Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Movie review - "Starsky and Hutch" (2004) ** 1/2
One of the secrets to the recent popularity of Ben Stiller-Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughan vehicles is that they seem like your friends, friends who are all in a movie together. So even when the movie isn't very good, it's still fun to see your friends running around. Maybe I would have enjoyed the film more if I'd been familiar with the TV show, but the plot is a bit too much like an average 70s cop show - Starsky and Hutch take down a drug dealer and... that's it. There are some good sequences, like the dance off (what is it with dance off's today? There was one in American Wedding), inspired chemistry from the stars, good turns from Vaughan, Juliette Lewis (as his moll) and Snoop Dog. Amy Smart pops up and does another one of those nice, believably-falls-for-obnoxious-guy parts.
Movie review - "American Wedding" (2003) **1/2
The 3rd in the American Pie series sees Jason Biggs marry Michelle, the band camp nympho. Despite that the film's story is really about Stiffler (Sean William Scott) becoming a nicer person - the film sort of tries to be a ensemble piece on one hand but knows the money is with Stiffler on the other so it feels out of shape. The character of Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) has some good moments but the character of Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has nothing to do. I mean NOTHING. You kind of feel embarrassed for him being in the film. Chris Klein and Tara Reid do not return but Eugene Levy does, bringing along his old Best in Show co-star Fred Willard who plays Michelle's mum. The part of Michelle's sister is played by January Jones, who has a bit of a poor-man's-Amy-Smart vibe about her. The film incudes some genuinely laugh out loud moments and is quite entertaining at times.
Movie review - "The Raven" (1935) ***1/2
Boris Karloff and Lugosi together again, and this time, despite Karloff's top billing, it's Lugosi's film (according this film is beloved by Lugosi cultists, who saw their man usually come off second best against Karloff). He plays a brilliant doctor so enthusiastic about the works of Edgar Allan Poe that he's installed a torture chamber in his basement. Rejected in love by a girl whose life he saves, he sets about a bit of torture. The script for this film is "bitsy" - a bit of Poe, bit of ballet, bit of mad doctor - but it is enormous fun, with Lugosi in fine form, as is Karloff as his assistant, a killer-with-a-conscience (a person convinced he does ugly things because he is ugly). See how that pendulum wobbles at the end? The female ingenue is pretty but the male really annoying - I kind of wish he had been killed.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Movie review - "The Black Cat" (1934) ***1/2
Way out Edgar G Ulmer film that runs only 60 minutes but is a great ride, teaming two giant stars, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Lugosi is the hero - well, kind of, he does end up skinning Karloff alive at the end. But he's got good cause! Great premise, with Lugosi seeking revenge against BK for some major WWI crimes including taking away his wife and daughter.
The film gets a bit confusing at times, the Poe link is v tenuous, Lugosi's character a little uneven (one minute he's nice, then hammy, then good, then evil) - but terrific fun, with sacrificies, and satanists, and skinnings and hints of necrophilia. Amazing sets too.
The film gets a bit confusing at times, the Poe link is v tenuous, Lugosi's character a little uneven (one minute he's nice, then hammy, then good, then evil) - but terrific fun, with sacrificies, and satanists, and skinnings and hints of necrophilia. Amazing sets too.
Movie review - Mummy #1 - "The Mummy" (1932) ***
Universal originally wanted to follow up Boris Karloff’s success in Frankenstein with a movie called Caligostro – but this script was rewritten by John Balderstone, who made it a mummy story.In fact, it really is a remake of Dracula: the plot has a bunch of men trying to protect a woman from an otherworldly force, complete with David Manners as the boyfriend, Edward van Sloan as a Van Helsing type, an ancient Egyptian symbol with the powers of a crucifix, the mummy having power of underlings, the girl being drawn against her will towards the mummy, Karloff trying to transform the girl into a mummy to keep him company, and the mummy being destroyed by a sunlight equivalent (burning the scroll).
The Dracula template actually humanises the mummy story. In the sequels it was often hard to care about this rampaging creature in bandages – but Karloff spends most of his time out of make up so you can make a connection. (As he points out to the girl - "I’ve suffered for thousands of years for you the least you can do is be killed".) It helps that Jack Pierce’s make up for the mummy is very effective – far more than it was for later movies.
Boris Karloff isn't quite believable as a sexy suave type who can seduce Zita Johann with his eyes but he's great with the doomed unrequited love stuff, and looks terrific as a mummy. Zita Johann is sexy in a series of bra-less outfits (even if her performance is a bit stiff at times) and Manners and Van Sloan are fine. Bramwell Fletcher goes enjoyably mad during the opening sequence - it's a shame he couldn't have been brought back to the action as a sort of Renfield-type figure. Noble Johnson plays "the Nubian".
Other parallels to Dracula - the opening sequence is very strong, and the film gets bogged down as it goes along. Also you get the feeling the girl would have been better off with her otherworldly lover as opposed to David Manners.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Movie review - "K19: the Widowmaker" (2004) ** 1/2
The classic case of a film that should have had a smaller budget and more integrity for its story - but instead they cast Harrison Ford and pumped needless millions into it. This is based on a true story which is gripping, but it doesn't make an ideal star vehicle, at least not for Harrison The sub captain is a driven man and Ford isn't that good doing driven, his thing is playing stressed out people caught up in events beyond their control (Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Jack Ryan, the Fugitive - they're all really stressed).
Having said that it looks fantastic and there are some effective moments, notably when the crew go into a leaky nuclear reactor core. This is amazing stuff. I wish I could read the original Louis Nowra script. (NB A thought - has there even been a film about Russians that has been successful at the US box office apart from Dr Zhivago? Buggered if I can think of one.)
Movie review - 'The Fast and the Furious" (1954) **
An undistinguished film but important historically as it was an early Roger Corman production - his second as producer (after The Monster from the Ocean Floor - prior to that he wrote and associate produced Highway Dragnet). He provided the story and produced but did not direct.
John Ireland co-directed and played the lead, a man on the run from the cops determined to prove his innocence. He kidnaps Dorothy Malone on the way, they fall in love, he enters a speed race. This sort of story is clichéd for a reason – it’s got good dramatic basis, with an innocent man on the run, a squabbling relationship with a girl he picks up; it does lack a prominent baddie to act as a threat. Also things could be a little confusing at times - there are lots of scenes where support actors come on and give exposition in big dialogue lumps.
Ireland isn't very likeable but Malone is, and both are very professional.
It starts with a bang (literally) and moves at a fair clip with some decent race scenes (albeit with silly 50s racing hats). Holds up surprisingly well.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Movie review - "Batman Begins" (2005) ****
This is the first Batman which you could genuinely call a well made film. Oh, there were good bits about the others - the aduacity of the design, the originality of the concept, the roles of the villains. But look back at them and see they are not particularly well made movies, they just have good bits. This is awell made movie. Chris Nolan does a great job, and there is excellent script, acting, all that stuff.
It is different from the others because this is Batman's story, not the villains' - even though Batman's story has been touched on he is the focus here. Christian Bale is believable as the focused, tormented Bruce Wayne - he is a bit cold as an actor, so it is good to have Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman supply the warmth. Actually Gary Oldman comes across as very nice, too, so does Liam Neeson. Cillian Murphy is a great creepy villain. Katie Holmes is a bit of a weak link.
The only place the movie falters is in the big action sequence which is well done but feels a bit too familiar, a bit too Michael Bay (eg crashing train, explosion) and not as striking as the rest. But on the whole its terrific.
It is different from the others because this is Batman's story, not the villains' - even though Batman's story has been touched on he is the focus here. Christian Bale is believable as the focused, tormented Bruce Wayne - he is a bit cold as an actor, so it is good to have Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman supply the warmth. Actually Gary Oldman comes across as very nice, too, so does Liam Neeson. Cillian Murphy is a great creepy villain. Katie Holmes is a bit of a weak link.
The only place the movie falters is in the big action sequence which is well done but feels a bit too familiar, a bit too Michael Bay (eg crashing train, explosion) and not as striking as the rest. But on the whole its terrific.
Book review - "How I Made One Hundred Movies and Never Lost a Dime" by Roger Corman
A delightful memoir from the world's most famous low budget filmmaker, full of great anecdotes and tips on filmmaking. Corman's words are interspersed with comments from other people who've worked with him such as Jack Nicholson which does feel a bit odd at times - like he's insecure. It's his memoirs he shouldn't be! Focus is more on his 50s and 60s work then a bit on New World. Doesn't talk much about his 80s stuff - I guess mostly because not many famous movies and/or filmmakers have come out of that period. But very much worth reading.
Book review - "The Other Side of the Dawn" by John Marsden
The final one of the Tomorrow series, although Marsden does set it up for a sequel. More death and more action. A prison camp and some suspense - will Marsden knock off one of the lead characters at the 11th hour? Very believable resolution to the war. What an excellent series this is.
Book review - "The Night is for Hunting" by John Marsden
Book six in the series feels like book four - that is the first part of a two part series. They needed a few new characters to take away from the neurotic teenagers and Marsden provides them with some feral kids, who refuse to be lovable. Good to see, too, that Hell finally comes under suspicion. Lower key action sequences but still very exciting. Has anyone done a body count for these books? It'd be bloody high.
Book review - "Burning for Revenge" by John Marsden
A natural follow on from "Darkness Be My Friend" has added doses of death and destruction for those who didn't quite get their fill in the last book. Its very 80s Stallone in a lot of ways. One of the characters has a major mental break down and I was fully expecting him to be the regulation victim, but no - doesn't happen. Another excellent book - they're all good.
Book review - "Darkness Be My Friend" by John Marsden
Book 4 of the tomorrow series marks a new phase of the books as the gang go on another mission. This works less well as a stand alone - it is really one part of a two parter, with "Burning for Revenge" being part 2.
There is some good stuff here, the main one being it is a bit grown up. If the group have been a bit too successful for realism's sake in the previous books, well, here they aren't and it works very well. The Ellie Lee love story started getting boring around now.
There is some good stuff here, the main one being it is a bit grown up. If the group have been a bit too successful for realism's sake in the previous books, well, here they aren't and it works very well. The Ellie Lee love story started getting boring around now.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Book review - "Third Day, the Frost" by John Marsden
Book 3 in the Tomorrow series sees our gang tackle Cobbler's Bay. There is the usual formula of blowing something up then something really bad happening - only here its out of order. The quisling Major Harvey returns, allowing Marsden to create his first real villain of the piece. He is cagey about the actual enemy, but with Harvey he cuts loose creating a truly loathesome figure. Harvey is a deputy school principal so ex teacher Marsden is presumably setting a few scores! The ending of the book is such that the series could come to an end, in a way, but there were four more.
Movie review - Corman #37 - "The Terror" (1963) ** 1/2
I'm sorry, but how can you not love The Terror? It's got everything - built on a left over set for The Raven, two days shooting with Boris Karloff, a few other days chucked in, Roger Corman directing, a crew that included Francis Coppola and Monte Heller, Jack Nicholson as a Napoleon officer, a climax with a flood instead of a fire... It's great!I’m surprised how much of this has remained fresh in my mind over the years: the opening sequence of Jack Nicholson in a French uniform on a beach chasing a beautiful woman around; Nicholson waking up in a village with a raven; Nicholson telling Karloff how his father got his head chopped off the flooding at the end; the raven attacking the softly spoken guy; the shock ending.
Although this wasn’t based on a Poe story, it features elements from the Poe movie – a young man arrives at a castle inhabited by an old noble; there’s a creepy servant and a beautiful young woman who may or may not be dead, plus lots of atmosphere and walking around dark corridors, and a climax that involves a woman dying.
Nicholson is very contemporary and American but he’s got charisma, looks and that great voice – he’s far and away the best of the male juveniles in the Poe cycle films (not that big an accomplishment, admittedly, up against Mark Damon, Richard Ney and John Kerr). Sandra Knight is a gorgeous stunner, Dick Miller entertaining with his accent, and Boris Karloff good value as always.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Movie review - Corman #36 - "The Raven" (1963) ***
Good fun Corman-AIP-Poe film which was done as a comedy but is still quite scary, mainly because it is set mostly at night among big deserted castles. Wonderful spooky atmosphere, with curtains, and magic, and a never-never land setting (the abence of many cast members add to this).Vincent Price is a talented magician and sappy human who is lured to Boris Karloff's castle. The two of them are worthy antagonists. Peter Lorre has a lively time as another magician - he ad libbed some of his dialogue, see if you can tell where. Jack Nicholson plays Lorre's son! It is a bit creaky here and there but is generally good fun with a clever magicians duel at the end.
Book review - "John Watson" by Ross McMullin
John Watson led the first Labor government in any country in the world, a few months in 1904. He has been the subject of a few books. This is a nice short one which covers the very short reign of the government. Although Watson was not in power for long, government was important because it showed that Labor could rule without the sky falling in. It also gave cabinet experience to two future PMs, Andrew Fisher and Billy Hughes.
Watson himself is a shadowy figure - nice, courteous, decent, etc. Actually "dull" is a little more accurate than "shadowy". Some of his rivals like the rascal George Reid and the rumbuctuous Bill Hughes come across as far more lively on the page. Maybe Watson really was like this. But when the author mentions Watson crossed the floor with Hughes following the conscription split, it came as a shock, which it mightn't if a bit more focus in the book was on his personality.
Nonetheless, a concise and well written book about an important period in our history.
Watson himself is a shadowy figure - nice, courteous, decent, etc. Actually "dull" is a little more accurate than "shadowy". Some of his rivals like the rascal George Reid and the rumbuctuous Bill Hughes come across as far more lively on the page. Maybe Watson really was like this. But when the author mentions Watson crossed the floor with Hughes following the conscription split, it came as a shock, which it mightn't if a bit more focus in the book was on his personality.
Nonetheless, a concise and well written book about an important period in our history.
Movie review - "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005) *** 1/2
Unexpectedly sweet comedy about a very late starter in an area of life, painfully shy virgin (Steve Carrell). There are some gross out moments - dick jokes, urine jokes, talking about women having sex with a horse - but the Saturday Night alumni have been shown by Adam Sandler that sweetness and pull them in as much as grossness.
Catherine Keener has a very difficult role - a woman attracted to the virgin. Keener pulls it off - she plays the character as a bit of an aging rock groupie, a single grandmother, so it makes sense that she likes him. This makes the whole film work.
Good work from the support cast, even the little roles like the hen's night slapper the virgin picks up, the woman doing the body wax, the kids in sex class. Many memorable moments - constant use of that guy from the Doobie Brothers in the store, the way the male characters keep getting distracted by the TV during deep and meaningful moments.
Catherine Keener has a very difficult role - a woman attracted to the virgin. Keener pulls it off - she plays the character as a bit of an aging rock groupie, a single grandmother, so it makes sense that she likes him. This makes the whole film work.
Good work from the support cast, even the little roles like the hen's night slapper the virgin picks up, the woman doing the body wax, the kids in sex class. Many memorable moments - constant use of that guy from the Doobie Brothers in the store, the way the male characters keep getting distracted by the TV during deep and meaningful moments.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Book review - "The Dead of the Night" by John Marsden
Book two of the Tomorrow series is even darker and more hard core - the kids kill soliders up close, and start having sex. The main plot concerns running into some fellow guerillas and blowing some stuff up. I found it rivetting, and read it almost in one sitting. New Zealand are coming to the rescue! So, too, are New Guinea, which is sweet - and probably added by Marsden so that we don't think the enemy country are Indonesia.
Book review - "Flying Through Hollywood by the Seat of My Pants" by Sam Arkoff
Hugely entertaining memoirs from one of the founders of AIP. Well, hugely entertaining if you love AIP films like I do. Arkoff is at times a bit defensive about the movies he makes, dismissively talking about arty-farty pictures and auteurs. Some of his stories concerning the Corman films are already v familiar if you've read books on Corman, including his autobiography - but Arkoff is also strong on non-Corman films, working with filmmakers like Bert Gordon and so on.
The book is also strong on AIP in the 70s - not a heavily documented era because by the early 70s Jim Nicholson died and Corman had left. (Mark McGee doesn't pay it that much attention in his history of AIP). AIP still went strongly during those years, though they seemed to be an industry follower now more than a pioneer (eg blaxploitation, kung fu, CB movies). Arkoff did miss out on some big hits, such as Easy Rider and The Trial of Billy Jack - but then he never made a Last Movie or Master Gunfighter.
AIP faltered when he sold out to Filmmways. Arkoff also talks a little about his post 1980s career. He made some films I really like such as Q and Up the Creek, but was not very profilic, certainly nowhere as near as he was with AIP. There is a moral in that for all successful independent producers.
I really liked the book a lot, and any serious AIP fan must read it along with Mark McGee's book.
The book is also strong on AIP in the 70s - not a heavily documented era because by the early 70s Jim Nicholson died and Corman had left. (Mark McGee doesn't pay it that much attention in his history of AIP). AIP still went strongly during those years, though they seemed to be an industry follower now more than a pioneer (eg blaxploitation, kung fu, CB movies). Arkoff did miss out on some big hits, such as Easy Rider and The Trial of Billy Jack - but then he never made a Last Movie or Master Gunfighter.
AIP faltered when he sold out to Filmmways. Arkoff also talks a little about his post 1980s career. He made some films I really like such as Q and Up the Creek, but was not very profilic, certainly nowhere as near as he was with AIP. There is a moral in that for all successful independent producers.
I really liked the book a lot, and any serious AIP fan must read it along with Mark McGee's book.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Book review - "Sir Joe: A Biography of Sir Joseph Cook" by John Murdoch
Few Australian Prime Ministers are more obscure than Joe Cook, despite the fact that he was Australia's PM when World War I broke out. (Andrew Fisher's famous promise of supporting England to the last man and last shilling was made during the 1914 election campaign, which happened soon after the war started). Why is this?In many respects his was an amazing life - fatherless at an early age, into the English coal mines at nine, forbidden to be a preacher because his mum needed him to provide for the family, emigrates to Australia, enters the trade union movement, his capacity for hard work sees him rise, becomes a Labor MP prior to Federation - in effect the first Labor leader. He broke from the party in around 1895 when he was annoyed at the emergence of Caucus system who wanted to tell MPs what to do (as an elected MP this annoyed Cook). He aligned himself with George Reid's free traders, then was part of the Fusion (Free Traders and Protectionists - now THERE's a natural alliance), then the Liberals, became leader and PM (by a one seat election victory), then a National, then High Commissioner to London. He changed his opinion on every major issue, such as basic wages, Imperialism, and defence - basically becoming more right wing as he went older.
Why is Cook not better known? First of all Cook was a major mediocrity as a Prime Minister. A hard worker, good tactician, capable minister - as PM he pretty much did nothing, didn't seem to have any ideas, didn't pass any interesting legislation. A man unsuited to the job.
Secondly he was dull. The Labor Party is generally more interested in celebrating the past than convservative parties - one would think Cook might live on as a notorious traitor like Billy Hughes. But Hughes had personality and Cook was dull. He reads well, continually changing allegiances and selling out principles, working his way up from the coal mine - but he was a teetotalling non smoking methodist who seemed to lack a sense of humour. Just plodded along.
Personally I think all of the above make him really interesting and John Murdoch's biography does the subject credit. Was Cook Australia's most mediocre PM? A very strong candidate for it, I think.
Book review - "Emma" by Jane Austen
Finished another tape book, Jane Austen's classic read by Helen Morse. She does a good job, it is quite funny - I have to admit, though, I prefer "Clueless".
Book review - "Tomorrow, When the War Began" by John Marsden
I have to admit I have never read John Marden's book until now - it came out in the 90s when I was at uni. I missed out - this is really terrific, equal to its reputation. I actually "listened" to it on a tape audio book, with Suzanne Dougherty doing an excellent voice work as Ellie. Teenage world and country life brilliantly evoked, non judgmental, doesn't stuff around.
Why hasn't this been made into a film yet? My guess is two reasons. One - a film you'd have to show the enemy. Marsden can write about them and be vague but a film you'd have to see it, and it can't believable really be anyone other than Indonesia or Malaysia. OK maybe China I guess but I can't see the Yanks staying out of China flexing muscles. Maybe India, too - but I think the soliders would probably speak English then. So Indonesia or Malaysia - and with govt funding that's going to create an international incident.
The other reason is the book shows that America does not come to our help - which is totally accurate in terms of the first years of World War I and II. But the Americans wouldn't like to see that and so we lose the American market which I guess is what they're scared of.
But its got great characters, its visual, exciting, moving, dramatic, etc. Come on, what are we waiting for?
Why hasn't this been made into a film yet? My guess is two reasons. One - a film you'd have to show the enemy. Marsden can write about them and be vague but a film you'd have to see it, and it can't believable really be anyone other than Indonesia or Malaysia. OK maybe China I guess but I can't see the Yanks staying out of China flexing muscles. Maybe India, too - but I think the soliders would probably speak English then. So Indonesia or Malaysia - and with govt funding that's going to create an international incident.
The other reason is the book shows that America does not come to our help - which is totally accurate in terms of the first years of World War I and II. But the Americans wouldn't like to see that and so we lose the American market which I guess is what they're scared of.
But its got great characters, its visual, exciting, moving, dramatic, etc. Come on, what are we waiting for?
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Article - They pulled the plug
Recently the papers were full of stories concerning the demise of the film Eucalyptus. Theories abounded: was it the script? Was it Rusty? Was it some ancient aboriginal curse? Any film getting made is a miracle – and even the fact that a film has been greenlighted and has started shooting is no guarantee it will make it to release. Stephen Vagg looks at some famous cinematic chokes
Arrive Alive
This action-comedy script by Mitch Glazer and legendary Saturday Night Live writer Michael O’Donoghue had been kicking around Hollywood for a number of years. Producer Art Linson finally got the film greenlighted at Paramount in the late 1980s with Willem Defoe (coming off Platoon) to star and Jeremiah Chechik (coming off National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) to direct. As the rushes came in, Linson and the studio began to realise that Defoe was miscast and the film unfunny. They pulled the plug during shooting.
Bezhin Meadow
The first sound film from Sergei Eisenstein, which the great director made during the mid 1930s in Russia after his trip to America and the debacle of Que Viva Mexico (also uncompleted). Eisenstein worked on the film for two years before the government stepped in and stopped filming just as it was nearing completion. The plot was about a young boy helping his village defeat a group of saboteurs out to destroy the harvest of the collective farm. The sole surviving print of the film was destroyed (allegedly by a bombing raid during the war; others thought the government had done it). A half hour version exists today, a reconstruction of the film made with some surviving footage, titles and slides.
Bogart Slept Here
By the mid 1970s it was hard to find a more potent, commercial filmmaking team than Neil Simon and Mike Nichols. Simon had an idea for a film about an actor (loosely based on Dustin Hoffman) whose marriage falters when he reaches stardom. They cast Robert de Niro and started filming. It soon became apparent that de Niro (who’d just done Taxi Driver) wasn’t getting the laughs expected from a Neil Simon script and the studio agreed to pull the plug. Perhaps not coincidentally, Mike Nichols did not direct a feature film for a number of years. Simon reworked his script into a happier story, a kind of prequel which ends when Bogart Slept Here began: The Goodbye Girl was a big success that won Richard Dreyfuss a best actor Oscar.
The Day the Clown Cried
In 1972 Jerry Lewis starred in this independently-financed film as a German clown who does some entertaining at the concentration camps – all this years before Life is Beautiful. The film ran out of money towards the end and there has been some disputes over rights. Lewis didn’t make another film for a number of years.
The Deep
Charles Williams’ novel ‘Dead Calm’ was filmed by Orson Welles during the late 60s, starring Welles, Jeanne Moreau and Laurence Harvey. An attempt by Welles to make a more commercially appealing type of film, it was never completed due to problems involving weather, finance and actor availability. The rights to the novel were obtained by Australia’s Kennedy Miller who reduced the story’s original five characters to three and released their own version in 1989 – launching Nickers into Tom Cruise’s bed and on to international fame.
Don Quixote
Orson Welles started filming his version of the famous novel in the 1955. He’d managed to shoot Othello successfully on an on-again-off-again fashion over the years, so why not try it again? His luck didn’t hold for this one and the film remains uncompleted (Welles joked towards the end of his life that he would eventually call the film When Are You Going to Finish ‘Don Quixote’?) Some existing footage was cobbled together after Welles’ death and released in 1992.
The Dreamers
Made on and off during the early 1980s, this unfinished Orson Welles film was based on two Isak Dinesen stories starring Oja Kodar, Welles’ companion in later years. Around 25 minutes of film were apparently shot, excluding retakes. Again, lack of finance prevented completion before Welles’ death in 1985.
Game of Death
Bruce Lee had just made it big on an international scale with Enter the Dragon so Golden Harvest prepared a similar big-budget karate epic with foreign names. One of them was going to be Australia’s George Lazenby; he was set to have dinner with Lee one night when Lee died. Lee’s fans knew he had already shot some great fight scenes for a new film called Game of Death. Enterprising filmmakers tried to cash in with a number of films hinting at some connection with this footage: Goodbye Bruce Lee His Last Game of Death, The New Game of Death, The True Game of Death, Enter the Game of Death (this all was part of the creepy “Brucesploitation” genre of kung fu films in the 70s with Bruce Lee look-alikes). Golden Harvest used original real footage and shot some new one stuff using stand ins and clips from old Bruce Lee films; Game of Death was released in 1978.
Gone in 60 Seconds 2
The original Gone in 60 Seconds was directed by HB “Toby” Halicki, the “car crash king”, who went on to make The Junkman and Deadline Auto Theft. While making this sequel in 1989 he was killed when a pole fell of him during filming. Footage from the film is available on special edition DVDs.
I, Claudius
Robert Graves’ novel brought life in Ancient Rome to life as few others have, and during the 1930s a dream team assembled to turn it into a film: Alexander Korda as producer, Josef Von Sternberg director, with Charles Laughton to star as Claudius and Merle Oberon as Messalina. Filming proceeded at a slow pace, and when Oberon was hospitalised followed a near fatal car crash Korda pulled the plug. Exiting footage was featured in the 1965 documentary, The Epic That Never Was.
It’s All True
During the early 1940s Orson Welles was sent to South America to make a documentary as part of Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbour” policy during World War Two. During filming there was a change in administration of his studio RKO; advance word on The Magnificent Ambersons was not good and Welles became on the nose. He was called back to the USA and the film was not completed. A version was cut together and released in the early 1990s.
Man’s Fate
Adaptation of Andre Malraux’s book set in 1920’’s China was all set for big budget treatment in 1969, starring David Niven and to be directed by Fred Zinneman. MGM then had a change of ownership and the new president James Aubrey pulled the plug on the film only days before filming, claiming they couldn’t afford it. Lawsuits resulted and the film remains unmade.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The curse of ‘Don Quixote’ strikes again! Terry Gilliam had a go at his version of the story in the 1990s. His mega-tight budget and schedule were unable to stand up to unfriendly weather and the strain of having his Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) suffer a heart attack. It did result in the tremendous documentary Lost in La Mancha.
The Other Side of the Wind
Orson Welles’ other great unfinished film was shot during the 1970s, starring John Huston as a film director trying to get finance for a film. Peter Bogdanovich was involved behind and in front of the cameras. Financial problems again intervened and the film was not finished. Footage available to the general public shows Welles was just as innovative and experimental as ever.
Queen Kelly
During the late 1920s, film star Gloria Swanson had moved into independent production and teamed with the legendary director Eric Von Stroheim to make this epic (originally intended to run five hours). Swanson’s lover Joe Kennedy (father of John F. Kennedy) helped provide money. Von Stroheim’s filming techniques saw the film fall behind schedule and with sound coming in it seemed the film would lack a market. Swanson fired Von Stroheim and shut down production. A replacement was bought in but eventually filming was called off altogether. A version was cobbled together released with production stills and photographs. Footage was used in Sunset Boulevard, which starred Swanson and Von Stroheim.
Sheepmates
An outback story from a novel by William Hatfield which started filming in 1934 under director F W Thring. Some scenes were shot on location but the film was never completed.
Something’s Gotta Give
During the early 1960s Marilyn Monroe agreed to star in what seemed to be a sure-fire commercial success: a remake of the romantic comedy My Favourite Wife, co-starring Dean Martin and directed by George Cukor. Marilyn was late on set a couple of times; the studio, 20th Century Fox, were having a horrible time with costs on Cleopatra and decided they weren’t going to take it – they sacked her. She was later rehired by Marilyn died soon after. The film was later remade with Doris Day as Move Over, Darling and was a big success. An excellent documentary exists of the making of the film, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, including culled-together footage of her final film – Marilyn gives an excellent performance (playing an intelligent person, which is kind of weird), and takes a nude swim.
