Stone

Although it now looks rather dated, you must remember that when this movie was made, Australia was a very conservative place. This film broke a lot of new ground in the early 70's. Firstly, it was all Australian. Written, Produced, Directed and Starring. Not an American in sight. Secondly, it contained shots of male and female nudity. Thirdly, it was extremely gory and violent for it's day. But, the biggest thing it had going for it was it's incredible bike stunts.(Have you ever seen a Kawasaki Z900 do a wheelstand?) There's some fantastic locations in and around Sydney, and the funeral procession is spectacular, but the opening 10 minutes, or so, will have you on the edge of your seat. For those of you who are interested, 4 of the actors starring in "Stone" (Vincent Gil, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward and Reg Evans) would later appear in George Miller's "Mad Max". It must be something about motorbikes!

Back in '74 the tag line for STONE was "Take the Trip!" By the time the critics had finished savaging this bikie saga, not that many people DID and STONE was headed for cinematic 'Boot Hill.' A funny thing happened though - somewhere along the line it was never fully erased from the collective public conscience and in due course the "legend of Stone" was created - to such an extent that now it is regarded as the "Bikie's bible" and sits proudly in the "70's Hall of fame" of Aussie film-making.

It's not even a GOOD flick, either in script, acting or production values. What it DOES offer is high voltage energy and action sequences, mind you the flick is way overlong and quite tedious at times. The plot, such that it isn't, has cop Ken Shorter (at the time riding high on account of his role in YOU CAN'T SEE AROUND CORNERS) infiltrating a bikie gang to see who is knocking off their members with gay abandon. Now Shorter was about as realistic an underground cop as Mark Wahlberg would be playing Harry Potter. What the film DOES offer now in retrospect, is a cast-list not far short of the who's who of seasoned Aussie actors and actresses, all pretty much unknown then. Strictly 70's film-making it paved the way for such as MAD MAX and must be acknowledged for that. Check out the Funeral scene on the Gosford Freeway! - heady stuff!

For me personally, I will always retain a soft spot for this film. I knew Sandy Harbutt and Helen Morse (then his wife) quite well during the making of this film as they purchased my beloved 1952 Riley 2 1/2 litre sedan from me, for the princely sum of $740. (You could add a zero to that today and then DOUBLE it!) Like that beautiful car, the film now remains a classic of its time!

If you're looking for the all purpose Coca Cola Universal film then this isn't it. This is a film rooted in context.

Basically this kind of film was shunted aside in the hunt for respectability of Australian film which shunned actual Australian contemporary Austraian life in favour of a white blossoming dressed vision of a genteel 100 years ago. Analyse this as you may but this vision dominated for another decade at least. MAd Max just squeaked in here.

The bikes themselves were very much of their time yet still very exciting even now. The bikers though clunky are not entirely off the mark. The plot itself has its own charm and if there is any question of its legacy 40,000 riders showed up for the 25th anniversary Stone ride.

Again this is nothing for the great Universal film like Titanic but it is still a very tasty slice of 70's Australian culture.

I heard of this film about 6 months ago when Tarantino said that "it's the best Aussie exploitation film" i had to see what it was about. I am only a young guy but i appreciated the whole funeral scene on the F3, made me feel like i was actually there and could feel the bridge between the old generation who knew of this film to my generation who know nothing of this film. Sandy Harbutt used whatever he could find to make this film on such a budget could hardly be done now. Action stunts, a tad of gore, nudity and language are expressed in the film as a tad silly and over the top but it's suited for the time-frame the movie was shot in, isn't that what Exploitation is all about? Violence, Sex and Gore/Language? Barely any plot to move a story like this going? Well i thought of it that way since i am into my Cult/Exploitation and Horror, but it's good to see old Aussie films like this gem truly exist for people like us to see. A friend of mine from work knew who the spray painter of the cars was in this movie and still knows him today, so i got more of a profound idea of where this movie was shot, in NSW. Go out and see this film, low on plot and acting but high on emotions and nostalgia, Great work Sandy Harbutt.

Rated R18+ (still) For Violence, Gore, Language and Nudity

The closest equivalent of "Easy Rider"; in my view, even better than that movie.

A simple plot. Someone is systematically murdering a group of bikers, one by one. An undercover cop is reluctantly accepted by the group as a part-time member to try to find the murderer. He quickly gains a lot of credibility with the bikers; even some respect.

The plot is oversimple, the dialogue is stilted, the film is corny, the characters are totally without depth, the acting is poor. However, the same could be said of movies such as "Deliverance". But none of that matters. The "ambience" of life as a biker is what matters; and again as in movies such as "Deliverance", the 1970s "feel" of the picture, the action, the "macho": that is what is important.

To those such as I, who remember those times, it is nostalgic. To those who are too young to remember those times, a glimpse of the wilder side of life as it "used to be".

Finally, no review of this movie would be complete without some discussion of the two "on the road" scenes. The low-angle shot of the bike race; and the helicopter view of the funeral procession down the F3 freeway can both rightfully be called "classics" of the motor vehicle movie genre. Every bit as spectacular and "significant" as, for example, the chase scene in "Bullitt" or the crowded street race in "The Italian Job".