A Brilliant Comparison of Queen’s 1985 ‘Live Aid’ Show With the Staged Remake in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Is this the real life or is this fantasy?

Hong Kong video editor This Game Is Easy brilliantly juxtaposed the video footage of Queen‘s 1985 Live Aid performance against the staged version for the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody in a side by side comparison.

I recently saw Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters and right as the Live Aid part started I was so surprised at how accurate it is to the original live performance. I wanted to compare it side by side but noticed it doesn’t work well as half the songs are cut and the songs are edited so I decided to make a comparison.

While the scripted version does vary greatly from the real show due to the need for story resolution, actor Rami Malek absolutely channeled the heart, soul and creative vitality of the late great Freddie Mercury.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.