Arrive Alive
This action-comedy script by Mitch Glazer and legendary Saturday Night Live writer Michael O’Donoghue had been kicking around Hollywood for a number of years. Producer Art Linson finally got the film greenlighted at Paramount in the late 1980s with Willem Defoe (coming off Platoon) to star and Jeremiah Chechik (coming off National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) to direct. As the rushes came in, Linson and the studio began to realise that Defoe was miscast and the film unfunny. They pulled the plug during shooting.
Bezhin Meadow
The first sound film from Sergei Eisenstein, which the great director made during the mid 1930s in Russia after his trip to America and the debacle of Que Viva Mexico (also uncompleted). Eisenstein worked on the film for two years before the government stepped in and stopped filming just as it was nearing completion. The plot was about a young boy helping his village defeat a group of saboteurs out to destroy the harvest of the collective farm. The sole surviving print of the film was destroyed (allegedly by a bombing raid during the war; others thought the government had done it). A half hour version exists today, a reconstruction of the film made with some surviving footage, titles and slides.
Bogart Slept Here
By the mid 1970s it was hard to find a more potent, commercial filmmaking team than Neil Simon and Mike Nichols. Simon had an idea for a film about an actor (loosely based on Dustin Hoffman) whose marriage falters when he reaches stardom. They cast Robert de Niro and started filming. It soon became apparent that de Niro (who’d just done Taxi Driver) wasn’t getting the laughs expected from a Neil Simon script and the studio agreed to pull the plug. Perhaps not coincidentally, Mike Nichols did not direct a feature film for a number of years. Simon reworked his script into a happier story, a kind of prequel which ends when Bogart Slept Here began: The Goodbye Girl was a big success that won Richard Dreyfuss a best actor Oscar.
The Day the Clown Cried
In 1972 Jerry Lewis starred in this independently-financed film as a German clown who does some entertaining at the concentration camps – all this years before Life is Beautiful. The film ran out of money towards the end and there has been some disputes over rights. Lewis didn’t make another film for a number of years.
The Deep
Charles Williams’ novel ‘Dead Calm’ was filmed by Orson Welles during the late 60s, starring Welles, Jeanne Moreau and Laurence Harvey. An attempt by Welles to make a more commercially appealing type of film, it was never completed due to problems involving weather, finance and actor availability. The rights to the novel were obtained by Australia’s Kennedy Miller who reduced the story’s original five characters to three and released their own version in 1989 – launching Nickers into Tom Cruise’s bed and on to international fame.
Don Quixote
Orson Welles started filming his version of the famous novel in the 1955. He’d managed to shoot Othello successfully on an on-again-off-again fashion over the years, so why not try it again? His luck didn’t hold for this one and the film remains uncompleted (Welles joked towards the end of his life that he would eventually call the film When Are You Going to Finish ‘Don Quixote’?) Some existing footage was cobbled together after Welles’ death and released in 1992.
The Dreamers
Made on and off during the early 1980s, this unfinished Orson Welles film was based on two Isak Dinesen stories starring Oja Kodar, Welles’ companion in later years. Around 25 minutes of film were apparently shot, excluding retakes. Again, lack of finance prevented completion before Welles’ death in 1985.
Game of Death
Bruce Lee had just made it big on an international scale with Enter the Dragon so Golden Harvest prepared a similar big-budget karate epic with foreign names. One of them was going to be Australia’s George Lazenby; he was set to have dinner with Lee one night when Lee died. Lee’s fans knew he had already shot some great fight scenes for a new film called Game of Death. Enterprising filmmakers tried to cash in with a number of films hinting at some connection with this footage: Goodbye Bruce Lee His Last Game of Death, The New Game of Death, The True Game of Death, Enter the Game of Death (this all was part of the creepy “Brucesploitation” genre of kung fu films in the 70s with Bruce Lee look-alikes). Golden Harvest used original real footage and shot some new one stuff using stand ins and clips from old Bruce Lee films; Game of Death was released in 1978.
Gone in 60 Seconds 2
The original Gone in 60 Seconds was directed by HB “Toby” Halicki, the “car crash king”, who went on to make The Junkman and Deadline Auto Theft. While making this sequel in 1989 he was killed when a pole fell of him during filming. Footage from the film is available on special edition DVDs.
I, Claudius
Robert Graves’ novel brought life in Ancient Rome to life as few others have, and during the 1930s a dream team assembled to turn it into a film: Alexander Korda as producer, Josef Von Sternberg director, with Charles Laughton to star as Claudius and Merle Oberon as Messalina. Filming proceeded at a slow pace, and when Oberon was hospitalised followed a near fatal car crash Korda pulled the plug. Exiting footage was featured in the 1965 documentary, The Epic That Never Was.
It’s All True
During the early 1940s Orson Welles was sent to South America to make a documentary as part of Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbour” policy during World War Two. During filming there was a change in administration of his studio RKO; advance word on The Magnificent Ambersons was not good and Welles became on the nose. He was called back to the USA and the film was not completed. A version was cut together and released in the early 1990s.
Man’s Fate
Adaptation of Andre Malraux’s book set in 1920’’s China was all set for big budget treatment in 1969, starring David Niven and to be directed by Fred Zinneman. MGM then had a change of ownership and the new president James Aubrey pulled the plug on the film only days before filming, claiming they couldn’t afford it. Lawsuits resulted and the film remains unmade.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The curse of ‘Don Quixote’ strikes again! Terry Gilliam had a go at his version of the story in the 1990s. His mega-tight budget and schedule were unable to stand up to unfriendly weather and the strain of having his Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) suffer a heart attack. It did result in the tremendous documentary Lost in La Mancha.
The Other Side of the Wind
Orson Welles’ other great unfinished film was shot during the 1970s, starring John Huston as a film director trying to get finance for a film. Peter Bogdanovich was involved behind and in front of the cameras. Financial problems again intervened and the film was not finished. Footage available to the general public shows Welles was just as innovative and experimental as ever.
Queen Kelly
During the late 1920s, film star Gloria Swanson had moved into independent production and teamed with the legendary director Eric Von Stroheim to make this epic (originally intended to run five hours). Swanson’s lover Joe Kennedy (father of John F. Kennedy) helped provide money. Von Stroheim’s filming techniques saw the film fall behind schedule and with sound coming in it seemed the film would lack a market. Swanson fired Von Stroheim and shut down production. A replacement was bought in but eventually filming was called off altogether. A version was cobbled together released with production stills and photographs. Footage was used in Sunset Boulevard, which starred Swanson and Von Stroheim.
Sheepmates
An outback story from a novel by William Hatfield which started filming in 1934 under director F W Thring. Some scenes were shot on location but the film was never completed.
Something’s Gotta Give
During the early 1960s Marilyn Monroe agreed to star in what seemed to be a sure-fire commercial success: a remake of the romantic comedy My Favourite Wife, co-starring Dean Martin and directed by George Cukor. Marilyn was late on set a couple of times; the studio, 20th Century Fox, were having a horrible time with costs on Cleopatra and decided they weren’t going to take it – they sacked her. She was later rehired by Marilyn died soon after. The film was later remade with Doris Day as Move Over, Darling and was a big success. An excellent documentary exists of the making of the film, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, including culled-together footage of her final film – Marilyn gives an excellent performance (playing an intelligent person, which is kind of weird), and takes a nude swim.
Movie review - "The Night The Prowler" (1978) ***
Two of Australia’s foremost artists have been the director Jim Sharman (Rocky Horror Picture Show, original Australian stage productions of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar) and the writer Patrick White (1973 Nobel Prize for Literature). They had already worked together in the theatre when they decided to team up for this fascinating cult movie about a young woman (Kerry Walker) who claims to have been attacked by a prowler. Flashbacks reveal her oppressive home life, notably her ambitious mother (Ruth Cracknell) and anxious dad (John Frawley), and she ends up donning black leather and stalking Centennial Park.
Very different, especially for an Australian film, and as unique as you would expect from White and Sharman. The first half comes off best, with sharp comic moments, although the final ten minutes are also incredibly strong. Superb acting (the leads all look like they are really related) and always interesting.
Like a lot of White’s work, not an obvious crowd-pleaser but it is worth the effort. This film was shamefully treated by critics on its initial release, which killed its commercial chances on the arthouse circuit. The DVD includes some great special features: an enlightening audio commentary with Sharman and Walker, and an excellent AFTRS short film, Freestyle.
Very different, especially for an Australian film, and as unique as you would expect from White and Sharman. The first half comes off best, with sharp comic moments, although the final ten minutes are also incredibly strong. Superb acting (the leads all look like they are really related) and always interesting.
Like a lot of White’s work, not an obvious crowd-pleaser but it is worth the effort. This film was shamefully treated by critics on its initial release, which killed its commercial chances on the arthouse circuit. The DVD includes some great special features: an enlightening audio commentary with Sharman and Walker, and an excellent AFTRS short film, Freestyle.
Movie review - "The Naked Bunyip" (1970) **
Future historians looking at Australian films of the early 70s would think the whole county was obsessed with sex, and with good reason. This 1970 film is a sort of semi-documentary within a fictional framework. Graeme Blundell is perfectly cast as an awkward market researcher looking into sex in Australia; he investigates such things as pornography, pack rape, strip clubs, homosexuality and prostitutes. Among the people he interviews are Barry Humphries (as Edna Everage), Jackie Weaver, Harry M Miller, a young John Button and Barry Jones.
The film was a hit, one of the first successes of the Australian film revival; audiences were no doubt partly motivated by voyeurism and a desire to see some naked flesh, but the film was also valuable (then as now) as a social document and a plea for tolerance. It is a bit too long.
The film was a hit, one of the first successes of the Australian film revival; audiences were no doubt partly motivated by voyeurism and a desire to see some naked flesh, but the film was also valuable (then as now) as a social document and a plea for tolerance. It is a bit too long.
The DVD has a superb featurette documentary which has interviews with all the main players, including director John B Murray, executive producer Philip Adams, Blundell and Button, among others; it puts the film in the context of the time, including its unique distribution methods (the filmmakers distributed it themselves – an inspirational example for current struggling Australian filmmakers).
Movie review - "The Chain Reaction" (1980) *** (warning: spoilers)
I remember as a kid the poster and trailer for this film scared the shit out of me, with its pictures of men in spooky radiation gear and portents of impending doom. Written and directed by Ian Barry, The Chain Reaction has a very strong central idea, being an action film about the cover up around a leak at a nuclear power plant. Steve Bisley and Anne Marie Winchester make a striking, unique pair of leads, immensely likeable - he's a former racing car champ turned mechanic, she's his ex wife nurse who turns up in leopard skin outfits. They both clearly love spending time with each other, glorying in their naked bodies, having sex, playing music, mucking around. They're like that super couple you knew at high school who never grew up.
There are some effective moments, particularly some terrific car chases (partially directed by George Mad Max Miller who was called in to help when the film fell behind schedule), although too much time is spent on a boring German scientist character instead of our hero couple. Australian conspiracy theory films (eg Ground Zero) always seem to feel a little unrealistic and The Chain Reaction suffers from this problem at times. It also loses focus in the middle - Steve Bisley is meant to be urgently trying to get the message out to the media, but then we cut to his wife and the German walking around the grass as if they've got all the time in the world; then he sits in gaol and chats to Hugh Keay's Byrne for a bit; the baddies chat to them but don't do that many bad things. (And am I mistaken in thinking that
Nonetheless, a highly entertaining film, with an excellent cast that includes almost the entire cast of Mad Max: Bisley, Roger Ward, Tim Burns, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and (in a cameo role, wearing a beard) Mel Gibson.
There are some effective moments, particularly some terrific car chases (partially directed by George Mad Max Miller who was called in to help when the film fell behind schedule), although too much time is spent on a boring German scientist character instead of our hero couple. Australian conspiracy theory films (eg Ground Zero) always seem to feel a little unrealistic and The Chain Reaction suffers from this problem at times. It also loses focus in the middle - Steve Bisley is meant to be urgently trying to get the message out to the media, but then we cut to his wife and the German walking around the grass as if they've got all the time in the world; then he sits in gaol and chats to Hugh Keay's Byrne for a bit; the baddies chat to them but don't do that many bad things. (And am I mistaken in thinking that
Nonetheless, a highly entertaining film, with an excellent cast that includes almost the entire cast of Mad Max: Bisley, Roger Ward, Tim Burns, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and (in a cameo role, wearing a beard) Mel Gibson.
Umbrella provide another brilliant DVD package, with a terrific featurette on the making of the film (Barry, Bisley and producer David Elfick don’t hold back on the film’s problems), trailers, deleted scenes and The Sparks Obituary, a short film by Barry.
DVD review - "Skippy: The First Complete Season" ****
Classic Australian TV series about the Hammond family who live in Waratah National Park which took the world by storm and became our first big time international TV export. 91 episodes were made from 1966 to 1968 and it still holds up brilliantly. Well, it’s hard to be objective when you spent a great deal of your younger years wanting to be Sonny Hammond (Garry Pankhurst) and live in a national park, catch bird smugglers, fly around in a helicopter and be best friends with a super smart kangaroo. The colour photography remains pleasing, the plots still work (smugglers, koala thieves, escaped prisoners, etc) and it remains terrific, albeit very male orientated, children’s entertainment, much better than the 90s PC version, The Adventures of Skippy.
OK so maybe it was a Flipper rip off but it is very strongly Australian, with an Aussie sense of humour and of course the stunning flaura and fauna. The cast included Ed Devereaux, Tony Bonner, and Ken James – but everyone knew who the real star was: Skippy, a kangaroo capable of chatting with humans, knocking out baddies and saving the day. Umbrella Entertainment were the perfect company to do this one; in addition to 39 episodes this DVD has interview featurettes with the show’s two heart-throbs, Bonner and James, a contemporary TV special and a book reading by John McCallum. There are some great stories about the difficulties of keeping Gary Pankhurst’s weight under control, and the problems of dealing with kangaroos.
Movie review - "Phar Lap" (1983) ***
There haven’t been that many biographies of animals, but then few animals captured the affection of a nation like the way champion race horse Phar Lap did in Australia during the depression. Like many notable Australians, Phar Lap was in fact a Kiwi (there is a lovely joke on this in the film towards the end), who came up against the local establishment and opposition overseas during his relatively short life.
