Author Topic: Australian Cinema?  (Read 31119 times)

aewade90

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #150 on: August 04, 2017, 09:14:08 AM »
Again, unsure of geoblocking or whatnot but there's also https://www.ozflix.tv/ if you're into paid streaming.

colonel_mexico

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #151 on: August 05, 2017, 03:05:00 PM »
Lots of interesting titles on that site, I have a number of them reviewed in this thread.  Sadly, the ones I haven't seen are not available in my country :(
"What do you want me to do draw you a picture?! Spell it out?! Don't ever ask me, as long as you live don't ever ask me more!"

aewade90

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #152 on: August 11, 2017, 05:32:59 AM »
Vinegar Syndrome have released their 2K restoration of Snapshot, which I snapped up as quick as I could. Not enough Australian exploitation films are getting any love release-wise locally; if they're lucky enough to have one, it's generally a very quick and nasty barebones release with little love put into it. Hopefully VS take charge on more stuff like this, especially as Australia's film industry wouldn't be anywhere near what it's like today after the ozploitation boom of this era. Quality of the films aside (and there are some really, really terrible films) they're a true landmark for national cinema.

https://vinegarsyndrome.com/shop/snapshot-ltd/

aewade90

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #153 on: September 05, 2017, 01:28:12 AM »
Watched a little-known film called Stir last night, and boy. Based around the Bathurst 1974 Prison Riot, it features constant cursing (enough so that Scorsese would likely blush) and a healthy serving of police brutality. Bryan Brown (who'd go on to Cocktail and Gorillas in the Mist) is awesomely unhinged, and there's a frankness surrounding prison sexual politics that's not something I expected in a movie from 1980. It's far from revolutionary, but it's a hard hitting film.

Also, the ozploitation doco Not Quite Hollywood is finally getting a blu-ray release with a buttload of new special features in October via Umbrella Entertainment. No link yet, and I don't know if it'll be available outside of Australia, but it's well worth watching if you've ever had a passing interest in Australian genre films.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #154 on: September 05, 2017, 02:23:30 AM »
Interesting sounding film. Is it available on any of the Australian streaming services (SBS, etc)?

pixote

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #155 on: September 05, 2017, 05:01:59 PM »
Bryan Brown (who'd go on to Cocktail and Gorillas in the Mist) is awesomely unhinged ...

Sold! Though I firmly believe the proper reference points for Bryan Brown to be Breaker Morant and F/X.

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aewade90

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #156 on: September 05, 2017, 06:14:48 PM »
Interesting sounding film. Is it available on any of the Australian streaming services (SBS, etc)?

Not that I found - it's available for rent/digital purchase on Vimeo https://www.umbrellaent.com.au/on-demand/3058-stir.html?#search_query=stir&results=13

aewade90

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #157 on: November 24, 2017, 01:42:29 AM »
So apparently Umbrella Entertainment, an Australian label specialising in releasing local films, is expanding to the US for home video releases, starting with Attack Force Z: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmTdMQZFbw

While Attack Force Z is a bit of a footnote in the careers of both Mel Gibson and Sam Neill, it's not terrible. It's just not good, either. But hopefully this is a good step for Umbrella into an overseas market, because they're also responsible for distribution of ozploitation doco Not Quite Hollywood, a large swathe of Brian Trenchard-Smith films including a recent release of The Man From Hong Kong that includes Deathcheaters, Stunt Rock, Kung-Fu Killers, Dangerfreaks, and The Stuntmen all on the same disc, and releases of genre classics like Long Weekend, Body Melt, Road Games, Mad Dog Morgan, and even more "legitimised" Australian film history such as Jedda. One to keep an eye out for, if you've any interest in Australian cinema.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #158 on: August 26, 2018, 07:18:42 AM »
A bit of a bump for this thread and a reminder for me to add some more reviews to it.

Lets see, this year I have seen

Puberty Blues (1981)
Radiance (1998)
Blinky Bill (2015) (twice already)
The Man from Snowy River (1982)
Sleeping Beauty (2011) - Not the story you are likely thinking of
Wake in Fright (1971)
Samsom and Delilah (2009)
Australian Rules (2002)

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Australian Cinema?
« Reply #159 on: September 07, 2018, 06:50:42 AM »
Sunday Too Far Away (1975 Ken Hannam)

Ted Kotcheff's Wake in Fright and this film were made only 4 years apart, they are both about male culture in Australia's outback, both have handsome leads. They are very different in their views about these cultures. Wake in Fright shows it as toxic and self-destructive; while Sunday Too Far Away shows it as slightly problematic, but not that bad.

We are introduced to Foley (Jack Thompson) in the opening credits. We watch as a car speeds along an outback dirt road, hits a blockage on the road, rolls and ends up on the side of the road, wrecked. Foley crawls out, gets his bag and water sack and casually walks on through the vast open wilderness. Foley is not a person to take hardship hard, rather he takes it in his stride. We find out Foley is a gun sheerer, heading to town for work. He plonks himself down at the pub bar and catches up with various people he has known.



Soon Foley and a crew are off into the desert to work on a station. Women are scarce, but this does not appear to phase these men. They work hard and drink hard. Foley oozes calm acceptance of his role as the best, but finds his top position challenged by man in the crew he does not know. Sheerers are paid per 100 sheep shaun and this makes them a competitive bunch. One of my favourite scenes in the movie has Foley and Ugly (John Ewart) standing at a trough in an unspoken competition over cleaning their clothes. By the height of the competition both men are naked and the camera focuses on their wobbling bottom cheeks. The scene might be considered NSFW, but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ass3gBNvuqM

The film does not finish well, it ties up with most of the crew railing against a drop in wages and going on strike. It was not required, I was fine with this just being about a group of sheerers doing their job.

The performances are uniformly very good, and I loved the colour of the film with it's dusty gritty sheen.

Rating: 77 / 100

 

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