Buddies - Zwei knallharte Typen

Boisterous and funny, Buddies is (yet another) widescreen spectacular of larrikin behaviour set in outback Australia. Looking like MAD MAX or Sunday TOO FAR AWAY and in mining territory, this is a blokey comedy with excellent leading pals (Colin Friels and Harold Hopkins). However, like most films released in 1983, it died the death of a brown dog at the box office. Nobody went to the cinemas in Australia in this period as the video boom took away all but the very biggest of releases. So many good films crashed and burned in 83/84. I have never seen it on video, or TVand a DVD release would be good looking for all the intended original reasons. On a big cinema screen it works well and looks great. It is dusty outback buffoonery and well made. If you have seen SIAM SUNSET or PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT you might get an idea of how well BUDDIES looks in cinemascope. Same territory and equally as enjoyable.

This film is an excellent Aussie comedy, loosely hung on the frame of an outback romance. I hadn't seen it for years, but it was (finally) released on DVD in June of 2009 so I raced out and got a copy. I'm pleased to say that viewing it again it is as good as I remember it. If you have a friend with a big screen, watch it on that, the scenery is to die for .

I am so glad that this film is finally available on DVD: http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/products/show/3/1188 Harold Hopkins and Colin Freils are great in this, a real showcase of Australia, anyone is bound to enjoy it. There are 3 clips available in the national archives here: http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/buddies/

This film has been a favorite of mine for over 20 years. I have been to the area this film was made in many times and fossicked for sapphire's, getting a few nice gems. I have tried relentlessly to get a copy of this on DVD or VHS. The national archives for Australian Film in Canberra have told me that the original owner of the rights to this film had not originally released it for sale on these formats. This person has since passed on , and now his family who retain the rights have declined to allow reproduction of this truly Aussie Icon Film. I believe that their doing this is a complete insult to us all, by denying us the opportunity to see this film again. Something should be done about this, as it is a must see film, not to mention the good it could have done for our tourism industry.

Set in the sapphire fields of outback Australia, A great story of mate-ship, with a David & Goliath battle, "Trading Places" style, & heavy machinery.

I Love this film. I remember going to see the premier in Sydney as a child, 3 or 4 of the actors were in attendance, was a great night. Nobody new what to expect, but at the end of the film, I don't think there was a member of the audience that didn't love it!

It did screen on Australian TV once in the mid to L8 '80s, & I was lucky enough to have taped it to VHS. :)

I've enjoyed watching it many times in the years since, & it remains one of my many coveted irreplaceable VHS tapes. Hopefully someone like Force entertainment may someday release this Australian Gem to DVD.

I remember watching this years ago and enjoying it. I see a lot of comments here from a few years ago saying it hasn't been released on DVD. The good news is it now does appear to be available - there are copies on ebay for sale. Might be on other sites too.