This is a handsome, romantic film with a magnificent score and an affection for its subject which makes the film impossible to dislike. The dialogue is occasionally clichéd and unconvincing – mostly exchanges along the line of “he’s a crap horse/no, he’s a bloody champion”, “you’re training him too hard/no I’m not” – and there are the usual flaws of the Australian period film, i.e. villains who sit behind mahogany desks and endless shots of period cars driving in the background.
However, David Williamson’s script is structurally strong and includes some fascinating subplots, such as Phar Lap’s Jewish-American owner (Ron Liebman) taking on the VCR establishment, the trainer (Martin Vaughan) who realises he ultimately had little to do with his horse’s success, and of course the hints that the Yanks killed Phar Lap. Tom Burlinson has an incredibly difficult role, that of Tommy Woodcock, Phar Lap’s strapper, but he pulls it off very well. In fact, all the performances are good, and the film much better than Seabiscuit.
Roadshow have outdone themselves with a superb 2-part DVD, which includes separate audio commentaries from Burlinson and director Simon Wincer, plus an audio interview with Woodcock, and documentaries and contemporary newsreels on Phar Lap. A must for all Phar Lap-ophiles.
This is a handsome, romantic film with a magnificent score and an affection for its subject which makes the film impossible to dislike. The dialogue is occasionally clichéd and unconvincing – mostly exchanges along the line of “he’s a crap horse/no, he’s a bloody champion”, “you’re training him too hard/no I’m not” – and there are the usual flaws of the Australian period film, i.e. villains who sit behind mahogany desks and endless shots of period cars driving in the background.
However, David Williamson’s script is structurally strong and includes some fascinating subplots, such as Phar Lap’s Jewish-American owner (Ron Liebman) taking on the VCR establishment, the trainer (Martin Vaughan) who realises he ultimately had little to do with his horse’s success, and of course the hints that the Yanks killed Phar Lap. Tom Burlinson has an incredibly difficult role, that of Tommy Woodcock, Phar Lap’s strapper, but he pulls it off very well. In fact, all the performances are good, and the film much better than Seabiscuit.
Roadshow have outdone themselves with a superb 2-part DVD, which includes separate audio commentaries from Burlinson and director Simon Wincer, plus an audio interview with Woodcock, and documentaries and contemporary newsreels on Phar Lap. A must for all Phar Lap-ophiles.
Movie review - "Libido" (1972) ***
However buttoned-down Australia was supposed to be in the 50s and 60s, it sure didn’t take them much to let their hair down by the 70s if our movies are to be any guide. Unlike say Alvin Purple, this film uses serious reasons in order for its cast to get their gear off. It comprises of four separate stories, each with a different writer and director; all have an underlying theme of lust.
“The Husband” (Byron Williams) is worried about his wife (Elke Neidhardt) cheating on him; “The Child” (John Williams) watches his governess (Judy Morris) get it on in 1912. “The Priest” (Arhur Dignam) tries to persuade a nun (Robyn Nevin) to marry him, while “The Family Man” (Jack Thompson) picks up two girls the night his wife has just given birth.
The last two pieces are particularly intelligent, well-observed pieces, with excellent scripts from Thomas Kenealley and David Williamson respectively; the directors were Fred Schepsci and David Baker (John B Murray and Tim Burstall directed the other two). The DVD includes some great audio commentaries for each story.
“The Husband” (Byron Williams) is worried about his wife (Elke Neidhardt) cheating on him; “The Child” (John Williams) watches his governess (Judy Morris) get it on in 1912. “The Priest” (Arhur Dignam) tries to persuade a nun (Robyn Nevin) to marry him, while “The Family Man” (Jack Thompson) picks up two girls the night his wife has just given birth.
The last two pieces are particularly intelligent, well-observed pieces, with excellent scripts from Thomas Kenealley and David Williamson respectively; the directors were Fred Schepsci and David Baker (John B Murray and Tim Burstall directed the other two). The DVD includes some great audio commentaries for each story.
Great unmade Australian Films
Great unmade Australian Films
The Sydney Morning Herald recently reprinted a Guardian article about great unmade films – Kubrick’s Napoleon, Welles’ Don Quixote, etc. What about Australian cinema? Are there any unmade masterpieces that have been lost over the years, or have we used up all our good ideas? If the list of projects given development funding by the AFC is any guide there are a probably an awful lot of them out there. Stephen Vagg has a look at some of the better known ones.
Barry McKenzie III
In his autobiography, Barry Crocker said there were plans for a third Barry McKenzie film, where Bazza would take on America. Box office receipts for Barry McKenzie Holds His Own were not quite enough to warrant it – but I’m sure Crocker would be up for another go if anyone could ever raise the cash.
The Boney Series
Arthur Upfield’s internationally popular series novels of about a half-caste aboriginal detective were discovered by Michael (The Red Shoes) Powell when he came here in the 60s to make They’re a Weird Mob. He got Paramount interested in adapting the books as a series of films, starting with The Bone is Pointed. They never resulted, but two TV series did: Boney in 1971-3 (where the title role was played by a Kiwi, James Laurenson, with dark make-up) and Bony in 1993 (where the character was changed to a white raised by aboriginals role and was played by Cameron Daddo). Incidentally, while out here Powell also unsuccessfully tried to make film versions of two other classic Australian stories later filmed by others – Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Magic Pudding.
Breakout
This feature film about the Cowra breakout by Japanese POWs in World War 2 was to have been made by Bruce Beresford in the late 70s under his contract with the SAFC, but he went on to Breaker Morant instead. Kennedy Miller made a mini series on the incident in the 1980s.
Call Me When the Cross Turns Over
Adaptation of the novel by D’Arcy (The Shiralee) Niland was announced in 1964 as a big budget 20th Century Fox project to be filmed in Australia. Niland did the script and Sean Connery and his then-wife, Aussie Diane Cilento, were mooted as possible stars.
Clean Straw for Nothing
Based on the novel by George (My Brother Jack) Johnston, this is a long-standing project of producer Pat Lovell (Picnic at Hanging Rock) and very nearly got made in the 80s with Mel Gibson; Gillian Armstrong was also attached at one stage. As Lovell tells it in her autobiography, a film was on the cards until Gibson hit pay dirt in Lethal Weapon… and we ain’t seen him in an Aussie story since.
The Drums of Myrrh
Sandy Harbutt’s debut feature, Stone, was one of the most successful Australian films of the 70s and it one of the most beloved Australian films of all time, inspiring the terrific documentary Stone Forever (only Mad Max would have as many lunatic fans ). Harbutt’s follow up project was to be The Drums of Myrrh, based on the 1933 novel by Ion Idriess about goings on in the Torres Strait. It never got made and Harbutt has never directed another feature film.
Goodbye Adelaide
Goodbye Paradise was a 1983 film noir set on the Gold Coast; based on a script by Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence it featured Ray Barrett in perhaps his greatest role as the world-weary private eye Mike Stacey. A wonderful film, but not a spectacular box office performer, which is presumably why this mooted sequel (where Stacey goes to the Adelaide Festival) was not made.
King Hit
This proposed feature film attracted a lot of attention in the late 70s due to it’s subject matter: the’75 dismissal of the Gough Whitlam government by Governor General John Kerr. Written by Erwin Rado and Bruce Grant, it was considered by Phil Noyce and then, later, Paul Cox (!). It was to get around potential defamation problems by being about the making of a film about Whitlam. No film resulted; Eventually Kennedy Miller got in first with their mini-series The Dismissal. (Incidentally, British producer David Puttnam was planning on making a film of the 1932-33 Bodyline cricket series in the early 1980s, but Kennedy Miller got in there first, too, with the mini-series Bodyline.)
The Last Bus to Banjo Creek
In the early 1960s, Helen Wilson’s short story was turned into a script by English TV legend Lord Ted Willis (Dixon of Dock Green) about a prim English girl and a sweaty Aussie male travelling through the Outback, finding love on the way – kind of like an Aussie African Queen only without any war. Rod Taylor was mentioned as a possible star in 1964 and for the next ten years he tried on and off to get it made but it never happened.
The Long Green Shore
John Hepworth’s novel based on experiences fighting in New Guinea during the last days of WW2 was not published until after he died in the 90s. Bob Ellis wrote a script, and a few years ago Russell Crowe expressed interest on the film making his directorial debut. The great Aussie WW2 film is yet to be made – maybe this could be it!
Lord Kitcheners’ Little Dummer Boys
Not really an Aussie film but it was to star the Bee Gees! In 1968 this project, a Boer War story set in Africa, was announced but no film resulted, so Barry, Maurice and Robin had to limit their film career to soundtracks.
Mad Max 4: Fury Road
George Miller and Mel Gibson can’t surely need the money but there’s been rumours around on this one for ages (Heath Ledger as Max Jnr? Return of the feral kid?) Apparently it was to start filming in Namibia in 2003 but called off. Now who knows? Check the internet for further gossip.
Mr Burke and Mr Wills
Before the 1985 release of Burke and Wills (not to mention Wills and Burke) this unrelated British-Aussie project about Australia’s most famous bad explorers was supposed to go into production in the early 70s. Based on a script by Terrence Rattigan, Charlton Heston and Trevor Howard were discussed as possible stars.
The Riders
Tim Winton novel which Ray (Bliss) Lawrence was having little luck getting funding for. But it had a happy ending or sorts: working on the screenplay was Andrew Bovell, and Lawrence went to see Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues one night and that eventually became Lantana.
Robbery Under Arms
Rolfe Bolderwood’s classic novel has been filmed several times, never entirely satisfactorily – 1907, 1911, 1920, 1957 and 1985. Ken G Hall, whose Cinesound Studios dominated local production before World War 2, had dreamt of filming this since the 1930s but could never make it happen: problems with rights, question of the ban on bushranger films, etc. He kept on trying after WW2, attempting to do a co-production with Rank. It eventually fell through; Rank went ahead and made their own version in 1957 which despite expat legend Peter Finch in the lead fell a bit flat.
The Siege of Sydney
A project floated by Brian (The Man from Hong Kong, BMX Bandits) Trenchard-Smith in the late 70s about rogue CIA agents who threaten Sydney with destruction – years before The Rock. The hero was to be a politician based on Neville Wran, so government co-operation couldn’t have been the reason why this didn’t happen.
Sweetlip
Another Ray Lawrence project that couldn’t get up in the late 80s and early 90s. Robert Drewe wrote the script based on one of his short stories and Sam Neill was attached to star. They almost got funding – then Sam Neill pulled out.
The Thorn Birds
The blockbuster success of Colleen McCulloch’s novel inevitably attracted the attention of Hollywood who, after original director Herbert Ross left the project, approached none other than Peter Weir to direct it. In the end he turned it down and made Gallipoli instead. One is intrigued to think of what Weir would have done with The Thorn Birds; as it was the novel was subsequently turned into a highly successful mini series that shot in Hawaii and had no Aussies except Bryan Brown.
Something Great
Every couple of years someone promises to make a film about Les Darcy. This effort came in the late 80s courtesy of Frank Howson and Jonathan Hardy, with Richard Franklin mentioned as a possible director. Howson later tried to get it done as a mini series with Pino Amenta attached; it didn’t happen and Howson and Amenta made Boulevard of Broken Dreams instead.
Total Recall
Before Arnie and Paul Verhoven came along this was to have been an Aussie movie. Well, made in Australia anyway - with Bruce Beresford as director and starring Patrick Swayze. It was to be one of the first productions at the Gold Coast film studio built by Dino de Laurentis in the 1980s which later became Warner Brothers Movie World. De Laurentis’ finances were never that great at this time and in hindsight it is not that surprising the project didn’t go ahead.
Tracks
Robyn Davidson wrote a book about her experience crossing the Australian desert with four camels. In the late 1980s Ray Lawrence tried to get this up. At one stage Julia Roberts was mentioned as being interested in the project.
The Unknown Industrial Prisoner
Film version of David Ireland’s novel was to have been the first feature film made by Film Australia, with director Arch Nicholson and producer Richard Mason attached. In 1978 Minister for Home Affairs John Ellicot stepped in and the film was not made despite having been approved by the board of the Australian Film Commission (the script dealt with industrial relations and foreign ownership issues). This decision led to the Australian Film Commission's Act being amended to require ministers to table their reasons for blocking film proposals.
Voss
A multi-million dollar film of Patrick White’s novel was a dream of Harry M Miller in the 70s, and it very nearly happened. Ken Russell (Women in Love) then Joseph Losey (The Caretaker) were to direct. The big budget and troubles with unions were among the reasons why it did not proceed.
The Year My Voice Broke III (for lack of a better title)
John Duigan always intended his highly successful The Year My Voice Broke to be the first part of a trilogy. After Flirting, however, no third film has resulted. In the late 90s, Duigan said he intended to do a third part of the trilogy and had “half-written” several versions, one being set in Paris in 1968 and one set in Kenya and Uganda. Noah Taylor is probably too old now.
The Sydney Morning Herald recently reprinted a Guardian article about great unmade films – Kubrick’s Napoleon, Welles’ Don Quixote, etc. What about Australian cinema? Are there any unmade masterpieces that have been lost over the years, or have we used up all our good ideas? If the list of projects given development funding by the AFC is any guide there are a probably an awful lot of them out there. Stephen Vagg has a look at some of the better known ones.
Barry McKenzie III
In his autobiography, Barry Crocker said there were plans for a third Barry McKenzie film, where Bazza would take on America. Box office receipts for Barry McKenzie Holds His Own were not quite enough to warrant it – but I’m sure Crocker would be up for another go if anyone could ever raise the cash.
The Boney Series
Arthur Upfield’s internationally popular series novels of about a half-caste aboriginal detective were discovered by Michael (The Red Shoes) Powell when he came here in the 60s to make They’re a Weird Mob. He got Paramount interested in adapting the books as a series of films, starting with The Bone is Pointed. They never resulted, but two TV series did: Boney in 1971-3 (where the title role was played by a Kiwi, James Laurenson, with dark make-up) and Bony in 1993 (where the character was changed to a white raised by aboriginals role and was played by Cameron Daddo). Incidentally, while out here Powell also unsuccessfully tried to make film versions of two other classic Australian stories later filmed by others – Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Magic Pudding.
Breakout
This feature film about the Cowra breakout by Japanese POWs in World War 2 was to have been made by Bruce Beresford in the late 70s under his contract with the SAFC, but he went on to Breaker Morant instead. Kennedy Miller made a mini series on the incident in the 1980s.
