Roger Ward Movies

Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Set in New South Wales, Australia, a local hairdresser falls in love with an enigmatic wanderer and leaves her tiny hometown behind to travel along with him. She is madly in love with him, but eventually comes to question her infatuation when she begins suspecting him of being a killer, a hunch fueled by the corpses that seem to follow them wherever they go. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The IMF's assignment: To persuade Frank Marley (James Sloyan), the manager of a casino in the Bahamas, to turn against his boss, mob kingpin Connors (Gus Mercurio). The strategy: To convince Marley that he is being framed for a money-skimming racket perpetrated by his employer. Robert Hammer's script for "The System" was first filmed in 1968, as the 68th episode of the original Mission: Impossible series. The "new" version was telecast on October 30, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This suspensful drama chronicles the life of a despicable killer who along with his brother, was involved in the slaughter of several Australian journalists in 1975. The film is based on a true story. Both brothers survived the killings. Afterwards, one of them settles down in a small New Zealand town where he leads a peaceful life. His peace is disturbed when his brother comes to call. The visiting brother tries to get him to hit the road again. When not trying to convince him, the restless brother falls for a hooker. She falls for him too. After he dumps her for another, the call girl attempts suicide. Meanwhile he keeps after the pretty urban woman until she is killed in a car crash. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is a low-budget horror movie about a psychopathic gardener with a penchant for killing off young women, undoubtedly due to some twisted psycho-sexual malfunction that leads him to rape his first victim before drowning her in a fish tank. His second female victim is dispatched when she catches sight of him carrying off corpse #1. Victim #3 is targeted -- she is the sister of #1 -- but she manages to escape into a beach house as a temporary defense of sorts. Meanwhile, two security police spot the demonic psycho trying to smash into the house, and when they go to capture him, one is killed and the other battles the psycho in a swimming pool. Just when the end seems near, however, the crazed killer rises again -- the menace, it seems, has not been laid to rest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Chain Reaction is an Australian-made drama about a nuclear accident and its effect on the workers of the plant. Oates (Patrick Ward) knows of the accident and the eventual effects it will have on the workers and the surrounding community, and he tries to tell them but the owners of the reactor try to have him eliminated before he can do so. The cast includes Mel Gibson in an uncredited role as a mechanic. Also released as Nuclear Run, this thriller, with an intelligent script by Ian Barry, is worth a view. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

This stunning, post-apocalyptic action thriller from director George Miller stars Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a policeman in the near future who is tired of his job. Since the apocalypse, the lengthy, desolate stretches of highway in the Australian outback have become bloodstained battlegrounds. Max has seen too many innocents and fellow officers murdered by the bomb's savage offspring, bestial marauding bikers for whom killing, rape, and looting is a way of life. He just wants to retire and spend time with his wife and son but lets his boss talk him into taking a peaceful vacation and he starts to reconsider. Then his world is shattered as a gang led by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) murders his family in retaliation for the death of one of its members. Dead inside, Max straps on his helmet and climbs into a souped-up V8 racing machine to seek his bloody revenge. Despite an obviously low budget and a plot reminiscent of many spaghetti Westerns, Mad Max is tremendously exciting, thanks to some of the most spectacular road stunts ever put on film. Cinematographer David Eggby and stunt coordinator Grant Page did some of their best work under Miller's direction and crafted a gritty, gripping thrill ride which spawned two sequels, numerous imitations, and made Mel Gibson an international star. One sequence, in which a man is chained to a car and must cut off a limb before the machine explodes is one of the most tense scenes of the decade. The American version dubbed all the voices -- including Gibson's -- in a particularly cartoonish manner. Trivia buffs should note that Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe with a 300 bhp 351C V8 engine, customized with the front end of a Ford Fairmont and other modifications. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this thriller, a concert promoter is sent to Australia where he ends up entangled in corporate spying and is forced to fight for his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Two veterans of Vietnam special-forces (John Hargreaves, Grant Page) have retired to the relatively painless field of stuntwork. They return to active duty, however, when the Australian government hires them to retrieve documents and destroy the fortress of a Filipino overlord. ~ John Bush, Rovi

The Far East and the Land Down Under are about to have a head-on collision in this action drama. Fang (Jimmy Wang Yu) is an undercover detective from Hong Kong sent to Australia to crack open the operation of a Sydney mob boss named Wilton (George Lazenby). Fang puts his skills as a hang glider pilot and martial arts master to work as he sets up Wilton for a literally explosive finale. Samo Hung (aka Kim Po Hung), later to become a major martial arts star in his own right, appears in a supporting role and has an impressive battle with an Australian cop. The film also features the song "Sky High" by Jigsaw, which would go on to become a Top 40 hit. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Paul (Sean McEuan) makes love to Cara (Julie Rodgers) on a remote and romantic beach. She reveals it is her first heterosexual encounter, setting the stage for an erotic pool party later on. Based on a novel by Roger Ward. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi