album 'A Night At The Opera', and features a 50 minute documentary featuring new interviews with Brian, Roger and Roy Thomas Baker, and adds a range of special features. The double disc version contains the same disc, but adds the disc from the 30th Anniversary CD & DVD set, and is housed in a card slipcase. From personal experience, in the UK at least, the single disc edition is much harder to get hold of.

The main program was originally broadcast on BBC 2 on 18 December 2005, at 12:30am.

The packaging featured a sticker on the front of the cellophane which advertised an acoustic performance of 'Good Company' by Brian May; unfortunately, whilst a short version appears on the disc, this is not a complete performance and the sticker should read 'Love Of My Life'.

This page includes full details of the first DVD, which was produced by Eagle Rock Entertainment. The main program lasts for 49:19, and the disc adds 48:56 in additional bonus features, making a total running time of 98:15.


The main menu features an excerpt of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', and contains options to play the main program, or jump to the Track by Track, Special Features or Subtitle menus. When the DVD first loads, the excerpt is played twice, then the main program is played. On subsequent visits to the main menu, the excerpt plays repeatedly.

The 'Track By Track' menu features all twelve album tracks, spread over two menus (the two sides of the record), with an excerpt of 'You're My Best Friend'. Most of the tracks are the same as in the main program, but have been divided into separate titles. The two exceptions to this are 'The Prophet's Song' and 'God Save The Queen', which were not featured in the main program and which are both the same as in the 'Special Features' section.

The 'Special Features' menu features eight additional featurettes, arranged over two menus, with a live excerpt of 'I'm In Love With My Car' on both. The menu choices are:

Play All (plays all special features, divided into their own chapter) (48:56)
How The Album Got It's Name
39 - Brian May
Half A Sonic Volcano
Sweet Lady - Hyde Park 1976
The Prophet's Song
Love Of My Life - Brian & Freddie
Bohemian Rhapsody
God Save The Queen

Finally, the subtitles screen allows you to select between German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese subtitles, or turn them off, and features an excerpt of '39'.


Main Program


Introduction (6:06)

Death On Two Legs (3:35)

Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon (3:31)

I'm In Love With My Car (3:45)

You're My Best Friend (6:15)

'39 (3:34)

Sweet Lady (1:09)

Seaside Rendezvous (3:01)

Good Company (3:22)

Love Of My Life (4:50)

Bohemian Rhapsody (10:12)


How The Album Got It's Name


Title 13, length 2:03.

'39 - Brian May


Title 14, length 2:50 (performance length 2:47).
This is a new acoustic performance of the track by Brian.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'A Night At The Opera' album page.

Lyrics:
In the year of '39 assembled here the volunteers
In the days when lands were few
And the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
The sweetest sight ever seen

And the night followed day
And the story tellers say
That the score brave souls inside
For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas
Never looked back, never feared, never cried

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue
The volunteers came home that day
And they bring good news of a world so newly born
Though their hearts so heavily weigh
For the earth is old and grey, little darling went away
But my love this cannot be
So many years have gone though I'm older but a year
Your mothers eyes from your eyes cry to me

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
All your letters in the sand
Cannot heal me like your hand
For my life still ahead - pity me

Half A Sonic Volcano


Title 15, length 4:34.

Sweet Lady - Hyde Park 1976


Title 16, length 5:48 (song length 3:45).
This featurette begins with an interview with Brian about the origins of the track, the riff, playing it on the guitar to demonstrate, and the meaning of the track, and is then followed by Queen's performance of the track from Hyde Park 1976.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'A Night At The Opera' album page.

Dialogue & Lyrics: (live footage only):
Freddie: Thank you very much, good evening everybody, welcome to our picnic by the Serpentine. You all look very beautiful, I must say. We should like to carry on now with a song called Sweet Lady

Ooh, I like it

You call me up and treat me like a dog
You call me up and tear me up inside
You've got me on a lead
Ooh, you bring me down
You shout around
You tell me things when I'm alone
No, you don't believe me

When you say
Sweet lady
Sweet lady
Come on
Come on
Stay sweet

You call me up and feed me all the lines
You call me sweet like ah, I'm some kind of cheese
You're waiting on the shelf
Ooh, you eat me up
You hold me down
I'm just a fool to make you a home
Ooh, you really, really, really do me

When you say
Sweet lady
Sweet lady
Come on, stay sweet

My sweet lady, seems like we wait forever
Stay sweet baby
Believe and we've got everything we need
Ooooh
We've got
Everything we need

Yeah, yeah

Oooh, do it
My
Stay sweet
Ooh, you're my sweet lady
You're my sweet lady
Come on

Yeah, come on

Sweet, ooh, my
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Stay sweet

The Prophet's Song


Titles 17 and 22, length 11:35.
This featurette appears twice on the disc, title 17 is played from the special features menu and title 22 is played from the track by track menu. Both titles are identical.

Love Of My Life - Brian & Freddie


Title 18, length 3:55 (performance length 3:53).
This is a new acoustic performance of the track by Brian, which then cuts to footage of Brian and Freddie performing the track, taken from Live At Wembley 1986, before cutting back to Brian for the final verse.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'A Night At The Opera' album page.

Lyrics: (Brian sings the lyrics in red, and Freddie sings the lyrics in white)
Love of my life - you've hurt me
You've broken my heart and now you leave me
Love of my life, can't you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me, because you don't know
What it means to me


Love of my life - don't leave me
You've stolen my love, you now desert me
Love of my life, can't you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me, because you don't know
What it means to me

You will remember
When this is blown over
And everything's all by the way
When I grow older
I will be there at your side to remind you
How I still love you

(Audience: I still love) you
I still love you


Ohh hurry back, hurry back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know what it means to me
Love of my life
Love of my life
Oooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Bohemian Rhapsody


Title 19, length 13:08.

God Save The Queen


Titles 20 and 23, length 5:02.
This featurette appears twice on the disc, title 20 is played from the special features menu and title 23 is played from the track by track menu. Both titles are identical.