Call Me When the Cross Turns Over
Adaptation of the novel by D’Arcy (The Shiralee) Niland was announced in 1964 as a big budget 20th Century Fox project to be filmed in Australia. Niland did the script and Sean Connery and his then-wife, Aussie Diane Cilento, were mooted as possible stars.
Clean Straw for Nothing
Based on the novel by George (My Brother Jack) Johnston, this is a long-standing project of producer Pat Lovell (Picnic at Hanging Rock) and very nearly got made in the 80s with Mel Gibson; Gillian Armstrong was also attached at one stage. As Lovell tells it in her autobiography, a film was on the cards until Gibson hit pay dirt in Lethal Weapon… and we ain’t seen him in an Aussie story since.
The Drums of Myrrh
Sandy Harbutt’s debut feature, Stone, was one of the most successful Australian films of the 70s and it one of the most beloved Australian films of all time, inspiring the terrific documentary Stone Forever (only Mad Max would have as many lunatic fans ). Harbutt’s follow up project was to be The Drums of Myrrh, based on the 1933 novel by Ion Idriess about goings on in the Torres Strait. It never got made and Harbutt has never directed another feature film.
Goodbye Adelaide
Goodbye Paradise was a 1983 film noir set on the Gold Coast; based on a script by Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence it featured Ray Barrett in perhaps his greatest role as the world-weary private eye Mike Stacey. A wonderful film, but not a spectacular box office performer, which is presumably why this mooted sequel (where Stacey goes to the Adelaide Festival) was not made.
King Hit
This proposed feature film attracted a lot of attention in the late 70s due to it’s subject matter: the’75 dismissal of the Gough Whitlam government by Governor General John Kerr. Written by Erwin Rado and Bruce Grant, it was considered by Phil Noyce and then, later, Paul Cox (!). It was to get around potential defamation problems by being about the making of a film about Whitlam. No film resulted; Eventually Kennedy Miller got in first with their mini-series The Dismissal. (Incidentally, British producer David Puttnam was planning on making a film of the 1932-33 Bodyline cricket series in the early 1980s, but Kennedy Miller got in there first, too, with the mini-series Bodyline.)
The Last Bus to Banjo Creek
In the early 1960s, Helen Wilson’s short story was turned into a script by English TV legend Lord Ted Willis (Dixon of Dock Green) about a prim English girl and a sweaty Aussie male travelling through the Outback, finding love on the way – kind of like an Aussie African Queen only without any war. Rod Taylor was mentioned as a possible star in 1964 and for the next ten years he tried on and off to get it made but it never happened.
The Long Green Shore
John Hepworth’s novel based on experiences fighting in New Guinea during the last days of WW2 was not published until after he died in the 90s. Bob Ellis wrote a script, and a few years ago Russell Crowe expressed interest on the film making his directorial debut. The great Aussie WW2 film is yet to be made – maybe this could be it!
Lord Kitcheners’ Little Dummer Boys
Not really an Aussie film but it was to star the Bee Gees! In 1968 this project, a Boer War story set in Africa, was announced but no film resulted, so Barry, Maurice and Robin had to limit their film career to soundtracks.
Mad Max 4: Fury Road
George Miller and Mel Gibson can’t surely need the money but there’s been rumours around on this one for ages (Heath Ledger as Max Jnr? Return of the feral kid?) Apparently it was to start filming in Namibia in 2003 but called off. Now who knows? Check the internet for further gossip.
Mr Burke and Mr Wills
Before the 1985 release of Burke and Wills (not to mention Wills and Burke) this unrelated British-Aussie project about Australia’s most famous bad explorers was supposed to go into production in the early 70s. Based on a script by Terrence Rattigan, Charlton Heston and Trevor Howard were discussed as possible stars.
The Riders
Tim Winton novel which Ray (Bliss) Lawrence was having little luck getting funding for. But it had a happy ending or sorts: working on the screenplay was Andrew Bovell, and Lawrence went to see Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues one night and that eventually became Lantana.
Robbery Under Arms
Rolfe Bolderwood’s classic novel has been filmed several times, never entirely satisfactorily – 1907, 1911, 1920, 1957 and 1985. Ken G Hall, whose Cinesound Studios dominated local production before World War 2, had dreamt of filming this since the 1930s but could never make it happen: problems with rights, question of the ban on bushranger films, etc. He kept on trying after WW2, attempting to do a co-production with Rank. It eventually fell through; Rank went ahead and made their own version in 1957 which despite expat legend Peter Finch in the lead fell a bit flat.
The Siege of Sydney
A project floated by Brian (The Man from Hong Kong, BMX Bandits) Trenchard-Smith in the late 70s about rogue CIA agents who threaten Sydney with destruction – years before The Rock. The hero was to be a politician based on Neville Wran, so government co-operation couldn’t have been the reason why this didn’t happen.
Sweetlip
Another Ray Lawrence project that couldn’t get up in the late 80s and early 90s. Robert Drewe wrote the script based on one of his short stories and Sam Neill was attached to star. They almost got funding – then Sam Neill pulled out.
The Thorn Birds
The blockbuster success of Colleen McCulloch’s novel inevitably attracted the attention of Hollywood who, after original director Herbert Ross left the project, approached none other than Peter Weir to direct it. In the end he turned it down and made Gallipoli instead. One is intrigued to think of what Weir would have done with The Thorn Birds; as it was the novel was subsequently turned into a highly successful mini series that shot in Hawaii and had no Aussies except Bryan Brown.
Something Great
Every couple of years someone promises to make a film about Les Darcy. This effort came in the late 80s courtesy of Frank Howson and Jonathan Hardy, with Richard Franklin mentioned as a possible director. Howson later tried to get it done as a mini series with Pino Amenta attached; it didn’t happen and Howson and Amenta made Boulevard of Broken Dreams instead.
Total Recall
Before Arnie and Paul Verhoven came along this was to have been an Aussie movie. Well, made in Australia anyway - with Bruce Beresford as director and starring Patrick Swayze. It was to be one of the first productions at the Gold Coast film studio built by Dino de Laurentis in the 1980s which later became Warner Brothers Movie World. De Laurentis’ finances were never that great at this time and in hindsight it is not that surprising the project didn’t go ahead.
Tracks
Robyn Davidson wrote a book about her experience crossing the Australian desert with four camels. In the late 1980s Ray Lawrence tried to get this up. At one stage Julia Roberts was mentioned as being interested in the project.
The Unknown Industrial Prisoner
Film version of David Ireland’s novel was to have been the first feature film made by Film Australia, with director Arch Nicholson and producer Richard Mason attached. In 1978 Minister for Home Affairs John Ellicot stepped in and the film was not made despite having been approved by the board of the Australian Film Commission (the script dealt with industrial relations and foreign ownership issues). This decision led to the Australian Film Commission's Act being amended to require ministers to table their reasons for blocking film proposals.
Voss
A multi-million dollar film of Patrick White’s novel was a dream of Harry M Miller in the 70s, and it very nearly happened. Ken Russell (Women in Love) then Joseph Losey (The Caretaker) were to direct. The big budget and troubles with unions were among the reasons why it did not proceed.
The Year My Voice Broke III (for lack of a better title)
John Duigan always intended his highly successful The Year My Voice Broke to be the first part of a trilogy. After Flirting, however, no third film has resulted. In the late 90s, Duigan said he intended to do a third part of the trilogy and had “half-written” several versions, one being set in Paris in 1968 and one set in Kenya and Uganda. Noah Taylor is probably too old now.
Mini series review - "Bodyline" (1983) *****
Kennedy Miller’s TV mini series classic about what remains still the most famous test match series in history: the 1932-33 Australia vs England series, where tough Pommy captain Douglas Jardine (Hugo Weaving, in a star making performance) concocts a strategy that came to be known as ‘bodyline’, whereby England’s fast bowlers, led by Harold Larwood (Jim Holt), would aim their deliveries at the batsman’s body. The strategy was devised to combat the batting ruthlessness of Australia’s Don Bradman (Gary Sweet, very charismatic); it succeeded, but at great cost.
The long running time (330 minutes) enables Kennedy Miller to really explore the game of cricket at the time – not just the rules (wittily explained for the novice via a non-cricket character) but the myths and archetypes that around it. England’s cricketers are show to be a combination of upper class twits, ruthless aristocrats, and forelock-tugging coal miners; the Australians are democratic, down-to-earth, and incapable of reading French menus.
Stirring stuff, very well done, with lots of humour, intelligence and good acting in amidst the run-scoring montages. The series has come under criticism for some factual errors, some of which is fair enough (Bill O’Reilly’s contributions are barely mentioned, Jessie Bradman consoles Don after getting a duck – on his way back to the dressing room!) but a lot is simple nitpicking (eg. David Firth’s comments in the recent book, Bodyline Autopsy). It’s certainly no less accurate than most cricket autobiographies you read, and they get a lot of it right. Deduct two stars if you don’t like cricket.
The long running time (330 minutes) enables Kennedy Miller to really explore the game of cricket at the time – not just the rules (wittily explained for the novice via a non-cricket character) but the myths and archetypes that around it. England’s cricketers are show to be a combination of upper class twits, ruthless aristocrats, and forelock-tugging coal miners; the Australians are democratic, down-to-earth, and incapable of reading French menus.
Stirring stuff, very well done, with lots of humour, intelligence and good acting in amidst the run-scoring montages. The series has come under criticism for some factual errors, some of which is fair enough (Bill O’Reilly’s contributions are barely mentioned, Jessie Bradman consoles Don after getting a duck – on his way back to the dressing room!) but a lot is simple nitpicking (eg. David Firth’s comments in the recent book, Bodyline Autopsy). It’s certainly no less accurate than most cricket autobiographies you read, and they get a lot of it right. Deduct two stars if you don’t like cricket.
Mini series review - "Bangkok Hilton" (1989) ****
Kennedy Miller’s last mini series of the 80s was a fitting end to a great collection of programs. After having dealt with such quintessential Aussie subjects as war, cricket and the outback, Kennedy Miller here tackle a more contemporary aspect of Australian society: namely, being wrongly accused of drug smuggling in a third world country. Nicole Kidman, in a star-making performance, plays a shy girl whose dodgy con man boyfriend (Jerome Ehlders) makes her unknowingly carry some smack at Bangkok airport and does the bolt when the cops arrive. She winds up in prison and it’s up to her estranged father (Denholm Elliott, excellent as always) and a lawyer (Hugo Weaving) to get her out.
Screenwriter Terry Hayes piles on everything but the kitchen sink to get a response - nasty gaol wardens, disgraced army captains, oppressive mother figures a la Now Voyager, mansions in the middle of nowhere, sex, heroin addicts who only smuggle to help their retarded brother - but it is all extremely entertaining, ending with a thrilling climax and touching resolution. The performances are all excellent (though I don’t think a single Thai character is portrayed sympathetically), as is Ken Cameron’s direction. Sets a high standard to be matched if ever Shapelle Corby wanted to do a telemovie, and makes one wish (yet again) that Kennedy Miller would go back to making television.
Screenwriter Terry Hayes piles on everything but the kitchen sink to get a response - nasty gaol wardens, disgraced army captains, oppressive mother figures a la Now Voyager, mansions in the middle of nowhere, sex, heroin addicts who only smuggle to help their retarded brother - but it is all extremely entertaining, ending with a thrilling climax and touching resolution. The performances are all excellent (though I don’t think a single Thai character is portrayed sympathetically), as is Ken Cameron’s direction. Sets a high standard to be matched if ever Shapelle Corby wanted to do a telemovie, and makes one wish (yet again) that Kennedy Miller would go back to making television.
Movie review - "Bliss" (1985) ***
Stunning Australian film that garnered much controversy on its initial release. It suffered mass walk outs on its screening at Cannes and was unable to find a distributor, yet also won a swag of AFIs and enjoyed a healthy run in the cinemas.
What upset the Frenchies so much? Bliss is about a middle aged man, Harry Joy (Barry Otto, in the role that made him a kind-of star) who recovers from a heart attack to find his wife (Lynette Curran) unfaithful, his son (Miles Buchanan) a drug dealer, and his daughter (Gia Carides) a coke addict who performs sexual favours on the son in exchange for drugs. Harry freaks out for a bit but subsequently finds happiness in the arms of a sexy young hippy (Helen Jones).
While this synopsis makes the film sound like something you would see at the STC starring Gary MacDonald, you’re not reckoning with the brilliance of its execution. The acting is terrific (particularly Buchanan), the script (by Peter Carey and director Ray Lawrence based on Carey’s book), is consistently inventive and imaginative, the visual images dazzling, the emotional pull of the film powerful. Many memorable scenes: the opening sequence of the woman on the boat, an elephant sitting on a car, cockroaches bursting from a chest, fish bursting from… well, see it to find out. The second half is a little repetitive (the scenes at the hospital), but the film recovers for a strong finale. Why did it take Lawrence 15 years to make another film?
The first-rate DVD package including commentary from Lawrence and producer Tony Buckley and Lawrence’s (much shorter) directors cut. Roadshow again throw in a short film from AFTRS instead of something more appropriate, like some of Lawrence’s ads.
What upset the Frenchies so much? Bliss is about a middle aged man, Harry Joy (Barry Otto, in the role that made him a kind-of star) who recovers from a heart attack to find his wife (Lynette Curran) unfaithful, his son (Miles Buchanan) a drug dealer, and his daughter (Gia Carides) a coke addict who performs sexual favours on the son in exchange for drugs. Harry freaks out for a bit but subsequently finds happiness in the arms of a sexy young hippy (Helen Jones).
While this synopsis makes the film sound like something you would see at the STC starring Gary MacDonald, you’re not reckoning with the brilliance of its execution. The acting is terrific (particularly Buchanan), the script (by Peter Carey and director Ray Lawrence based on Carey’s book), is consistently inventive and imaginative, the visual images dazzling, the emotional pull of the film powerful. Many memorable scenes: the opening sequence of the woman on the boat, an elephant sitting on a car, cockroaches bursting from a chest, fish bursting from… well, see it to find out. The second half is a little repetitive (the scenes at the hospital), but the film recovers for a strong finale. Why did it take Lawrence 15 years to make another film?
The first-rate DVD package including commentary from Lawrence and producer Tony Buckley and Lawrence’s (much shorter) directors cut. Roadshow again throw in a short film from AFTRS instead of something more appropriate, like some of Lawrence’s ads.
