Steve Rackman Movies
Blood of Heroes features a sport that you're not likely to see on ESPN. It's called "juggers", and Rutger Hauer is the champion jugger in the post-apocalyptic world; he goes from village to village with his entourage, brutishly taking on all comers. The action culminates in the bloody "league championship." Joan Chen costars as Hauer's apprentice in the film, which was released in Australia as Salute of the Jugger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, (more)
- 1988
This two-part TV movie, produced in Australia, was based on the tragically true story of an Australian teenager (John Polson) condemned to death for dealing in drugs in Malaysia. Part One set up the circumstances which landed Polson and his friend Hugo Weaving on Malaysia's death row. In Part Two, Polson's mother, played by Julie Christie, races desperately against time to save her son from the gallows. She enlists the support of the Queen of England, the Pope, and a large international organization of concerned citizens--but the Malaysian government remains unmoved. Evocatively filmed in Macao, Dadah Is Death had the bad luck to premiere on American TV opposite the highly rated miniseries Favorite Son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, John Polson, (more)
- 1988
Outback Bound is a made-for-TV film tailored to the talents of Donna Mills. She plays a pampered Beverly Hills resident whose cash flow bottoms out. Learning that her late father owned an opal mine in Australia, Mills packs what's left of her things and heads for the Outback. The mine is virtually tapped out, but that won't stop our dauntless Mills. Filmed on location in late 1987, Outback Bound made the syndication and cable rounds in the US in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An evil drug baron rears his ugly head in this sequel to the blockbuster Crocodile Dundee, kidnapping Sue so that Dundee will butt out of the Baron's affairs. Using outback strategy, Dundee attempts to rescue his girlfriend. Reversing the procedure of the first film, the story later takes the hero and heroine from America back to Australia, making Sue the fish out of water. In the interim between the two films, stars Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski became husband and wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, (more)
Professor Harry Bechmeyer (Barry Otto) goes searching for a rare breed of werewolf/marsupial in this satirical horror comedy. With his sidekick Professor Sharpe (Ralph Cotterill), they find Jerboa (Imogen Annesley), and take her to Sydney to appear in a small role in a horror film. Soon members of her tribe disguised as nuns try and rescue the she-werewolf. Olga Gorki (Dasha Blahova) changes into a lupine monster as she pirouettes on the stage of the Sydney Opera House. The feature works as a parody of its two predecessors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, (more)
Accustomed to a simple life in the Australian Outback, a legendary crocodile hunter has trouble adjusting to his new surroundings when an American journalist brings him to New York City. This Australian comedy delivers exactly what one would expect: plenty of fish-out-of-water gags about the hunter's reactions to the absurdity of modern urban life. Though he initially seems rather naive, Paul Hogan's "Crocodile" Dundee soon demonstrates that his natural ways are rather quite well-suited to city life, proving himself equally adept at defeating muggers and charming members of high society. Along the way, as one might expect, a romance develops between the rugged hunter and the hardened journalist, who finds herself enchanted by his down-to-earth behavior. The story is not particularly original, but the film's good-natured humor proved extremely palatable to audiences, as indicated by its worldwide box office success. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, (more)
- 1985
Empty Beach brings Australian novelist Peter Corris' detective hero Cliff Hardy to the big screen. F/X star Bryan Brown plays Hardy, who this time around is hired to confirm or disprove the reported death of a millionaire. Hardy confers with journalist Brian Henneberry (Clifford Tate), who has some potentially explosive evidence -- and who, inevitably, is murdered before he can talk. The trail of evidence runs hot and cold, thanks to a gaggle of suspects and hangers-on who aren't revealing everything that they know. Co-starring in Empty Beach is Anna Maria Monticelli, aka Anna Jemison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Anna Maria Monticelli, (more)
- 1981
Two-fisted Gerard Kennedy plays "Tarzan," the foreman of a central Australian mine who maintains his authority by virtue of his formidable fists. Michael Preston plays "Pansy," a boastful miner who irritates all of his co-workers, none more so than Tarzan. The foreman calls out Pansy, challenging him to a bare-knuckle boxing match. The climax finds virtually everyone in town gathering for this battle royale, with several bankrolls wagered on the surprising outcome. Based on a play by John Powers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Kennedy, Michael Preston, (more)
This grim, violent Australian production is an artless mishmash incorporating elements of The Road Warrior, 1984 , and The Most Dangerous Game. The story is set in a dystopian future society where all "deviants" (i.e. anyone whose ideas don't jive with those of the government) are interred in nightmarish re-education camps where they are tortured, beaten, raped and put to death -- mostly on the whim of the psychotic commandant (Michael Craig). Periodically, a handful of particularly defiant inmates will be released unarmed to be hunted down (for the entertainment of the elite) in a free-for-all "Turkey Shoot" (the film's original Australian title). Among the latest batch of potential targets are strong-willed Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey, who are confronted in the wilderness by the commandant and his goofy mutant cronies -- all of whom carry rocket-launchers, exploding arrows, and flamethrowers. This entire exercise is basically a prolonged excuse for a plethora of cheap, splattery makeup effects, made far more unpleasant by the blatant sadism of the proceedings. Unsuspecting viewers exposed to this film may wish to follow with My Brilliant Career to restore their faith in Australian cinema. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, (more)