Movie review - Summerfield (1977) ***
The team that made Break of Day – writer Cliff Green, producer Pat Lovell and director Ken Hannam – reunited the following year for this great little thriller. Nick Tate is the new teacher at a coastal town who becomes suspicious about the disappearance of his predecessor. Various creepy townsfolk are played by Elizabeth Alexander, Max Cullen, John Waters, Bud Tingwell (very seedy), and Geraldine Turner (very busty).
Memorable visuals, great score, a brilliant atmosphere (filming was at Churchill Island in Victoria) and top notch acting all make for an underrated gem that still holds up well today – despite some testicular cancer-inducing shorts Tate is required to wear.
Umbrella’s DVD has some great special features, including an on-set documentary made in 1977 and a terrific 50-minute retrospective featurette everyone gets stuck into Ken Hannam, who apparently slagged off the script all the while making it (Hannam, who died in London in 2004, doesn’t appear). There is also discussion in the film’s poor critical reception, the script, and why they film wasn’t entered in the AFIs.
Memorable visuals, great score, a brilliant atmosphere (filming was at Churchill Island in Victoria) and top notch acting all make for an underrated gem that still holds up well today – despite some testicular cancer-inducing shorts Tate is required to wear.
Umbrella’s DVD has some great special features, including an on-set documentary made in 1977 and a terrific 50-minute retrospective featurette everyone gets stuck into Ken Hannam, who apparently slagged off the script all the while making it (Hannam, who died in London in 2004, doesn’t appear). There is also discussion in the film’s poor critical reception, the script, and why they film wasn’t entered in the AFIs.
DVD review - Short films of Peter Weir (1969-72) ***
A must-have for serious fans of the director, this DVD contains four short films that Weir made prior to his feature debut with The Cars that Ate Paris in 1974. His talent and imagination are obvious from the get-go:
Michael, one of three short films that made up the feature Three to Go (1969), starts out with a stunning sequence of Sydney under siege from young revolutionaries (barbed wire and soldiers at Circular Quay!); if the actual story is a bit plodding (an uptight young man is attracted to the counter-culture), Weir’s visuals keep things interesting.
Homesdale (1971) is about a house where people indulge their fantasies: the guests include Graham Bond and Kate Fitzpatrick and there is some comedy, suspense, fantasy and macabre moments.
There are also a two 10 minute films Weir made while at the Commonwealth Film Unit: Three Directions In Pop Music (1971), some filmed performances by some now-forgotten Australian bands, and The Incredible Floridas (1972), a documentary about Melbourne musician Richard Meale’s homage to French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Neither topic really deserved its own documentary, to be honest, but that’s the 70s for you.
No interview or commentaries from Weir on the DVD, unfortunately, but Homesdale has commentary from producer Richard Brennan and actor Kate Fitzpatrick.
Michael, one of three short films that made up the feature Three to Go (1969), starts out with a stunning sequence of Sydney under siege from young revolutionaries (barbed wire and soldiers at Circular Quay!); if the actual story is a bit plodding (an uptight young man is attracted to the counter-culture), Weir’s visuals keep things interesting.
Homesdale (1971) is about a house where people indulge their fantasies: the guests include Graham Bond and Kate Fitzpatrick and there is some comedy, suspense, fantasy and macabre moments.
There are also a two 10 minute films Weir made while at the Commonwealth Film Unit: Three Directions In Pop Music (1971), some filmed performances by some now-forgotten Australian bands, and The Incredible Floridas (1972), a documentary about Melbourne musician Richard Meale’s homage to French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Neither topic really deserved its own documentary, to be honest, but that’s the 70s for you.
No interview or commentaries from Weir on the DVD, unfortunately, but Homesdale has commentary from producer Richard Brennan and actor Kate Fitzpatrick.
Movie review - "Return Home" (1989) ***
Cinematographers don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to turning director (Don McAlpine, Gordon Willis, John Seale, etc); there are of course exceptions, including Ray Argall who also wrote this simple, rich film.
Dennis Coard (later Michael off Home and Away) is a divorced insurance broker from the city who returns home to visit his brother (Frankie J Holden). Coard envies Holden’s simple life, happy marriage and nice kids – but Holden is in a financial mess. Ben Mendelsohn plays Holden’s mechanic with whom Coard strikes up an intriguing relationship.
Not a lot happens on the surface, but there’s a lot going on underneath and it all works beautifully on its own terms. Mandy Walker did the stunning photography, which perhaps has one or two sunset scenes that are a bit gratuitous. Good extras on the DVD, including two of Argall’s short films, deleted scenes and a segment from the SBS Movie Show.
Dennis Coard (later Michael off Home and Away) is a divorced insurance broker from the city who returns home to visit his brother (Frankie J Holden). Coard envies Holden’s simple life, happy marriage and nice kids – but Holden is in a financial mess. Ben Mendelsohn plays Holden’s mechanic with whom Coard strikes up an intriguing relationship.
Not a lot happens on the surface, but there’s a lot going on underneath and it all works beautifully on its own terms. Mandy Walker did the stunning photography, which perhaps has one or two sunset scenes that are a bit gratuitous. Good extras on the DVD, including two of Argall’s short films, deleted scenes and a segment from the SBS Movie Show.
Movie review - "The True Story of Eskimo Nell" (1975) *
An early work from Richard Franklin who went on to become one of Australia’s leading directors (Road games, Psycho II), this was an adaptation of a bawdy ballad and stars Max Gillies and Serge Lazareff as two drifters in nineteenth century Australia who go looking for the legendary Eskimo Nell. It's based on a poem that was apparently famous but no one seems to know anymore (maybe it was bigger in 1975).
Their adventures aren't very interesting - hooking up with some prostitutes, Lazareff bangs Abigail (cue nude sequences), they run into Graham Bond (random cameo), then some nasty people who make fun of Nell (like those who made fun of Lily Langtry in The Westerner), there are flashbacks to how Gillies lost his eye, they run into Nell who is (gasp shock horror) not as hot as we've been led to believe.
It's weird to think why this film was made or how it got funded. It's not really a Western or even a meat pie Western; there's some nudity (full frontal from Abigail) but not much (certainly not as much as say Alvin Purple); it's not very sexy or raunchy; it's not that funny; it's not that poignant; there's not a lot of action. We don't really care about Gillies or Lazareff - why should we? They're not particularly funny or engaging or exciting or attractive; they don't even seem to like each other that much.
According to the informative featurette on the DVD (which makes the film sound better than it is), Lazareff’s role was originally meant for Jack Thompson, who would have been much better. Lazareff isn't that believable as a stud - maybe in real life he had them lined up around the block but there is only one Jack Thompson. He also lacks chemistry with Max Gillies which is crucial since this is a male love story.
The film was controversial on release because the AFDC (forerunner to the AFC) put a lot of government money into what was a basically a rambling sex comedy (there was filming done in Canada!) The film’s failure at the box office helped spell the end of the era of early 70s Australian ocker sex comedy.
Their adventures aren't very interesting - hooking up with some prostitutes, Lazareff bangs Abigail (cue nude sequences), they run into Graham Bond (random cameo), then some nasty people who make fun of Nell (like those who made fun of Lily Langtry in The Westerner), there are flashbacks to how Gillies lost his eye, they run into Nell who is (gasp shock horror) not as hot as we've been led to believe.
It's weird to think why this film was made or how it got funded. It's not really a Western or even a meat pie Western; there's some nudity (full frontal from Abigail) but not much (certainly not as much as say Alvin Purple); it's not very sexy or raunchy; it's not that funny; it's not that poignant; there's not a lot of action. We don't really care about Gillies or Lazareff - why should we? They're not particularly funny or engaging or exciting or attractive; they don't even seem to like each other that much.
According to the informative featurette on the DVD (which makes the film sound better than it is), Lazareff’s role was originally meant for Jack Thompson, who would have been much better. Lazareff isn't that believable as a stud - maybe in real life he had them lined up around the block but there is only one Jack Thompson. He also lacks chemistry with Max Gillies which is crucial since this is a male love story.
The film was controversial on release because the AFDC (forerunner to the AFC) put a lot of government money into what was a basically a rambling sex comedy (there was filming done in Canada!) The film’s failure at the box office helped spell the end of the era of early 70s Australian ocker sex comedy.
DVD review - "Stork" (1971) ***
The first popular success of the Australian new wave, indicating there was a healthy appetite for the right sort of local movie. David Williamson adapted the script from his play ‘The Coming of Stork’, and it was directed by Tim Burstall (who had just received a mauling from Aussie critics over his artier 2000 Weeks and was keen to do something un-respectable and popular).
Bruce Spence gives a bravura performance in the title role, a lanky aspiring revolutionary who torments those around him. Despite Stork’s antics and rhetoric, he retains a charm that makes him worthwhile, and the institutions he takes pot shots at are well work a little debunking.
The second half is a little weak, and viewers might not enjoy the portrayal of women. Jackie Weaver’s performance as a voluptuous, good-natured, easy lay ensured she was typecast in similar roles for the rest of the decade.
The DVD has an excellent featurette on the history of the movie and the play, putting it in context of the La Mama movement at the time.
Movie review - "A Town Like Alice" (1956) ***
Peter Finch and Virginia McKenna play lovers who meet when captured by the Japanese in Malaya in World War Two. This film, based on Neville Shute’s novel, was very popular on release and one of two great “Australian” performances Peter Finch gave in his career (the other was in The Shiralee). The opening scenes, during the Japanese advance, are very exciting and the ending very moving, with Finch and McKenna working together.
A sign of the times: when Finch refers to the station he works on in Australia as having “three men – and nine boongs”. There was an Australian mini-series version of Shute’s novel with Bryan Brown and Helen Morse which was also popular.
A sign of the times: when Finch refers to the station he works on in Australia as having “three men – and nine boongs”. There was an Australian mini-series version of Shute’s novel with Bryan Brown and Helen Morse which was also popular.
Movie review - "Smiley Gets a Gun" (1958) ***
This follow up has the reputation of being a much lesser film, but it is just as good, with the townsfolk being less obsessed with what Smiley gets up to. Colin Peterson took off for England after the first film so Keith Calvert replaces him in the title role; he’s perfectly fine.
The plot involves Smiley’s attempts to get a rifle so he can slaughter the local wild life; there are numerous sub-plots involving Smiley befriending an old crone (Sybil Thorndike), a bush fire, the sinking of a bore, the theft of some gold, a visiting writer (Guy Doleman). Smiley’s father isn’t as much of a layabout in this film but they movie is still fairly cynical about adults.
The film did not do as well at the box office, though, and a planned third film, Smiley Wins the Ashes, was not made.
The plot involves Smiley’s attempts to get a rifle so he can slaughter the local wild life; there are numerous sub-plots involving Smiley befriending an old crone (Sybil Thorndike), a bush fire, the sinking of a bore, the theft of some gold, a visiting writer (Guy Doleman). Smiley’s father isn’t as much of a layabout in this film but they movie is still fairly cynical about adults.
The film did not do as well at the box office, though, and a planned third film, Smiley Wins the Ashes, was not made.
Movie review - "Smiley" (1956) ***
Charming 50s film about the adventures of a mischievous Australian boy in a country town – one of those films where adults are always impressed by kid’s shenanigans (“Oh Smiley, you little scamp, what will you do next” etc). Although a British-American co-production, the filmmakers went to real effort to get the local detail right. Here we have authentic bush locations, and a cast full of local actors in roles – Chips Rafferty, Charles Tingwell, John McCallum, Guy Doleman, with the title role played by a very likeable Colin Petersen (who later became a drummer for the Bee Gees).
The less attractive side of Australian country life is not shied away from: the aboriginal community has been shunted off to an out-of-bounds camp, Smiley’s dad is an alcoholic, the local pub is the source of a drug ring. A big success and followed by a sequel, Smiley Gets a Gun.
The less attractive side of Australian country life is not shied away from: the aboriginal community has been shunted off to an out-of-bounds camp, Smiley’s dad is an alcoholic, the local pub is the source of a drug ring. A big success and followed by a sequel, Smiley Gets a Gun.
DVD review - "Petersen" (1974) ***
The profits of Alvin Purple encouraged Tim Burstall to come up with a more ambitious film: a serious look at the ocker in Australia, in this case an electrician (Jack Thompson, in a star-making turn) who enrols himself at university. Compared to Alvin, Stork and Bazza McKenzie, Petersen is something of a superhero: a former football star who can beat up a bikie gang single-handed, discuss Shakespeare, guzzle beer and have sex not only with a gorgeous tutor (Wendy Hughes) but his wife (Jackie Weaver) and an equally gorgeous student (Belinda Giblin) who he lays on the lawn of the Commerce Building as a protest (uni life seems to have been more fun in the early 70s). So it comes as a bit of a surprise when he turns rapist at the end.
David Williamson’s script, an original for the screen, gets off to a great start but peters off towards the end. Still the film is full of energy and freshness, with a great performance by Thompson. The DVD offers a good featurette on the making of the film.
David Williamson’s script, an original for the screen, gets off to a great start but peters off towards the end. Still the film is full of energy and freshness, with a great performance by Thompson. The DVD offers a good featurette on the making of the film.
Movie review - "The Money Movers" (1979) ****
This 1979 thriller from director Bruce Beresford about the hold up of an armoured van business is a little gem: although it flopped at the time, probably because local audiences got enough Aussie crime on TV where most of the cast for this came, this is a fast-moving, crackerjack heist film. There are some flaws (over the top acting, flares, a slightly unsatisfactory resolution) but the pace never flags and the climax is terrific.
It looks even better now – the pace, the actors, the period detail. Things we used to take for granted, like Bud Tingwell and Ed Devereaux, are now minor treasures. There are some very strong performances, especially by Terence Donovan and Devereaux. Tony Bonner is a weakness and Candy Raymond’s part is undeveloped (though she does find time to go topless). Others in the cast include Lucky Grills (as a security officer) with later Media Watch host Stuart Littlemore (with hair) as himself.
On the DVD special features, Beresford says he doesn’t remember the film with great fondness, which is a shame because its among the best things he ever did.
It looks even better now – the pace, the actors, the period detail. Things we used to take for granted, like Bud Tingwell and Ed Devereaux, are now minor treasures. There are some very strong performances, especially by Terence Donovan and Devereaux. Tony Bonner is a weakness and Candy Raymond’s part is undeveloped (though she does find time to go topless). Others in the cast include Lucky Grills (as a security officer) with later Media Watch host Stuart Littlemore (with hair) as himself.
On the DVD special features, Beresford says he doesn’t remember the film with great fondness, which is a shame because its among the best things he ever did.
Movie review - "The Last of the Knucklemen" (1979) **
The final film from Hexagon Productions, the company set up by Tim Burstall and co. following the success of Stork. This movie, about tough miners out in Aussie desert, may have been better received by the public if it hadn’t followed after Sunday Too Far Away (1975) which seems to resemble at times (though John Power’s original play debuted in 1973) and with which it suffers in comparison. A top notch cast of Aussie actors, including Steve Bisley and Gerard Kennedy, do some really good work. Another good featurette on the DVD.
Movie review - "High Rollin'" (1977) *
Forrest Redlich proved with E Street and its spin off music division that he was a dab hand at making slick, enjoyable entertainment – he learnt a lot since writing this ghastly road movie. Grigor Jordan and Joseph Bottoms are the unlikeable heroes who take off on a road trip to the Gold Coast. There are some compensations – Sherbert on the soundtrack, Judy Davis in her first film role as a hitchhiker who wants to be a hooker. (It’s always nice to know no matter how high-falutin’ Judy Davis gets the Australian viewing public have always got High Rollin’ on her. Like Nickers with BMX Bandits.)
On the short featurette everyone seems to know they made a crap movie, even the director, but they feel awkward about saying so. One of the films that helped kill Hexagon.
Movie review - "Gallipoli" (1981) ****1/2
Stunning Australian film about the famous World War I campaign which looks just as good today as it did in 1915. The opening portions of the film are the weakest (the naivety of Lee’s character is a little insulting to the intelligence of the real Anzacs), and seem mainly to exist to have shots of Mel Gibson and Mark Lee run across the desert.
It picks up with the troops arriving in Egypt (screenwriter David Williamson shows off his skill in evoking the relationships between Australian males), and the final act, in Gallipoli, is all superb – the arrival at night at the beach, the trenches, the joking amongst the soldiers, the unforgettable ending. My own favourite bit: Bill Hunter going to his death even when he doesn’t have to, because he feels he can’t ask his men to so something he wouldn’t. Not a dry eye in the house. A masterpiece.
It picks up with the troops arriving in Egypt (screenwriter David Williamson shows off his skill in evoking the relationships between Australian males), and the final act, in Gallipoli, is all superb – the arrival at night at the beach, the trenches, the joking amongst the soldiers, the unforgettable ending. My own favourite bit: Bill Hunter going to his death even when he doesn’t have to, because he feels he can’t ask his men to so something he wouldn’t. Not a dry eye in the house. A masterpiece.
Good DVD features, done very much with an eye on the education market.
Movie review - "Fantasm" (1976) **
The opening credits roll over the image of a naked woman masturbating – as she builds to a climax a European professor (John Bluthal) walks in the room and starts spurting gibberish. Australia’s most famous soft-core porn film places the same importance on humour as the ocker sex comedies. The professor takes the audience through a number of female sex fantasies, introducing each one with a lecture delivered in a humorous way.
There are ten segments: beauty parlour sex, group sex, food sex (courtesy of none other than John Holmes), rape (by a black boxer – the most unfortunate sequence), lesbian sex (the most genuinely erotic sequence), role reversal, teacher sex, invest, exhibitionism and sex with monk sex. Lack of willing actresses forced the filmmakers to shoot in Los Angeles, though it was made with Australian money and key creatives: producer Anthony I Ginnane, DOP Vince Monton, writer Ross Dimsey and director Richard Franklin. Very profitable on release.
The DVD includes some hugely entertaining DVD special features such as a featurette and commentary (!) from Ginnane.
Movie review - "Fantasm Comes Again" (1977) **
A much bigger budget than Fantasm but it didn’t do as well. The “plot” has a retiring sex advice journalist going over letters with his replacement (played by an actress with the ability of a porn star only she doesn’t take her clothes off).
Locations seem to be the big motivating factor for sex here: there’s sex in a gym, the library, a drive-in, an elevator, a barn, a bedroom (more conventional though its amongst family members to make it interesting), a church, a van (another unfortunate rape sequence), in a pool. Writer Ross Dimsey and director Colin Eggleston used pseudonyms; Ginnane didn’t bother. On ya, Ginnane!
Movie review - "End Play" (1975) **1/2
Tim Burstall made this as a way to keep cash coming in while preparing Eliza Fraser and it's a very solid thriller, with a particularly memorable opening where Delvene Delaney plays a hitchhiker in tight shorts who hops in a car, pashes the driver - then is murdered. We are then thrown into a story about two brothers, one who disposes of Delvene's corpse, and the other who is in a wheelchair... which is more than one thing about this movie that reminded me of Who's Afraid of Baby Jane?
This doesn't have Joan Crawford or Bette Davis - maybe it should have had bigger stars but John Waters and George Mallaby are both excellently cast because both are enigmatic, and could be good or evil. Mallaby was a superb actor - it's a shame he didn't make more movies. These two ensure this is very watchable for the most part; Burstall keeps things moving and there's a suspenseful score from the always-reliable Pete Best, plus prettiness from Belinda Giblin.
However it does go for too long - it needed about 20 minutes cut out, and Burstall in particular loses points for the climax, which is ten minutes of exposition. May have been better as a TV movie or a play, but its an entirely respectable thriller.
This doesn't have Joan Crawford or Bette Davis - maybe it should have had bigger stars but John Waters and George Mallaby are both excellently cast because both are enigmatic, and could be good or evil. Mallaby was a superb actor - it's a shame he didn't make more movies. These two ensure this is very watchable for the most part; Burstall keeps things moving and there's a suspenseful score from the always-reliable Pete Best, plus prettiness from Belinda Giblin.
However it does go for too long - it needed about 20 minutes cut out, and Burstall in particular loses points for the climax, which is ten minutes of exposition. May have been better as a TV movie or a play, but its an entirely respectable thriller.
Movie review - Eliza Fraser (1976) ***
This is an irreverent look at Australian history in the spirit of Tom Jones: Susannah York plays the title role, a real life English woman who was shipwrecked on the Barrier Reef and wound up on what was eventually named Fraser Island. I think "bawdy romp" was entirely the correct approach to take - there is absolutely no reason why this shouldn't worked. And to an extent, it did at the time - the movie was a considerable box office hit. But it's only a half success.
Partly it's because the movie is inconsistent in tone. Most of all it's a funny colonial comedy, with some good lines from David Williamson, and pot shots at the English upper classes - pompous Noel Ferrier (who is terrific, crashing ships and trying to hold on to his dignity as he loses his clothes), rakish John Castle who sleeps with every woman he can (an English actor who actually has the second biggest role, he was a TV name at the time), lecherous gay sadistic commandant Trevor Howard, nasty sailors.
But there is some serious stuff too e.g. the cannibals sequence where some escaped sailors draw lots to eat each other (presumably inspired from the Alexander Pearce story) is played straight.
More troublesome is the character of Eliza Fraser. All the other lead characters are very clear: male slut Fraser, vicious Howard, idiot aristocrat Ferrier, decent convict John Waters. But what about Fraser? She just kind of hangs around and looks pretty. She's kind of up for sleeping with Fraser, then sleeps with Waters accidentally and kind of falls for him and kind of relates to the aborigines... but there is no spirit to her, no drive.
I'm sympathetic to Hexagon's desire to cast international stars - I think it suited the film and the Australian public went to see it more because foreigners were in it. Trevor Howard is spot on, and John Castle is good (even if he was hardly a box office name - they probably should have cast Jack Thompson in this part). But York is bland. You never really get the sense she's having a good time, or is particularly interested in what is going on. Look at her telling the story of her adventures at the end - there is no twinkle in the eye. She's just bland. (I'm not sure Wendy Hughes - Burstall's original choice - would have fixed these problems but she would have been prettier with more spirit. The role really required someone like Glenda Jackson, Maggie Smith or Diana Rigg. Don't laugh but Abigail might have been fun, too. Someone with more life.)
Another problem I think is it cost too much money and the production values aren't that evident. They went all the way to Fraser Island but shot a lot of close ups there - it could easily have been done in Sydney.
On the sunny side it is enjoyable. Also the support cast is terrific: Bill Hunter and Gus Mercurio are perfect surly seamen, Charles Tingwell and George Mallaby as some class, Bruce Spencer is a funny sailor. It's a fun sort of movie you just wish it had been funnier with a better female lead.
Movie review - "The Wild Geese" (1978) ***
Producer Euan Lloyd got together some of Britain’s most notorious boozers for this popular adventure film about a bunch of mercenaries who are hired to rescue a Moise Tshombe-like president from gaol in Africa. Led by Richard Burton, the over-the-hill soldiers of fortune include Richard Harris, Roger Moore, Hardy Kruger, and Ronald Fraser. (Where was Peter O’Toole?)
It’s a terrific story, with humour, excitement, some genuinely interesting characters (the script was by none other than Reginald Rose, of 12 Angry Men fame, who does a fine job) and good action sequences. If the handling by director Andrew (North Sea Hijack) McLaglen is occasionally a bit flabby, well that suits the wheezy cast. This is not the best mercenary film (that honour goes to the 1968 Rod Taylor classic Dark of the Sun) but it is still pretty good, and real life 1960s mercenary Mike Hoare acted as a technical adviser.
There's a terrible over the top syrupy performance by the kid who plays Richard Harris' child, but you know something? This subplot completely worked for me - the doting dad who just wants to be with his son, who can't understand why he has to go off and do work.
Other aspects were good too - Jack Watson's tough sergeant whose wife hates Burton (with good reason - this trope turned up in Dogs of War); the bromance between South African Kruger and the black leader.
Joan “Me Myself I” Armatrading performs the lovely theme song (for which she copped some political criticism, as the film was shot in South Africa and features sympathetic, super-skilled white mercenaries), and Stewart Granger has a nice supporting role as a villainous executive.
The DVD has some fantastic extras: an audio commentary with Lloyd, More and John Glen (a later director of James Bond films who worked on second unit) and a contemporary featurette on the making of the film (Richard Harris says he had trouble with all the marching, Roger Moore jokes it was because “they don’t march in the IRA, you see” then goes on to make a joke about Hardy Kruger goose-stepping).
There is also a documentary on the career of Lloyd, whose other films include The Sea Wolves, Wild Geese 2 and that big skeleton in Judy Davis’ closet, Who Dares Wins. (Someone in the documentary tries to argue Lloyd wasn’t really a right winger… er, don’t think so.)
It’s a terrific story, with humour, excitement, some genuinely interesting characters (the script was by none other than Reginald Rose, of 12 Angry Men fame, who does a fine job) and good action sequences. If the handling by director Andrew (North Sea Hijack) McLaglen is occasionally a bit flabby, well that suits the wheezy cast. This is not the best mercenary film (that honour goes to the 1968 Rod Taylor classic Dark of the Sun) but it is still pretty good, and real life 1960s mercenary Mike Hoare acted as a technical adviser.
There's a terrible over the top syrupy performance by the kid who plays Richard Harris' child, but you know something? This subplot completely worked for me - the doting dad who just wants to be with his son, who can't understand why he has to go off and do work.
Other aspects were good too - Jack Watson's tough sergeant whose wife hates Burton (with good reason - this trope turned up in Dogs of War); the bromance between South African Kruger and the black leader.
Joan “Me Myself I” Armatrading performs the lovely theme song (for which she copped some political criticism, as the film was shot in South Africa and features sympathetic, super-skilled white mercenaries), and Stewart Granger has a nice supporting role as a villainous executive.
The DVD has some fantastic extras: an audio commentary with Lloyd, More and John Glen (a later director of James Bond films who worked on second unit) and a contemporary featurette on the making of the film (Richard Harris says he had trouble with all the marching, Roger Moore jokes it was because “they don’t march in the IRA, you see” then goes on to make a joke about Hardy Kruger goose-stepping).
There is also a documentary on the career of Lloyd, whose other films include The Sea Wolves, Wild Geese 2 and that big skeleton in Judy Davis’ closet, Who Dares Wins. (Someone in the documentary tries to argue Lloyd wasn’t really a right winger… er, don’t think so.)
TV review - "Vietnam" (1988) ****
Stunning mini series from Kennedy Miller about the effect the Vietnam War had on Australian society in the 60s and 70s, as exemplified by a Canberra-based family. Dad (Barry Otto) is involved with the Liberal government, keen to stop the communist menace; mum (Veronica Lang) is a repressed housewife who gets an itch to be liberated; the son (Nicholas Eadie) gets conscripted and finds Hell and love in the Vietnam jungle; the daughter (Nicole Kidman) becomes involved in the anti-conscription movement and learns about sex.
Incredibly well done all along the line – superb acting (particularly from Nickers –what a good actor she can be, much better here than in something like The Hours), sensitive direction, and intelligent writing. Kennedy Miller’s skill in using humour to enliven potentially dreary subjects has rarely been better illustrated, and while the series is sympathetic to the isn’t-it-great-Gough-Whitlam-came-along-and-made-everything-good view of Australian history, other points of view are expressed as well.
Many memorable moments: Brett Climino’s speech about how “we all might die” being used by Nicholas Eadie to pick up chicks, Climino standing on a mine, Kidman’s courtship with draft-dodging John Polson, Mark Lee (Eadie’s army mate) making a speech at the end, Eadie’s work in special forces (led by Tim Robertson, giving one of the all-time memorable Australian performances).
The only scene that doesn’t work for me is the rape of a Vietnamese by some American GIs, which seems like a poor retread of Platoon – interestingly, this is the only scene that doesn’t involve Australians. Funny, exciting, beautiful, touching. One of the best mini series ever made.
The only scene that doesn’t work for me is the rape of a Vietnamese by some American GIs, which seems like a poor retread of Platoon – interestingly, this is the only scene that doesn’t involve Australians. Funny, exciting, beautiful, touching. One of the best mini series ever made.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Movie review - "The Killing of Sister George" (1968) **1/2
Robert Aldrich’s first film for his own company set up after the success of The Dirty Dozen was a return to the same territory as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? In other words, a macabre look at a twisted relationship between two women: in this case lesbians Beryl Reid and Susannah York. This one didn’t make it as a commercial success, despite being based on a hit play and the titillation of the lesbian theme (including a final lesbian love scene between Coral Browne and a topless – nipples and everything – York which really does feel put in for shock’s sake – as opposed to a scene in a lesbian club which feels natural.) Maybe it needed the star power of Bette Davis, although Reid is excellent as the boozy, insecure George. Really, she probably should have been sacked. Maybe it lacked a genuine murder – it feels as though it needed more of a wallop towards the end. Entertaining, though, with some good lines and scenes like when Reid makes York eat a cigar.
Movie review - "King Kong" (1976) ** ½
Big budget remake of the classic doesn’t have the same sense of adventure and wonder. Jessica Lange is gorgeous but her character a bit of a ninny to really care about – Jeff Bridges’ hunky eco-friendly photographer could do better. Charles Grodin needed to chew the scenery more. The ape at times looks half believable other times very fake. Some funny moments and the story is still good – but Kong finding Lange at random in New York. Touching finale.
Movie review - "Less Than Zero" (1987) **
The Bangles’ version of Hazy Shade of Winter gets this off to a good start. Andrew McCarthy is a bit bland but OK as the kid who returns home after a six month absence to find his friend Robert Downey Jnr has gone off the rails. Downey Jnr is good as is James Spader. A strong central situation but not enough plot to justify a feature – too repetitive (Downey being crazy, McCarthy walking around a party watching people party – and it’s not even really that crazy, McCarthy rooting Jamie Getz). Needed some more decadence.
Movie review - Marx #6 - "A Night at the Opera" (1935) ****
Purists prefer the Paramount films but this is probably the best film to introduce audiences to the Marx Brothers. Irving Thalberg at MGM correctly spotted that the brothers’ craziness would work better if they interacted with ‘real people’ (in this case movie real – the simpering Alan Jones and Kitty Carlisle) and were broken up with musical interludes.Groucho is in brilliant form in this one – well, he’s always pretty good but here his material is very strong, which isn’t always the case. Even better Margaret Dumont is back, and by giving Chico the role of Allan Jones’ manager he has a real function to play in the story (again, something which isn’t always the case).
Allen Jones has the Zeppo role; he’s better looking, more masculine, and a better skilled singer than Zeppo – but he’s a bit smug, it’s not very interesting that he feels emasculated when he’s girlfriend is a star and he isn’t, and when he takes part in antics with the gang it’s just not the same. It’s like “go away Zeppo try-hard”. I don’t mind the Marx Bros helping normal people, but to have said normal people take part in routines doesn’t quite work. (NB the everyone-stuffed-in-a-room scene is hilarious – but I think the “changing rooms” sequence is even funnier).
Maybe this is because I loved this film as a kid but I think this is the Marx Bros movie which more than other has a true sense of magic and wonder. Backstage at the opera is like a wonderful playground, where you dress up as extras and chase each other during a performance, and swing on the ropes, and play baseball with violins. And ocean liners are where you go down to third class and play harps and the piano and dance.
Movie review - "On the Beach" (1959) ** ½
The central thesis of this film is very strong – nuclear war has rendered the northern hemisphere uninhabitable, an American sub arrives in Melbourne with the nuclear cloud drifting south. Everyone goes about their business pretty normally even though they’re going to die soon – like, they go to work and everything. No looting or violent riots, just melancholy acceptance, obeying the rules for trout season, and queuing up for suicide tablets. (Wouldn't at least some people be going "Tasmania here we come!") It doesn’t pack the wallop it could have, perhaps they were worried about making the audience feel awful. Anthony Perkins and Ava Gardner play Australians. John Meillion and Ken Wayne play Americans.
Movie review - "Passport to Pilmico" (1949) **** ½
Gorgeous Ealing comedy with a terrific idea and a wonderful script. A London borough discovers that it is part of Burgundy, and rejoice in their freedom from restrictions. Ealing comedy par excellance – plucky Englishmen all banding together in a good cause. I always admired the structure of this piece - what a nerdy thing to say. It's also cute how such an inherently English movie is based around a conceit that it's part of France. The character actor leads all seem to be having a ball.
Movie review - "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984) ***
I loved it when a kid and it still holds up OK. Robert Carradine really lifts the film as the ever confident aspiring party nerd who with more cautious friend Anthony Edwards helps lead a bunch of nerds to triumph. Many strong moments – nerd in the gym, installing cameras in the girl’s house, the party with the Mus, a wonderful climactic moment using "We Are the Champions" (indeed, there's a soundtrack to die for including "Thriller", "Mission Impossible"... was it just cheaper back in the day or did they waste all their budget on music?). Three sequels – three too many. Solid support from Booger, Lamar, the little kid, etc.
Movie review - "The Frisco Kid" (1979) **
Ambling comedy with Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi traveling to San Francisco. He has a number of unsurprising adventures encountering Indians, monks, a robber (Harrison Ford, not quite right), some nasty bandits (inc William smith). Ramshackle and not unentertaining, the funniest bits seem to be throwaway lines. Eg Wilder’s Rabbi came 83rd in his class. Minor Robert Aldrich; his touch is pleasingly (and surprisingly) light.
Movie review - "Four for Texas" (1963) ***
Robert Aldrich didn’t care for this jokey western he made in the 60s, an attempt to reprise the success of Vera Cruz. It is surprising, despite the film’s relative lack of success, because this is a good fun Western made in the right spirit. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin have a good time as the heroes who double cross each other, then team up to fight Charles Bronson.
Bronson’s villain is perhaps little too little a threat: he is bested twice within the first 20 minutes!
The film sags around 30 minutes in, but perks up with the introduction of Ursula Andress at her most sexy and alluring. What a goddess! Some good brawls and good gags. Victor Buono adds his full bellied support.
Movie review - "California Dolls" (1981) **1/2
Robert Aldrich’s last film was a good enough one for him to go out on, though not a commercial success – a bawdy feel good comedy about a girl wrestling team an their dodgy manager. Peter Falk is in good form as the manager and the two girs played by actors never seen before or since are quite good. A simple structure – a series of adventures on the road, ending in the Big Game in Las Vegas. The final match is extremely rousing. But at the end of the day it is about wrestling – it’s not real. Aldrich’s anti-authority element shows in the finale where the girls beat up the ref. Exploitative, too, in parts: in a scene where one of the girls has a cry, Aldrich films her topless in a shower.
Movie review - "Bachelor Mother" (1939) ****
Gem of a comedy with a beautifully structured script from Norman Krasna about a shop girl (Ginger Rogers) who gets mistaken for the mother of an abandoned baby. The story flows logically and cleverly – they tell the boss’ son (David Niven), she keeps up the charade to keep her job, people think the boss’ son is the father. Krasna loved misunderstandings and mistaken identities – there is even a sequence here where Rogers accompanies Niven to a dance on New Years Eve and pretends to be Swedish to avoid embarrassing herself.
Ginger was always good as a shopgirl and she does a few dances; Charles Coburn is a delight as Niven’s tycoon father (they don’t look very much alike!) who gets all blubbery at the thought of a grandson. One of the sweet things about this film is it shows how people turn nice at the thought of a baby: the landlady who helps out, the boss who helps out, etc.
However, Krasna’s world always had a nasty undercurrent (which is why many of his scripts have aged well, the fairytales have a dark side) – Rogers is sacked at the drop of a hat and threatened, she has no welfare support, Coburn makes threats to take the baby away. This is what makes the fairy tale aspects of the story work so well.
Movie review - "The Americanisation of Emily" (1964) ****
Biting satirical comedy, very 60s in the best sense, about a self confessed coward (James Garner) who desperately seeks to avoid battle duty during D Day. Although based on a novel by someone else, the dialogue bears the unmistakable imprint of Paddy Chayevsky, particularly the soaring monologues which are often very funny.
Julie Andrews is wonderful as Garner’s prim and proper lover, as are James Coburn and Melvyn Douglas. Garner always seems a little odd in his film roles – too tall and square headed or something – but he is good, too. The D Day landing scene is very suspenseful. Is it a cop out for Garner to seem to die then to come back at the end? I still can’t make up my mind – it does feel to be a little cop out but it was 1964 and not 1969.
Julie Andrews is wonderful as Garner’s prim and proper lover, as are James Coburn and Melvyn Douglas. Garner always seems a little odd in his film roles – too tall and square headed or something – but he is good, too. The D Day landing scene is very suspenseful. Is it a cop out for Garner to seem to die then to come back at the end? I still can’t make up my mind – it does feel to be a little cop out but it was 1964 and not 1969.
Book review - "Niv" by Graham Lord
Why another biography on David Niven? Sheridan Morley published a perfectly excellent one in the 1980s, The Other Side of the Moon, so is there a need for another one in light of the fact that the Niven most people care about is described in his two volumes of memoirs? After reading this the answer is… kind of.
This book by Graham Lord doesn’t really add much to what we know of Niven from his early life and his years in Hollywood – that is all solidly covered in Morley’s book: his early years, school days, army days, traveling adventures, winding up in Hollywood (where his success owed as much to his social pleasantness as to any ability), rise to stardom, war service, marriage and loss of his first wife, decline in career then comeback with TV, an Oscar and Around the World in 80 Days. Indeed, Morley’s book is better on this than Lord’s: for one thing, Morley is stronger on Hollywood and movies than Lord (though I thought Morley was a little rough on Niven’s films) and he interviewed a large number of stars, many of whom are now dead – Lord quotes extensively from them.
Lord’s book is strong in two areas that Morley’s is not: Hjordis and the daughters. Hjordis was Niven’s second wife, and Morley’s book does say that the marriage was often unhappy and that Niven had affairs and that she wasn’t very attentive in his dying days – but she was still alive when it was written so the punches are pulled. She’s dead now and Lord can get stuck in: she was an alcoholic adultress who made Niven’s life miserable, whom almost everyone hated, even Niven’s kids. A few people say nice things about her but are very much in the minority; most seem to agree with the friend of Niven’s who calls her “evil”. This alone justifies the book.
The second area is Niven’s two adopted daughters, who – unlike his two sons - are barely mentioned in his books and are shadowy figures in Morley’s as they did not wish to co-operate (good on him for respecting their wishes). They co-operated with Lord on this one and come across as nice people who were very fond of their father and apprehensive about their mother.
I enjoyed reading Niv a lot, and Lord has a pleasing enthusiasm for his subject. He is annoyingly weak on films and has an irritating tendency to make bitchy swipes at people, but the book is useful counter-point to The Other Side of the Moon.
This book by Graham Lord doesn’t really add much to what we know of Niven from his early life and his years in Hollywood – that is all solidly covered in Morley’s book: his early years, school days, army days, traveling adventures, winding up in Hollywood (where his success owed as much to his social pleasantness as to any ability), rise to stardom, war service, marriage and loss of his first wife, decline in career then comeback with TV, an Oscar and Around the World in 80 Days. Indeed, Morley’s book is better on this than Lord’s: for one thing, Morley is stronger on Hollywood and movies than Lord (though I thought Morley was a little rough on Niven’s films) and he interviewed a large number of stars, many of whom are now dead – Lord quotes extensively from them.
Lord’s book is strong in two areas that Morley’s is not: Hjordis and the daughters. Hjordis was Niven’s second wife, and Morley’s book does say that the marriage was often unhappy and that Niven had affairs and that she wasn’t very attentive in his dying days – but she was still alive when it was written so the punches are pulled. She’s dead now and Lord can get stuck in: she was an alcoholic adultress who made Niven’s life miserable, whom almost everyone hated, even Niven’s kids. A few people say nice things about her but are very much in the minority; most seem to agree with the friend of Niven’s who calls her “evil”. This alone justifies the book.
The second area is Niven’s two adopted daughters, who – unlike his two sons - are barely mentioned in his books and are shadowy figures in Morley’s as they did not wish to co-operate (good on him for respecting their wishes). They co-operated with Lord on this one and come across as nice people who were very fond of their father and apprehensive about their mother.
I enjoyed reading Niv a lot, and Lord has a pleasing enthusiasm for his subject. He is annoyingly weak on films and has an irritating tendency to make bitchy swipes at people, but the book is useful counter-point to The Other Side of the Moon.
Movie Review - "Shattered Glass" (2004) ****
Excellent version of the true-life story of Stephen Glass, a journo for the 'New Republic' who was revealed to have simply made up most of his stories. Liars and con-men are traditionally presented in films as good looking smooth talkers - this film seems far more accurate, with Glass the sort of person who takes passive aggression to a new high. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he asks a LOT, remembering people's birthdays, praising people, mainly making up the stories just to be liked.
Hayden Christensen is perfect in the role - slightly unconvincing and bland in the Star Wars movies, he is slightly unconvincing and bland here as well but it really suits the role. Peter Skaarsgaard is really good, too, as the unpopular editor whose office unpopularity makes it hard for him to bust the popular Glass - so, too, is Chloe Sveginy. Intelligent, gripping, well made - the sort of film that makes you realise Hollywood can make good films when people of talent are allowed to.
Hayden Christensen is perfect in the role - slightly unconvincing and bland in the Star Wars movies, he is slightly unconvincing and bland here as well but it really suits the role. Peter Skaarsgaard is really good, too, as the unpopular editor whose office unpopularity makes it hard for him to bust the popular Glass - so, too, is Chloe Sveginy. Intelligent, gripping, well made - the sort of film that makes you realise Hollywood can make good films when people of talent are allowed to.
Movie review - Corman #47 - "Von Richtofen and Brown" (1971) ***
A film best known for being Roger Corman's last effort as director for around 20 years - after making it he set up New World and was very busy. It doesn't have much of a reputation, but I really enjoyed it, telling the tale of two pilots, the Red Baron and Canadian Roy Brown. The theme of the film is about the old way, of honour and chilvary and all that stuff as represented by the Red Baron and some British pilots, and the new way of dirtier fighters like Roy Brown. My sympathies were with Brown - nutters like the Red Baron are the ones who cause wars and death more than Brown.
John Philip Law is ideal as Von Richtofen, being a stiff and aristocractic kind of actor who nonetheless has humanity; Don Stroud is good as Brown, too. Some impressive aerial fight scenes and the scenery (Ireland, I believe) is pretty. Apparently the accents were dubbed from American during shooting to ze German in post production.
John Philip Law is ideal as Von Richtofen, being a stiff and aristocractic kind of actor who nonetheless has humanity; Don Stroud is good as Brown, too. Some impressive aerial fight scenes and the scenery (Ireland, I believe) is pretty. Apparently the accents were dubbed from American during shooting to ze German in post production.
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